Historic Preservation

This website is created to accompany our new textbook "Historic Preservation: Law and Culture Cases and Materials." The topic is multi-faceted and continues to meet new challenges. Our object of this site is to suggest points for discussion and avenue for further investigation and discussion. The subject is historical, technical, theoretical and political.  Although the interest in preserving the historic is largely accepted in society, the related issues—what to preserve, at what cost, and how to preserve—are what the cases are about.  

About the Authors

Faculty

Nicholas A. Robinson

Professor of Law

Faculty

Shelby D. Green

Professor of Law

State Historic Preservation Statutes

 

2016 Uniform Code Supplement

Texas

New Jersey

Maryland

Management Agreements

Agreements

News and Developments

Tax Credits

Trump Administration

Marie Curie Project

West Hollywood's Historic Preservation Commission Supports French Market Preservation Plan

Summary: The French Market Place building, built in the 1930s, gained historical significance in 1972 when it became a major gathering place for the LGBT community and HIV/AIDS groups. LGBT diners comfortably ate on the front patio of the building at a time when it was risky to be seen at a gay establishment. In a 4-2 vote, the West Hollywood Historic Preservation commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for a developers French Market project. The project, encompassing 83,000-square-feet, will include a four story 60-foot-tall office building at the rear of the property and a two-level subterranean parking garage beneath the French Market building. Only two and two/thirds of the exterior walls of the French Market building will be preserved. The Committee found the New Orleans style interior was not as historically significant and did not need to be preserved as the exterior walls and the dining patio were the most important historic factors of the site.

Illinois offers $75 million for statewide historic preservation income tax credit program

Summary: Over the next five years, there will be $75 million in tax credits for those who renovate and revitalize historic buildings and reuse them for a new purpose. Priority is given to areas federally declared a disaster zone, low income areas, and counties that border a state that has a historic preservation tax credit. Illinois joins 32 other states that offer a historic tax credit program.

Historic preservation groups sue to save iconic Brunswick-Topsham bridge

Summary: The Frank J. Wood Bridge was built in 1932 and connects the towns of Brunswick and Topsham. Three preservation groups have filed suit seeking to stop the Maine DOT from tearing down the bridge and replacing it with a new one. The groups are seeking to preserve and renovate the bridge to allow people to continue studying and appreciating the bridge’s history and architecture. The bridge has been deemed eligible for placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

Demolition Ordinance Reignites Battle Over Historic Preservation in Miami Beach

Summary: Currently Miami’s land development rules require approval from the Design Review Board for new homes replacing historic homes built before 1942. The Design Review Board takes public comments about the plans in their review. A new ordinance being considered would eliminate the review board process and allow city staff to take over the approvals for homes of a certain size. Residents are fearful that if the new ordinance passes it would take away their right to speak at public meetings and make it easier for developers to build McMansions.

Gowanus preservationists push for landmark protections amid rezoning fears

Summary: The Landmark Preservation Committee is considering five Gowanus buildings for landmark status. However, the Brooklyn community is pushing for the commission to consider additional properties if the neighborhood’s industrial past is to be preserved ahead of rezoning which will likely trigger a developmental boom of residential high-rises. The Committee has vowed to review a list of 29 suggested landmarks put together by community groups. The neighborhood was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic places in 2013 but the proposed designation has faced opposition as the city pushes for development in the area.

Giant – and controversial – telescope to be built on sacred Hawaiian peak

Summary: Hawaii announced a notice to proceed for the Thirty Meter Telescope project which will allow scientists to build a massive telescope atop the Mauna Kea Summit. The project has been met with opposition as it will be built on land that is sacred and has significant religious importance to Native Hawaiians. Officials intend to remove Native Hawaiian structures and have been blocking the road preventing Hawaiians from going to the summit to pray.

Judge Blocks Removal Of Confederate Statue That Sparked Charlottesville Protest

Summary: In 2017, Charlottesville’s city council voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert Lee that was at the center of a deadly protest in August. Judge Richard Moore issued a permanent injunction to prevent the statue’s removal, ruling that any effort to remove the statue would violate the state historic preservation statute. Judge Moore found there was no racist intent in enacting the historical preservation statute. The court order can be found here.

The Historic Advisor Spring 2020

Historic American Buildings

American Place

Traditional Cultural Property

2011 Smithsonian Annual Report

2014 NMAI Repatriation Policy

Historical Accounts

Knickerbocker 

Historic Properties

Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions