Cultural Landscape Report for the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Natchitoches, Louisiana

Stevens, Christopher

The Preparation of the following cultural landscape report (CLR) has been timed to guide the landscape rehabilitation of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) at Northwestern State University of Natchitoches, Louisiana. NCPTT was created by Congress as part of the Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1992 as an interdisciplinary program of the National Park Service. The center’s mission is to advance the art, craft, and science of historic preservation in the fields of archeology, historic architecture, historic landscapes, objects and materials conservation, and interpretation. NCPTT promotes and enhances the preservation and conservation of prehistoric and historic resources in the United States for present and future generations. Undergraduate and graduate students from Northwestern State University and post-graduate associates from throughout the United States assist in the work undertaken by senior staff. The center is located in Lee H. Nelson Hall, the former women’s gymnasium built in 1923. The National Park Service rehabilitated the interior and exterior of the building between 1995 and 2001. The rehabilitation also included the area immediately surrounding the NCPTT building and addressed such issues as parking and access, circulation, drainage and utilities, and site lighting. Vegetation, small-scale site features (benches, lights, trash receptacles), and outdoor classroom or gathering spaces were not addressed. The following report presents a chronological site history of the property and its existing conditions in both narrative text and illustrations. The Landscape Analysis chapter, in addition to evaluating the significance and integrity using the terms and definitions of the National Register of Historic Places program, offers recommendations regarding the center’s choice of a historic preservation treatment approach to the landscape. These recommendations are consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. The final chapter of the CLR then provides an appropriate landscape treatment plan that primarily focuses on vegetation, circulation, small-scale landscape features, and congregational spaces.

Cultural Landscape Report for the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Natchitoches, Louisiana

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