Survey Report: Reconnaissance Survey of Historic Resources, Lebanon, New Hampshire

Papazian, Lyssa; Newman, Scott

From introduction: "During the recent update of the City of Lebanon's Master Plan, which had input from hundreds of Lebanon residents, creating “mixed-use,” walkable neighborhoods, encouraging infill development, and preserving historic character were frequently cited objectives and priorities for new development. To achieve these goals of the Master Plan, the Heritage Commission has endeavored to continue identifying historic resources and manifestations of these elements throughout the City. The City of Lebanon encompasses approximately 40 square miles and is comprised of multiple village nodes, which are broken up by natural features. This has allowed different areas of Lebanon to develop their own unique identity and character. Historical events, including development and fires, have altered some of the villages, in some instances to their detriment, by reducing their walkability and character. The Master Plan encourages the redevelopment of the villages in order to preserve the remaining open spaces in Lebanon and to reduce sprawl. With redevelopment focused in the villages, it is vital that the character of existing neighborhoods is preserved. Defining traits can range from street layout, architecture, streetscape, design features, and events and activities in the area. All these features can be altered by development, impacting the existing character of the area. In 2015, the City completed a historical survey of Crafts Avenue in West Lebanon financed in part with Federal CLG funds. The project resulted in documentation of a Crafts Avenue Historic District. Building on these efforts, and in furtherance of the Master Plan goals, the City intends to undertake additional documentation projects and neighborhood surveys. In order to identify neighborhoods where detailed surveys should be made, the City undertook this initial step of conducting a modified city-wide survey with a broad inspection of the community. The following pages comprise that broad, reconnaissance survey effort. The survey provides an overview of the history of Lebanon and a description of the City’s past preservation efforts to introduce the fifteen Survey Area Summaries which seek to describe the entire city divided geographically into fifteen sections in terms of historic development and architectural resources. The Summaries also provide the beginnings of a written and photographic record of all of Lebanon’s many neighborhoods and unique areas. With such an overview completed, the Heritage Commission can better evaluate which areas are priorities when pursuing a more comprehensive neighborhood evaluation. While the goal is to identify potential new neighborhood character zones and historic districts, the inventory also identifies potential areas that might not meet the criteria but would otherwise have unique characteristics that would make them more appropriate as candidates for neighborhood character zones or other local preservation activities. This framework will help inform the City’s future historic preservation efforts." Project funding was provided in part by a 2015 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the City of Lebanon (project number NH-15-029) administered by the New Hampshire State Historic Preservation Office (grant number P15AF00056) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Lebanon, New Hampshire is a Certified Local Government.

Survey Report: Reconnaissance Survey of Historic Resources, Lebanon, New Hampshire

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