Grants for Historic Preservation: A Guide for State Participation

Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation, National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior

From the Foreword: "With the enactment of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, (Public Law 89-665) the Congress found and declared: '(a) that the spirit and direction of the Nation are founded upon and reflected in its historic past; (b) that the historical and cultural foundations of the Nation should be preserved as a living part of our community life and development in order to give a sense of orientation to the American people; (c) that, in the fact of ever-increasing extensions of urban centers, highways, and residential, commercial, and industrial developments, the present governmental and nongovernmental historic preservation programs and activities are inadequate to insure future generations a genuine opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the rich heritage of our Nation; and (d) that, although the major burdens of historic preservation have been borne and major efforts initiated by private agencies and individuals, and both should continue to play a vital role, it is nevertheless necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to accelerate its historic preservation programs and activities, to give maximum encouragement to agencies and individuals undertaking preservation by private means, and to assist State and local governments and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States to expand and accelerate their historic preservation programs and activities.' This Act significantly broadens the scope of the national preservation policy enunciated in the Historic Sites Act of 1935. Under this new authority, three innovations of immense potential are envisioned. First is a greatly expanded National Register, in the words of the statute, to encompass "districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, and culture.'' Maintained by the Secretary of the Interior, the National Register records the evidences of our national heritage that merit preservation. It is intended to include not only those places of national significance identified in Federal surveys conducted under the Historic Sites Act of 1935, but also places of State and local significance. The Register thus becomes our national list of significant properties, comparable to lists kept by most European countries. It provides an authoritative guide by which Federal, State, and local governments, and private groups and citizens everywhere, may know what should be protected from destruction or impairment. The National Register is a product of professional evaluation and review rather than a mere list of antiquarian curiosities. With the participation of appropriate or pertinent professional disciplines, the National Register can be an instrument of great good. It gives us further opportunity, as a matter of national policy, to establish priorities on the way -our land is used and our cities kept, and to exert a constructive influence on the visual and spatial character of our environment. It gives us the opportunity for informed discrimination in saving what is significant from our past as an element around which plans for the future may be shaped. It gives us the opportunity for a continuity between generations that will help enrich our future. The second innovation, closely related to the first, is a seventeen member Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The Council consists of ten members appointed by the President, five members of the President's Cabinet, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, and the Chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Advisory Council conducts studies and advises the President and the Congress on administrative and legislative measures for giving further strength to the national preservation policy. It also concerns itself with issues that bring progress and preservation into conflict. Federal construction and licensing agencies must now seek to avoid places that should be preserved. Where this proves impracticable, the Council provides a forum for resolving the conflict in the public interest. Specifically, the planning for any Federal or federally supported undertaking, including licensing actions, must take into account its effect on properties listed on the National Register. Where an adverse effect on such a property is threatened, the Advisory Council must be given an opportunity to consider the case and make known its views. The third innovation is a system of matching grants-in-aid to the States and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust receives matching grants for programs deriving from the mission defined in its Congressional charter. The States receive matching grants for conducting statewide surveys, for preparing comprehensive statewide historic preservation plans, and for individual preservation projects identified in the plans. The Act authorizes the appropriation of $32 million over a four-year period for these purposes. The Congress intended that most of this $32 million be used to establish the dimensions of the national preservation need. When this has been done, the proper Federal contribution can be more realistically considered. The largest share of the initial sum will therefore be devoted to helping to finance statewide surveys and plans. State surveys provide the bulk of the listings for the National Register. The plans, after approval by the Secretary of the Interior, provide the basis for individual project grants. The purpose of this publication is to provide the guidance and standards necessary to translate the legislation into a cooperative historic preservation effort between State and local governments, private groups and individuals, and the Federal Government."

Grants for Historic Preservation: A Guide for State Participation

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