NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS:
As Diverse as America's Heritage

Over 1,200 NHLs in the Northeast region represent a very broad cross-section of our National heritage. They include sites related to U.S. presidents, such as Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home near Charlottesville, Virginia, and the newly designated Top Cottage, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s private retreat in Hyde Park, New York. NHLs also include historic vessels such as the U.S.S. Olympia now in Philadelphia, made famous during the Spanish-American War as the flag ship of Admiral Dewey, and the legendary Old Ironsides (also known as the U.S.S. Constitution) in Boston Harbor.

There are many different types of NHLs that you can explore such as transportation related sites like boats and train sheds, institutions like schools and forts, places people called home from splendid mansions to worker housing, and very different NHLs like prisons and roller coasters! Here are just a few of the over 1,200 NHLs in the Northeast Region:

Monticello: Charlottesville, Virginia, this NHL was the home of Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, Located in the spectacular Blue Ridge Mountains near Father of the University of Virginia and Third President of the United States. Jefferson began building his innovative home in 1770 and he continued to work on it for many years, constantly rethinking the spaces in which he lived and learned. This NHL also includes Mulberry Row, the area of the plantation where slaves lived during Mr. Jefferson’s life, and the extensive flower and vegetable gardens that served Jefferson well. Monticello is just one of the many NHLs related to this great president in Virginia including Poplar Forest, the retreat he designed for himself near Lynchburg; the University of Virginia which he designed and founded, and the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond which he also helped to design. Jefferson’s Monticello is open to the public throughout the year.

Eastern State Penitentiary: Opened 1829, Eastern State was intended to reform rather than punish criminals in an effort to improve prison conditions in Pennsylvania following the Revolutionary War. The Penitentiary was designed by architect John Haviland. The Penitentiary was not unlike a fortress, with an enormous outer wall of granite that is 30 feet high and twelve feet thick at the base with only one gated opening guarded by three towers. Inside, the prisoners were originally housed in isolation in a series of seven single-story cell blocks which radiated from a centralized core. Due to a demand for increased capacity, this original plan was altered. Famous prisoners included Al Capone and famous visitors included Charles Dickens! While this was a model reform system throughout the world, Eastern State was continually modified in its physical and programmatic forms from its inception until its closure in 1970. Unfortunately, one of the most famous and influential prison buildings in the world is also one of the most endangered. Eastern State is listed on the annual report to the U.S. Congress of Damaged and Threatened National Historic Landmarks as well as on the World Monument Fund’s list of the 100 most endangered landmarks in the world. Eastern State, which is owned by the City of Philadelphia, is located in Center City Philadelphia and is open for tours from May through November, including a very scary Halloween tour.

Brooklyn Bridge: A cultural icon, the image of New York spanning the East River, the Brooklyn Bridge is also a National Historic Landmark. The bridge was designed by John A. Roebling and built between 1869 and 1883 under the watchful eye of his son Washington A. Roebling. Two majestic masonry towers with Gothic arches were supported by gigantic caissons below and linked by a bridge deck suspended by four steel cables to join the island of Manhattan with Brooklyn to the east. When built, the bridge was the largest suspension bridge in the entire world! For many, many years, this bridge has spanned the East River, carrying New Yorkers back and forth between the boroughs first on foot and by horse drawn carriage, and today by car as a major pathway for commuters.

U.S.S. Olympia: "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley." These immortal words spoken by Commodore George Dewey (later Admiral Dewey) from his now famous flagship, the Olympia was the cry that was the beginning of the battle of Manila during the Spanish-American War. The Olympia remained active in the U.S. Navy for many years after the Spanish-American War. However, in the 1922 the Navy decided that her day was done and decommissioned her. In 1955, the Society of Founders and Patriots, stepped up to save this ship that served her country well, followed by the Cruiser Olympia Association, who restored this treasure for posterity. The Crusier Olympia Association cared for this ship until 1996, when it was placed under the watchful eye of the Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia and is now moored on the Delaware River. The Olympia is one of the last steel-hulled ships remaining in the world and she is listed on the annual report to the U.S. Congress of Damaged and Threatened National Historic Landmarks. The Olympia is open for the public to enjoy and experience this unique piece of American history.

Fallingwater: Imagine a house, not with a view of a waterfall but rather, built over one. Well, this is not a dream but rather, the reality of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1936, Wright designed this unique and dynamic weekend retreat for Pittsburgh retailer Edgar Kaufmann. When Kaufmann instructed Wright that he wanted a house in order to escape the city and enjoy the natural surroundings, he didn’t know just how integral the environment would become to the house. The series of concrete planes hover in space over the waterfall, and are joined by a stone fireplace core rooted into live rock. Through a generous gift of the owner to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1969, Fallingwater is now open to the public. Fallingwater is located in western Pennsylvania, approximately 90 miles east of Pittsburgh.

U.S. Capitol: Of all of the NHLs in our great nation, this NHL is probably one of the most recognizable. Though not the original capitol (the government moved from Philadelphia in 1800), our nation’s capitol building in Washington, D.C. has become one of the foremost symbols of democracy for the entire world. The Capitol was designed by Dr. William Thorton in 1793, in response to a design competition for the building, and the cornerstone was laid on April 5, 1793. Many architects followed Thorton as the Capitol progressed and expanded from the original plan including Benjamin Latrobe, Charles Bulfinch, and Thomas U. Walter. The Capitol’s original low wooden dome clad with copper designed by Bulfinch was replaced between 1856 and 1865 by the current cast iron structure designed by Walter. The 19 ½ foot bronze Statue of Freedom, designed by Thomas Crawford, was placed atop the dome in 1863. The interior of the Capitol is filled with wonderful artwork depicting the history of our country including Statuary Hall and the fresco frieze by Constantino Brumidi in the Rotunda.

For more information on NHLs or the NHL Program in the Northeast Region, please send e-mail to:
Lisa_Kolakowsky@nps.gov