Identify, Retain and Preserve
Identifying, retaining, and preserving buildings
and their features as well as features of the site that
are important in defining its overall historic character.
Site features may include circulation systems such as
walks, paths, roads, or parking; vegetation such as
trees, shrubs, fields, or herbaceous plant material;
landforms such as terracing, berms or grading; furnishings
such as lights, fences, or benches; decorative elements
such as sculpture, statuary or monuments; water features
including fountains, streams, pools, or lakes; and subsurface
archeological features which are important in defining
the history of the site.
Retaining the historic relationship between buildings
and the landscape.
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Drayton Hall, near Charleston, South Carolina,
is an excellent example of an evolved 18th century
plantation. Of particular note in this photograph
are the landscape features added in the late 19th
century--a reflecting pond and rose mound. With
an overall Preservation treatment plan, these
later features have been retained and protected.
If a Restoration treatment had been selected,
later features of the landscape as well as changes
to the house would have been removed. Photo: Courtesy,
National Trust for Historic Preservation.
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Altering buildings and their features or site features
which are important in defining the overall historic
character of the property so that, as a result, the
character is diminished.
Removing or relocating buildings or landscape features,
thus destroying the historic relationship between buildings
and the landscape.
Stabilize
Stabilizing deteriorated or damaged building and
site features as a preliminary measure, when necessary,
prior to undertaking appropriate preservation work.
Failing to stabilize a deteriorated or damaged building
or site feature until additional work is undertaken,
thus allowing further damage to occur to the building
site.
Protect and Maintain
Protecting and maintaining buildings and sites by
providing proper drainage to assure that water does
not erode foundation walls; drain toward the building;
or damage or erode the landscape.
Minimizing disturbance of terrain around buildings
or elsewhere on the site, thus reducing the possibility
of destroying or damaging important landscape features
or archeological resources.
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The Slatter Family Tomb in Mobile, Alabama,
consisting of a cast-iron mausoleum and fence,
exhibits the wide range of uses of the material
in the 19th century. These historic materials
should be carefully maintained and repaired.Photo:
Jack E. Boucher, HABS Collection.
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Surveying and documenting areas where the terrain
will be altered to determine the potential impact to
important landscape features or archeological resources.
Protecting, e.g., preserving in place, important
archeological resources.
Planning and carrying out any necessary investigation
using professional archeologists and modern archeological
methods when preservation in place is not feasible.
Preserving important landscape features, including
ongoing maintenance of historic plant material.
Protecting building and landscape features against
arson and vandalism before preservation work begins,
i.e., erecting protective fencing and installing alarm
systems that are keyed into local protection agencies.
Providing continued protection of historic building
materials and plant features through appropriate cleaning,
rust removal, limited paint removal, and re-application
of protective coating systems; and pruning and vegetation
management.
Evaluating the existing condition of materials and
features to determine whether more than protection and
maintenance are required, that is, if repairs to building
and site features will be necessary.
Failing to maintain adequate site drainage so that buildings
and site features are damaged or destroyed; or alternatively,
changing the site grading so that water no longer drains
properly.
Introducing heavy machinery into areas where it may
disturb or damage important landscape features or archeological
resources.
Failing to survey the building site prior to beginning
work which results in damage to, or destruction of,
important landscape features or archeological resources.
Leaving known archeological material unprotected so
that it is damaged during preservation work.
Permitting unqualified personnel to perform data recovery
on archeological resources so that improper methodology
results in the loss of important archeological material.
Allowing important landscape features to be lost or
damaged due to a lack of maintenance.
Permitting the property to remain unprotected so that
the building and landscape features or archeological
resources are damaged or destroyed.
Removing or destroying features from the buildings
or site such as wood siding, iron fencing, masonry balustrades,
or plant material.
Failing to provide adequate protection of materials
on cyclical basis so that deterioration of building
and site feature results.
Failing to undertake adequate measures to assure the
protection of building and site features.
Repair
Repairing features of the building and site by reinforcing
historic materials using recognized preservation methods.
The new work should be unobtrusively dated to guide
future research and treatment.
Removing materials that could be repaired, using improper
repair techniques, or failing to document the new work.
The following work
is highlighted to indicate that it represents
the greatest degree of intervention generally
recommended within the treatment Preservation,
and should only be considered after protection,
stabilization, and repair concerns have been addressed.
Limited Replacement in Kind
Replacing in kind extensively deteriorated
or missing parts of the building or site where
there are surviving prototypes such as part of
a fountain, or portions of a walkway. New work
should match the old in materials, design, color,
and texture; and be unobtrusively dated to guide
future research and treatment.
Replacing an entire feature of the building or
site when limited replacement of deteriorated
and missing parts is appropriate.
Using replacement material that does not match
the building site feature; or failing to properly
document the new work.
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