Incentives A GUIDE TO THE FEDERAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX INCENTIVES PROGRAM FOR INCOME-PRODUCING PROPERTIES. Avoiding Incompatible Work Topic: Storefronts

Historic Building Exterior: Storefronts

Compatible New Storefront Designs

When the historic storefront is missing entirely, the replacement storefront may be an accurate restoration using historical, pictorial, and physical documentation, or it may be a new design that is compatible with the size, scale, material and color of the historic building. An existing, non-historic storefont may also be retained, as long as no substantive or major changes are made to it.

<three photo series> Compatible New Storefront Design. A non-historic, incompatible storefront was successfully replaced, based on historic documentation with an accurately restored storefront. Photo: NPS files

A non-historic, incompatible storefront (left) was successfully replaced, based on historic documentation
(center) with an accurately restored storefront (right). Photos: NPS files

<two photo series>Compatible New Storefront Design. A non-historic storefront, shown before rehabilitation was replaced with a new compatible storefront that was based on traditional storefront elements and proportions, but was not a restoration. Photos: NPS files

When a storefront is missing and no historical documentation is available, a compatible new storefront may be constructed that meets the Standards.

This non-historic storefront, shown before rehabilitation (left) was replaced with a new compatible storefront (right) that was based on traditional storefront elements and proportions, but was not a restoration. Photos: NPS files