Common Terms
in Historic Preservation
Acquired Significance: Changes which have taken place in the course of time, serving as evidence of the history and development of a building, structure, or site and its environment
Adaptive Use: The reuse of a building or structure, usually for a purpose different from the original. The term implies that certain structural or design changes have been made to the building in order for it to function in its new use [1]
Blended value: Philosophy that businesses should measure social, environmental and cultural returns on investment in addition to financial gain
Built environment: Combination of buildings and locales of related human activities along with associated impervious surfaces, infrastructure and landscaping
Compatible Use: Use of a structure or site that involves no, or minimal, impact on its cultural significance, or to use a property for its originally intended purpose
Conditional Use Permit (CUP): Authorizes uses not routinely allowed on a particular site and generally subject to certain conditions
Covenants: Restrictions attached in perpetuity to the deed of a historic property to ensure a structure’s integrity or the land on which it is situated is protected whenever the property transfers ownership
Demolition by Neglect: Allowing a structure to fall into such a state of disrepair that it becomes necessary or desirable to demolish it [1]
Easement: Acquired interests in property owned by another, providing legal protection for distinguishing features of a property or in the space surrounding a property when such features are deemed important to be preserved
Fabric: All physical materials of a site or structure including components, fixtures, contents, and objects “Facadectomy”: Retention of the façade of a building to use as the façade of a new or reconstructed structure
Heritage tourism: Traveling to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present
Historic district: Finite group of resources related to one another in a clearly distinguishable way or geographically definable area which have a special character, historical interest or aesthetic value or which represent one or more architectural periods or styles in the history and development of a community; designated by national, state or local officials
Historic resource: Structure or site featuring architectural, engineering, archaeological, or cultural remains present in districts, sites, buildings, or structures that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association
Integrity: Intactness of a structure or site as an architectural system, including its plan, features, materials, finishes, and structural system
Land Trusts: Privately-owned property ceded to governmental or public management for its preservation
Mills Act: California legislation passed in 1972 that allows owners of historically designated structures to reduce their property taxes in exchange for restoring and maintaining those buildings
National Register of Historic Places: United States government’s official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that have been nominated and accepted as having historic, architectural, archeological, engineering or cultural significance, at the national, State, or local level and considered worthy of preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation: Member-supported organization established by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods
Preservation: The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of a historic structure, landscape, or object, mitigating further decay with limited alterations or additions
Reconnaissance Survey: Examination of all or part of an area in sufficient detail to make generalizations about the types and distributions of historic properties that may be present
Reconstruction: The act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features, and detailing of a none-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location
Rehabilitation: The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values
Replica: Copy of an original structure or object made by the original builder (or corporate or family descendent) that made the original structure or object
Reproduction: Any copy of an original structure or object not built by the original builder (or corporate or family descendent) that made the original structure or object
Restoration: Rebuilding of a structure with historically accurate materials to achieve historical authenticity in keeping with a particular time period or event
Secretary of the Interior Standards: Series of National Park Service guidelines on maintaining, repairing and replacing historic materials, as well as designing new additions or making alterations
Stabilization: The act or process of applying measures designed to reestablish a weather-resistant enclosure and the structural stability of an unsafe or deteriorated property while maintaining the essential form as it exists at present
State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO): State official who administers the national historic preservation program at the state level who is responsible for developing a statewide plan for preservation; identifying historic properties; nominating properties to the National Register; and providing technical assistance to Federal, state and local agencies and the public
Survey: Process of identifying and gathering data on a community’s historic resources
Thematic District: Finite group of site resources not within a geographically definable area but related to one another in a clearly distinguishable way for their thematic character related to architectural style, development period or other characteristics (see also “Historic District”)
Variance: Limited waiver of development standards which, in regards to historic preservation, occasionally granted by governmental agencies under special conditions to accommodate physical characteristics of a property that may otherwise make preservation projects difficult to undertake
Sources: National Preservation Trust; City of San Diego; University of Maryland; US Department of the Interior; David Marshall, AIA
