A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest significance and worthy of preservation.
16-701: The boundaries of an NHLD typically include contributing properties that may themselves be listed distinctly as a National Historic Landmark or on the National Register of Historic Places but may also include non-contributing properties. The U.S. federal government designates historic districts through the National Park Service , a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior . Once designated an NNL District, districts often become cultural destinations and generate economic benefits for
32-802: Is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500, or roughly three percent, of over 90,000 places listed on the country's National Register of Historic Places are recognized as National Historic Landmarks. A National Historic Landmark District sometimes called a National Historical Park may include more than one National Historic Landmark and contributing properties that are buildings, structures, sites or objects, and it may include non-contributing properties. Contributing properties may or may not also be separately listed or registered. Prior to 1935, efforts to preserve cultural heritage of national importance were made by piecemeal efforts of
48-591: Is the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts at over 30,000 acres; some are much smaller, including the Cobblestone National Historic Landmark District in New York state , which is under one acre in size. There are over 2,600 National Historic Landmark Districts in the U.S., including: National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark ( NHL ) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that
64-895: The Historic American Buildings Survey amassed information about culturally and architecturally significant properties in a program known as the Historic Sites Survey. Most of the designations made under this legislation became National Historic Sites , although the first designation, made December 20, 1935, was for a National Memorial , the Gateway Arch National Park (then known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial) in St. Louis , Missouri. The first National Historic Site designation
80-635: The National Park Service . The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States . The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries. As the policies and activities of
96-561: The United States Congress . In 1935, Congress passed the Historic Sites Act , which authorized the interior secretary authority to formally record and organize historic properties, and to designate properties as having "national historical significance", and gave the National Park Service authority to administer historically significant federally owned properties. Over the following decades, surveys such as
112-842: The 50 states. New York City alone has more NHLs than all but five states: Virginia , California , Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York, the latter of which has the most NHLs of all 50 states. There are 74 NHLs in the District of Columbia . Some NHLs are in U.S. commonwealths and territories, associated states, and foreign states . There are 15 in Puerto Rico , the Virgin Islands , and other U.S. commonwealths and territories ; five in U.S.-associated states such as Micronesia ; and one in Morocco . Over 100 ships or shipwrecks have been designated as NHLs. Approximately half of
128-672: The Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the Western United States , the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton , was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the Mississippi River . Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule , thus earning
144-717: The Interior The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior . The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural resources , leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management , the United States Geological Survey , Bureau of Indian Affairs and
160-672: The National Historic Landmarks are privately owned . The National Historic Landmarks Program relies on suggestions for new designations from the National Park Service, which also assists in maintaining the landmarks . A friends' group of owners and managers, the National Historic Landmark Stewards Association, works to preserve, protect and promote National Historic Landmarks. If not already listed on
176-720: The National Register of Historic Places, an NHL is automatically added to the Register upon designation; about three percent of Register listings are NHLs. Washington, D.C. is home to three specifically legislated exceptions to this rule: the White House , the United States Capitol , and the United States Supreme Court Building . All are designated as NHLs, but are not on the National Register. United States Secretary of
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#1732773279863192-555: The National Register, or as an NHL) often triggered local preservation laws, legislation in 1980 amended the listing procedures to require owner agreement to the designations. On October 9, 1960, 92 places, properties, or districts were announced as eligible to be designated NHLs by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Fred A. Seaton . Agreements of owners or responsible parties were subsequently obtained, but all 92 have since been considered listed on that 1960 date. The origins of
208-485: The United States secretary of the interior because they are: More than 2,500 NHLs have been designated. Most, but not all, are in the United States. There are NHLs in all 50 states and the national capital of Washington, D.C. Three states ( Pennsylvania , Massachusetts , and New York ) account for nearly 25 percent of the nation's NHLs. Three cities within these states, Philadelphia , Boston , and New York City , respectively, all separately have more NHLs than 40 of
224-464: The communities from history-related tourism. NHLDs often qualify for preservation grant monies but dramatic or negative change to them can impact their integrity and create cause for concern over the loss of NHLD designation. These threats can come from development or climate change as evidenced most recently with the catastrophic damage to the Lahaina NHLD from wildfires. One of the largest NHLDs
240-593: The first National Historic Landmark was a simple cedar post, placed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on their 1804 outbound trek to the Pacific in commemoration of the death from natural causes of Sergeant Charles Floyd . The cedar plank was later replaced by a 100 ft (30 m) marble obelisk. The Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City, Iowa , was officially designated on June 30, 1960. NHLs are designated by
256-751: Was made for the Salem Maritime National Historic Site on March 17, 1938. In 1960, the National Park Service took on the administration of the survey data gathered under this legislation, and the National Historic Landmark program began to take more formal shape. When the National Register of Historic Places was established in 1966, the National Historic Landmark program was encompassed within it, and rules and procedures for inclusion and designation were formalized. Because listings (either on
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