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America in the 1960s faced many challenges to its basic value systems as change affected every aspect of American life. Cities were abandoned for sprawling suburbs, and a sense of rootlessness became pervasive.
It was in this climate that in 1966, a Special Committee on Historic Preservation published With Heritage So Rich, a collection of essays that defined the state of historic preservation in the nation. By studying private preservation efforts, European landmark legislation and U.S. government policy to date, the committee sought to define a direction and create a plan to secure the future conservation of America's historic places. In recognizing the need for an official public policy, the report noted that Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Public Roads (which administered the Federal Highway program), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, were frequently in conflict with the goals of historic preservation.
An excerpt from the report's "Conclusions and Findings" reads,
If the preservation movement is to be successful, it must go beyond saving bricks and mortar. It must go beyond saving occasional historic homes and opening museums. It must be more than a cult of antiquarians. It must do more than revere a few precious national shrines. It must attempt to give a sense of orientation to our society, using structures and objects of the past to establish values of time and place.
The report's recommendations, along with the Historic Sites Act of 1935, served as precursors to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA). The Act charged the National Park Service with undertaking research, conducting surveys, acquiring property, restoring buildings, erecting markers and developing educational programs about the national heritage reflected in its historic resources.
Under the 1966 NHPA, the Secretary of the Interior was charged with maintaining a "…National Register of sites, buildings, structures and objects significant in American history, architecture, engineering, and culture." Today, the National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nation's historic places worthy of preservation.
What makes a Property Eligible for Listing in the National Register?
When the National Register was created in 1966, the intent was to recognize properties where sufficient time had passed to insure an adequate historical perspective in their evaluation. Only properties that have achieved significance 50 or more years ago qualify for listing, unless they possess exceptional significance. However, a property has to have more than the pedigree of age. It is also measured against criteria that determine areas of significance, and the level to which it physically retains its historic character.
A property may be eligible because of its association with significant events or a pattern of events. For example, the Olustee Battlefield near Lake City, is the site of the only major Civil War battle fought in Florida, and the Hyde Park Historic District represents the development of 1920s suburban Tampa. A property may also be significant for its association with important persons, such as the mid-1880 Thomas Edison winter estate in Fort Myers. A property that reflects the evolution of architectural design, form, construction methods, or work of a master designer or builder may be architecturally significant. For example, The Olympia Theater (Gusman Center for the Performing Arts) in Miami is a 1920s masterpiece of atmospheric theater design by nationally recognized architect John Eberson. An exception to the 50-year qualification was made when Lakeland's Florida Southern College, constructed in the 1950s, was listed in the National Register in June of 1975. It was considered exceptionally significant because it is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's last designs before his death, and expresses Wright's unique character of design. A property may be determined significant if it has yielded or may yield important information. This criterion is most often applied to archaeological sites. In Pensacola Bay, the ca. 1559 Emanuel Point Shipwreck, a galleon of the Tristan de Luna fleet, is significant as the earliest known wreck in Florida waters.
While the most familiar National Register properties are historic buildings or collections of historic buildings, identified as historic districts, the Register is an all-inclusive record that acknowledges the nation's pre-history as well as more contemporary events. The archaeological site, Windover, near Melbourne, is an extraordinary example of a human burial pattern, about seven thousand years old. At Windover, the remains are so well preserved that DNA could be extracted from brain material and may provide evidence to explain ancient migration patterns.
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