Architecture/Historic Homes

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Expert: - 7/11/2007


Question
Richard,
Do you have a definition of what constitutes a historic house?    I keep running into Public Act 99 .... etc. but no real criteria for deciding if a home should be evaluated as historic.  Please help.

Answer
Hi Mary Ann - thanks for your question.

A home is "historic" only if an organization believes it is and makes it publicly known.  There's no "standard" by which homes are automatically historic.

A local historical society can call a home historic, but unless it's protected by local regulations there's no law affecting it.  Many cities have historic districts which designate areas or homes as "historic", thereby bringing them under the umbrella of local regulations.  It varies widely from city to city.

The National Park Service has a Register of Historic Places, and anyone can nominate a building for it.  The NPS has it's own criteria for listing a property which is on their website at www.nps.gov.

But even a HR listing doesn't protect a property, except in terms of eligibility for grants and such.

Basically, a home isn't "historic" just because it's old; it could be historic because it's a good example of an architectural style, or because someone well-known lived there.  There's no rhyme or reason.

Historic is in the eye of the beholder!

Hope this helps!

Richard Taylor, AIA
www.rtastudio.com
www.rtaplans.com  

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Richard Taylor, AIA

Expertise

Ask me about all aspects of house, remodeling. , and room addition design and construction. Ask me about historic homes, renovation, and restoration. Ask me about materials and techniques, and about how you can get the best value for your design and construction dollar. Ask me how you can make your home a very special place. I can't, however, answer specific structural engineering questions in this forum - that's something you'll need on-site observation for.

Experience

I own a full-service residential architectural firm, and have been designing custom homes, remodelings, and room additions across the country since 1983. Check us out at Richard Taylor Architects and RTA Plans. I have written and been published extensively on the subject of residential architecture.

Organizations
American Institute of Architects, City of Dublin Architectural Review Board, Vice Chair of City of Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission, American Planning Association, Board Member Historic Dublin Business Association, Past Editor of SPLASH (a software forum), Past Editor of Open Directory Project, Assistant Scoutmaster, Boy Scouts of America

Publications
Business First of Columbus, Suburban New Publications, About.com, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Columbus Dispatch Residential Architect Custom Home Architect Remodeling Architect

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture) Miami University 1983
For more about home design, check out my blog at Sense Of Place and join the conversation on our Facebook Page.

Awards and Honors
2010 Dublin Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year

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