Historic Resources Group

Historic Resources Group
Name	Historic Resources Group
Formation	1990s
Type	Cultural heritage consultancy
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Leader title	Principal

Historic Resources Group is a cultural heritage consulting firm that provides survey, documentation, and preservation planning for built and archaeological resources. The firm engages with federal agencies, state historic preservation offices, and private developers to produce compliance documents, nomination forms, and conservation strategies. Its work frequently intersects with regulatory frameworks and professional standards used in heritage practice across the United States.

History

The firm emerged in the 1990s during a period of expanded activity surrounding the National Historic Preservation Act and the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, aligning with practitioners working for the National Park Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and state historic preservation offices such as the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and the California Office of Historic Preservation. Early projects connected the firm with federal programs administered by the Federal Highway Administration, General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense, while collaborations reached organizations like the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress. Through work on historic district nominations, the firm engaged with local commissions such as the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and municipal planning departments in cities including Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Services and Projects

Services offered include architectural survey, historic context statements, National Register nominations, Section 106 compliance, and treatment plans consistent with guidelines from the Secretary of the Interior for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service National Register of Historic Places. The firm has prepared documentation for properties ranging from Colonial-era sites connected to the Jamestown Settlement and Colonial Williamsburg to 20th-century resources tied to the Works Progress Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities. Project types encompass battlefield assessments related to the Battle of Gettysburg, industrial heritage studies involving sites like former Bethlehem Steel complexes, and vernacular architecture surveys of regions such as the Mississippi Delta and the Appalachian Mountains.

Organizational Structure

The firm is organized with multidisciplinary teams that include architectural historians, archaeologists, preservation planners, and historians who have previously worked with institutions like the University of Virginia, the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and the University of Pennsylvania. Leadership often comprises professionals holding memberships in organizations such as the Society of Architectural Historians, the Register of Professional Archaeologists, and the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. Project managers coordinate with regulatory contacts at the State Historic Preservation Offices, consulting parties involved with the National Historic Landmarks Program, and stakeholders from nonprofit groups like the Open Space Institute and the Trust for Public Land.

Notable Publications and Reports

The firm produces National Register nominations and historic context publications that are used by agencies and preservation bodies including the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Reports have covered topics such as the preservation of Mid-Century Modern architecture, documentation of railroad heritage linked to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and assessments of cultural landscapes associated with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Erie Canal. Their publications have informed work by institutions like the Library of Congress, the Historic American Buildings Survey, the Historic American Engineering Record, and university presses at the University of California Press and the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Awards and Recognition

Projects have received recognition from preservation organizations including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Park Service Preservation Grants Program, the National Preservation Awards, and state-level awards presented by entities such as the California Preservation Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Individual staff have been honored by professional bodies like the Society of Architectural Historians and the Association for Preservation Technology International for contributions to documentation and conservation scholarship. Awarded projects have ranged from adaptive reuse of historic industrial complexes to stewardship plans for sites listed with the National Register of Historic Places and designated as National Historic Landmarks.

Partnerships and Collaborations

The firm collaborates with a wide range of partners including federal agencies such as the National Park Service, the Federal Highway Administration, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense; state agencies including the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; and nonprofit organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the World Monuments Fund, and the Preservation Society of Charleston. Academic partnerships include research ties with the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and university centers such as the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society (for digital preservation projects), while professional collaborations have involved firms and consultants associated with the American Institute of Architects and the Urban Land Institute.

Category:Historic preservation organizations in the United States