Missouri State Historic Preservation Office

Missouri State Historic Preservation Office
Name	Missouri State Historic Preservation Office
Formation	1966
Headquarters	Jefferson City, Missouri
Parent organization	Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Chief1 name	(Director)
Website	(official website)

Missouri State Historic Preservation Office is the state agency charged with identifying, evaluating, and protecting historic and archaeological resources in Missouri and coordinating with federal programs such as the National Register of Historic Places, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, and the Secretary of the Interior (United States). The office works with local governments like the St. Louis County government and Jackson County, Missouri officials, federal agencies including the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and nongovernmental organizations such as the Missouri Historical Society and the Preservation Action (United States). It oversees compliance with statutes including the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and interacts with programs such as the Certified Local Government (United States) program and the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives (United States).

History

The office traces origins to the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the establishment of state-level offices modeled after early initiatives in Virginia and New York (state), with formative relationships with the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Library of Congress. During the 1970s and 1980s it expanded through partnerships with entities like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and responded to regional challenges involving sites such as the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail corridor and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. In later decades it engaged with preservation movements represented by the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record and worked on cases connected to the St. Louis Riverfront and the Kansas City Power and Light Building redevelopment.

Organization and Governance

The office operates within the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and coordinates policy with the Missouri State Legislature, the Governor of Missouri, and advisory bodies including the Missouri State Historic Preservation Review Board and municipal partners such as the City of St. Louis and the City of Kansas City, Missouri. It liaises with federal entities like the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and professional associations including the Society of American Archivists, the American Institute of Architects, and the American Planning Association. Staffing includes preservation planners, architectural historians, and archaeologists who collaborate with academic institutions like the University of Missouri, the Washington University in St. Louis, and Missouri State University.

Programs and Services

The office administers programs linked to the National Register of Historic Places, the Historic Preservation Tax Incentives (United States), and the Certified Local Government (United States) program while providing services such as survey coordination with the Historic American Buildings Survey, archaeological permitting in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management and collaboration on heritage tourism initiatives with the Missouri Division of Tourism. Educational outreach includes workshops held with the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation and training coordinated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Council on Public History. It supports conservation techniques endorsed by the Secretary of the Interior (United States) standards and partners with entities like the Missouri State Historic Preservation Review Board and the Missouri Preservation organization.

National Register and Survey Efforts

The office nominates properties to the National Register of Historic Places including districts in St. Louis, Kansas City, Missouri, and rural counties along the Missouri River, manages statewide survey inventories in coordination with the Historic American Landscapes Survey, and documents sites using standards from the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record. It evaluates properties associated with figures like Harry S. Truman, Mark Twain, and sites tied to events such as the California Gold Rush migration routes and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and works to document landscapes like the Ozarks and transportation resources such as the Wabash Railroad corridor.

Grants, Funding, and Tax Incentives

The office administers federal grant programs tied to the National Park Service and the Historic Preservation Fund (United States), oversees state-level grant allocations from the Missouri State Legislature, and facilitates federal tax incentives like the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program for rehabilitation projects involving partners such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation and private developers responsible for restoring landmarks like the Union Station (St. Louis) and the Power and Light Building (Kansas City, Missouri). It coordinates funding reviews with the Internal Revenue Service (United States) standards and state agencies including the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

Preservation Planning and Technical Assistance

The office provides technical guidance on treatment standards promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior (United States), offers preservation planning assistance to municipalities including Springfield, Missouri and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and supports local historic district ordinances modeled after precedents in Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. It furnishes conservation advice for resources ranging from Civil War battlefields to Historic districts of St. Louis and offers archaeological expertise for prehistoric sites related to the Mississippian culture and historic industrial sites like the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad facilities.

Notable Projects and Case Studies

Significant projects include facilitation of National Register nominations for properties such as the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site and the Walter Scott, Jr.-era restorations, coordination on adaptive reuse of Union Station (St. Louis), technical oversight for rehabilitation of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial area including sites associated with Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, and surveys documenting vernacular resources across the Bootheel (Missouri). Case studies highlight collaborations with Historic Kansas City on downtown revitalization, partnership with the Missouri Department of Transportation on context-sensitive solutions for historic bridges, and joint initiatives with the National Park Service on riverfront preservation along the Missouri River.

Category:Historic preservation in Missouri Category:State historic preservation offices of the United States