National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark
NPS Photo · Public domain · source
Name	National Historic Landmark
Location	United States
Established	1960s
Governing body	National Park Service

National Historic Landmark. National Historic Landmarks recognize outstanding architectural achievements, scientific sites, and historical places across the United States of America and its territories; they are identified for their exceptional value in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the nation. Designated through processes involving the National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior, and advisory bodies such as the National Register of Historic Places program, landmarks range from private residences to industrial complexes, battlefields, and sites of invention. Prominent landmarks include properties associated with figures like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and sites tied to events such as the American Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the Women's suffrage movement.

Overview

The program highlights properties with national significance, including residences of leaders like Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Eleanor Roosevelt; scientific sites connected to Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Oppenheimer, and Rachel Carson; and cultural locations tied to Langston Hughes, Duke Ellington, Maya Angelou, and Mark Twain. Landmarks encompass Independence Hall, Gettysburg Battlefield, Fort Sumter, Alcatraz Island, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Pearl Harbor National Memorial, Cape Canaveral, and the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Many are closely associated with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the National Park Service. They are integral to narratives involving the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Civil Rights Movement, the Labor movement, the Industrial Revolution, and the Space Race.

Criteria and Designation Process

Designation relies on criteria that evaluate national significance, integrity, and ability to convey an important theme in the nation's history. Nominations are prepared by historians, preservationists, and organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic American Buildings Survey, and state historic preservation offices such as the California Office of Historic Preservation and the New York State Historic Preservation Office. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Historic Landmarks Program within the National Park Service review nominations before recommendations go to the Secretary of the Interior for final designation. Presidential-era sites, such as those associated with James Madison, James Monroe, Ulysses S. Grant, and Woodrow Wilson, often require documentary evidence from archives like the National Archives and Records Administration and records in the Library of Congress.

Types and Examples of Landmarks

Landmarks include residential sites like Monticello, Mount Vernon, The Hermitage (Nashville), and Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site; battlefields such as Gettysburg National Military Park, Antietam National Battlefield, and Cowpens National Battlefield; scientific and technological sites like Edison National Historical Park, Wright Brothers National Memorial, Jet Propulsion Laboratory facilities, and Los Alamos National Laboratory locales associated with Manhattan Project history. Cultural and social landmarks cover places connected to Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. Industrial and transportation sites include the Hoover Dam, Erie Canal, B&O Railroad Museum, and historic ports like Charleston Harbor. Educational and institutional landmarks feature Harvard Yard, Yale University Old Campus, Princeton University, Smith College, and medical research sites tied to Jonas Salk and Louis Pasteur-era influences.

Administration and Preservation

Administration involves the National Park Service, state historic preservation offices, local governments, and nonprofit organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic New England, Preservation Virginia, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Preservation employs standards from the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and uses documentation from the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record. Funding mechanisms include grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, state historic tax credit programs, and private philanthropy from entities like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Partnerships often involve museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New-York Historical Society, and regional historical societies.

Legal Protections and Implications

Designation as a landmark does not automatically prohibit private alteration or demolition but triggers review under federal laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and consultation requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Section 106 review process administered by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Landmarks on federal lands gain added safeguards through the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, and protections accorded by agencies like the Department of Defense when relevant. Property owners may access incentives such as federal historic preservation tax incentives administered by the Internal Revenue Service and grants from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund, while easements held by organizations like Preservation Virginia or the National Trust for Historic Preservation can provide legal leverage to protect sites.

Controversies and Criticism

Critiques address selection bias, representation, and the politicization of designations, with debates involving scholars and organizations such as Brianna Theobald-style activists, academic historians at institutions like Harvard University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, and advocacy groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and local preservation coalitions. Contentious designations have arisen around sites linked to Confederate figures, colonial-era settlements like Jamestown, industrial sites with environmental legacies such as Love Canal, and places associated with contested memory like Alcatraz Island. Critics point to resource constraints faced by the National Park Service, disparities highlighted by the Civil Rights Movement scholars, and conflicts between private property rights upheld by courts such as the Supreme Court of the United States and preservation objectives shaped by laws like the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Category:Historic preservation in the United States