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Glossary of Selected
Index Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | U
Adaptive Use: The reuse of a building or structure, usually for a purpose different from the original. The term implies that certain structural or design changes have been made to the building in order for it to function in its new use. Examples might include a factory building now used for loft apartments, or a house now used as a funeral parlor.
Archaeology, Industrial: Archaeology or preservation involving landscapes, structures, and equipment of significance in the history of technology, engineering, and industry.
Architectural Design Old-New Relationship: Refers to the contrast between an older building or structure and its newer neighboring buildings or structures, or new additions to older buildings.
Architectural Details: The small details like moldings, carved woodwork, etc. that add character to a building.
Architectural Review Boards: These groups, usually locally appointed or elected, are charged with judging whether an owner's proposed changes to his or her property are acceptable under written or implied guidelines (see Design Criteria) for what is "appropriate" in the particular community or historic district.
Architecture, Earthen: Used to describe structures composed primarily of earth. This term applies to adobe structures, rammed-earth structures, sod houses, etc.
Architecture, Mimetic: Characterized by a cartoonish element or caricature, mimetic architecture imitates a character, animal, or object not usually used for buildings. Lucy, the large pink elephant-shaped building on the Jersey Shore, is an example of Mimetic Architecture, as is the Brown Derby.
Architecture, Religious: Used only when another more specific term is not available. For instance, it is used for missions, monasteries, convents, Hawaiian religious sites, but not to describe a mosque, church, or synagogue, since individual index terms exist for them.
Architecture, Residential: Used only when another more specific term is not available.
Archival Resources: Refers to collections of corporate or organizational records or manuscript or photograph collections. The term once implied paper records but increasingly can refer to electronically-produced records including CDs, audio or video tapes, or computer tapes or disks.
Artisans: Persons whose vocation consists of manufacture by hand of pottery, textiles, woodwork, or the like.
Audio-Visual Media: This term can be applied to both of the following: buildings, radio towers, etc. that deal with audio-visual media (i.e. an old television studio), or the use of audio- visual media in preservation practice or education.
Barrier-Free Design: Refers to arrangements for accommodating persons with visual, hearing, or physical impairment to mobility.
Buildings Construction: Can refer to the actual construction of a building or to a discussion of the materials of which it is constructed (sub-categories include masonry, steel-frame, wood).
Buildings History: Used only when a detailed and extensive history of a building is given.
Burial Grounds: Used for unmarked graves, such as burial grounds of Native Americans, paupers, slaves, freed slaves, etc.; for marked graves, see Cemeteries."
Ca.: see circa
Cast Iron: Refers to the use of cast iron (distinguished from other types of iron) as a building material, often in building facades but also as a structural material. See also Wrought Iron, Ironwork and Metalwork.
Cemeteries: Used to describe marked graves. For unmarked graves, see "Burial Grounds."
Central Business Districts: Commercial centers of cities or towns where shops and services are concentrated: "downtowns." See also "Main Street Programs."
Conservation and Restoration: Refers to efforts to rehabilitate, structurally and cosmetically, downtowns whose buildings have generally declined as commercial centers.
Certified Local Governments: Refers to a local government, certified or approved by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which has an appointed commission to oversee the survey and inventory of historic resources, to review areas for historically significant structures, and to develop and maintain community planning and education programs. Used only when the article uses this terminology.
Circa: Used only when the exact date is not known. If an article says, "Mark Twain's Hannibal treehouse, constructed around 1840," "ca. 1840" is used. But if an article says, "Charlotte Perkins Gilman's mansion built in the 1890s," "1890s" alone is used; no circa is necessary. The same goes for centuries.
Citizen Participation: Refers to volunteer or grass roots movements by people not professionally involved with preservation.
Clubs: Used to describe buildings associated with organizations such as social clubs, YMCA, Masons, "gentlemen's clubs"; the term is not used for the organization itself.
Coastal Zone Management: Refers to efforts to balance concerns of natural coastal environments with property development.
Color in Architecture: Used when color is an important feature of the architectural effect; it could refer to tile, plaster, color of window frames, etc. The term overlaps with paint not the application of paint, but the selection of color to achieve architectural design goals. The San Francisco Victorian "painted ladies" are an example of an appropriate use of this term.
Community Development: Refers to efforts to strengthen and develop communities within urban or suburban neighborhoods or towns. The term is related to Main Street Programs, but community development efforts need not focus on central business districts or even on economic aspects of ommunities. Efforts to reduce crime, increase pedestrian safety, educate citizens about racial or ethnic diversity, create or celebrate local identity, etc., could all be described by this term.
Conservation Technology: Equipment and methods used in conservation of artifacts,works of art, and/or natural resources. Please note in the US, we typically distinguish between conservation and preservation along these lines: conservation does not apply to buildings but to other cultural objects and natural resources. However, be aware that non-US publications may not hold to this linguistic distinction. See also entries for Preservation Techniques and Restoration Techniques.
Country Houses: A summer or vacation residence, usually of some size and magnificence. The concept is based on an English model, but examples can be found in the eastern and southern U.S. Small rustic lodges are usually not included under this term.
Cultural Landscape Preservation: Preservation of cultural landscapes, or areas "where the interaction between man and nature created a unique whole" or "places in nature that have acquired significant associations with human activities and human events . . . these landscapes seem to retain their natural forms and features, [but] they are transformed in the minds of those who associate historic events with them. These landscapes are no longer strictly a product of nature, valued for their inherent characteristics, but also become a product of the human mind" (US/ICOMOS Newsletter 11 [1992]; Carol J. Galbreath, qtd. in All about Old Buildings 155). Examples of cultural landscapes include the Oregon Trail, Shenandoah Valley farmland, terraced rice fields, or a landscape made famous by a work of art.
Cultural Resource Management: Administration or protection of a cultural resource, or "a building, structure, district, site, or object that is significant in . . . history, architecture, archaeology, or culture" (Bill Murtagh, Keeping Time 214).
Cultural Resource Surveys: Inventories of sites, buildings, structures, or objects deemed to have local, regional, national, or international cultural significance. The purpose of such surveys is to have a record of what is significant in order to protect such resources from development or encroachment or to document the current appearance or condition for the record. Often such surveys lead to the nomination of properties to historic registers. These were formerly referred to as Historic Sites Surveys.
Culture and Heritage: The term is used with a hyphen and brief description to designate a group with national borders, such as African American, German Mexican, Italian Canadian. Exceptions to the nationality descriptor include Hispanic, Latino, etc.; Gay, Lesbian, etc.; and Women.
Demolition by Neglect: Allowing a building to fall into such a state of disrepair that it becomes necessary or desirable to demolish it. Property owners have been accused of permitting demolition by neglect on purpose, in order to save rehabilitation costs.
Design Criteria: Standards of appropriateness or compatibility of building design within a community or historic district. Often in the form of a handbook, design criteria (also called design guidelines) usually contain drawings accompanying "do's and don't's" for the property owner. In some situations an Architectural Review Board or similar group has authority to administer the design criteria.
Destruction: Refers to deliberate demolition of a building or site. To be applied only when article covers 1) the subject of destruction or 2) a situation in which a building or site has already been destroyed.
Easement: Legal protection (recorded in a property deed) for distinguishing features of the interior or exterior of a property or in the space surrounding a property because such features are deemed important to be preserved. For example, a new property owner may be prevented from making changes or additions to a building, structure, or landscape by an easement in the property deed itself. These are sometimes specified as preservation easements or conservation easements.
Economic Aspects: In recent preservation publications, this term usually refers to concerns about shoppers' exodus to suburban malls and how to turn this around. It may also involve issues of "Conservation and Restoration," but strictly speaking does not have to.
Environmental Protection: Used for broad environmental initiatives or legislation, such as clean air and water programs. Can be distinguished from Landscape Protection in that its motivation is primarily scientific or ecological rather than primarily aesthetic or cultural. It need not apply to a specific visible area, nor to a rural area. Environmental protection may apply to nations as a whole, to localities, or to urban areas. It is a broader term than Natural Resources Conservation, though in an article, both terms may apply.
Estates: This term does not refer to the property of a dead person, nor to a housing estate or neighborhood. It is used, rather, for a permanent home, often with a family association, especially if the article uses the terminology. It can be distinguished from Country House in that it is a primary residence and Plantation in that it was not built for an agricultural administrative purpose, though some plantations may also be estates.
Foundations: Refers to building foundations, not to organizations caled "foundations."
Fund Raising: Refers to active Fund Raising efforts by a group, not other means of raising money, such as having bonds approved.
Grants: Usually refers to grant programs, rarely to an individual project being awarded a grant. Individual projects are usually only included when there is an extensive description of a building or site.
Heritage Areas: Used only when the article uses this terminology. As opposed to a park, historic district, or scenic byway, a heritage area possesses the following broadly-defined components: A "sense of place"; regional scope; natural or cultural resources that unify the region; varied land uses; (usually) private ownership; local, regional, state and/or national significance. This term is used only when the article covers 1) the subject of heritage areas or 2) officially designated heritage areas.
Historic Districts: Used only when referring to a neighborhood or region designated by national, state, or local officials as a historic district.
Historic Landmarks: Used only when referring to a site designated by national, state, or local officials as a historic landmark. Primarily used to refer to National Historic Landmarks.
Historic Preservation Biography: Refers to biographies of preservation professionals.
Historic Preservation Careers: Refers to discussions of career opportunities currently available in the preservation profession.
Historic Preservation Corporate Involvement: Used to describe occasions when corporations fund preservation of their own or other structures or facilities. If the action takes place in conjunction with government or civic groups, Public-Private Partnership is used as well.
Historic Preservation Feasibility Studies: Refers to studies which examine all facets of a proposed preservation effort to determine if the structure or site's significance is worth the efforts required to save it, as well as whether artisans, materials, funds, community support are sufficient for the project.
Historic Preservation Federal Programs: Refers to programs funded with federal money or run by a federal agency.
Historic Preservation Philosophy and Ethics: Refers to the underlying philosophy that provides the basis for any preservation plan; "why should it be done this way?"
Historic Preservation Planning: Refers to broad, master plans for preservation, not specific plans being made for preservation of any one building.
Historic Preservation State and Local Programs: Refers to preservation programs funded by state or local governmental money and/or operated by a state or local government agency.
Historic Preservation Study and Teaching: The catch-all term used to refer to any kind of preservation education programs, whether professional, for the general public, or for school kids, including heritage education.
Historic Registers: Refers to any local, state, national, or international list of significant sites, districts, buildings, or objects. Used when such a list is the focus of the article. Example: the National Register of Historic Places; the World Heritage List. Articles that simply state that a building (site, etc.) has been listed are not included unless the article provides substantial information about the building. Moreover, "HISTORIC REGISTERS" would not likely apply to such an article unless the focus of the article is on, for example, a long struggle to have the building listed in said register.
Historic Registers Criteria: Refers to the standards a site, district, building, or object must meet in order to be listed in a historic register.
Historic Sites: This term is reserved for use for historic sites related to famous or important events or persons (i.e. Independence Hall, Philadelphia; Monticello, etc.).
Historic Structure Reports: An HSR is an analysis of a building's structural condition, involving written and photographic or photogrammetric evidence. The purpose of an HSR is usually to provide a record of a building's condition before beginning restoration or renovation of the building. Used only when article uses this terminology.
Historic Transportation Corridor: An Historic Transportation Corridor is "a[n] historically significant route along which people and/or goods have moved, in which there is evidence that the natural environment has been modified by mankind." HTCs may be considered "linear landscapes" that "[combine] the natural and cultural environment." The general definition includes trails (including aboriginal travel routes), roads, waterways, and railways. [see Cameron, Christina. "The Challenges of Historic Corridors." CRM 16.11 (1993): 5-7, 60.] This term is usually only in applied when the geographic area in question is designated as an HTC in the article.
Homesteads: Used to describe structures on or land claimed by a settler or squatter, especially under the Homestead Act; not used for "urban homesteading."
Impact Studies: Studies done to determine the impact that a new plan would have on an area, such as a study to determine the effect building a new Target store would have on a historic downtown shopping district.
Infill: The use of vacant land and property within a built-up area for further construction or development, especially as part of a neighborhood preservation or limited growth program.
Ironwork: Usually refers to decorative ironwork on old buildings such as that seen in the French Quarter, New Orleans, La. See also Cast Iron and Metalwork.
Land Management: Generally refers to the decisions local governments make about land use, e.g. zoning and subdivision ordinances. Sometimes used to refer to the decisions a property owner makes about his or her individual property.
Land Trusts: Refers to privately-owned property that is ceded to governmental or public management for its preservation.
Landmarks Commissions: Used to describe state or local organizations with authority to determine eligibility of buildings and structures to be added to their respective landmark registers.
Landscape Protection: Refers to the whole range of techniques used to protect land from inappropriate development, including education, land use plans, zoning laws, and easements. It can be distinguished from Open Space Conservation, in that Landscape Protection is a narrower term, referring to the protection of open space that has been designed anything from a garden to a farm. It can be distinguished from Natural Resources Conservation in that it describes the aesthetic or cultural sense of a landscape rather than the potential economic value of the forests, water, topography, minerals, etc. contained in the landscape. Rural Preservation efforts may include Landscape Protection. Landscape Protection is usually used by landscape architects and historic preservationists; Open Space Conservation by planners and public officials.
Main Street Programs: Programs to revitalize central business districts of small cities and towns. Refers most commonly, but not exclusively, to efforts underwritten by the National Main Street Center of the National Trust. The term may also describe city neighborhood Main Street Programs, such as those in Boston, Mass.
Metalwork: Practical and decorative use and application of metals to enhance buildings, fences, grills, and so forth. Not necessarily Cast Iron or Ironwork see the entries above.
Mixed Use: As distinguished from a single use plan (as set out often in zoning regulations and laws), mixed use refers to a variety of authorized uses for buildings and structures in a particular area. This could appear as, for example, a property's being utilized in more than one way, such as a street level market and upstairs apartments.
Museums Collections: Distinguished from Museums Interpretive Programs in that it is limited to description of a particular collection or set of collections without special reference to the particular interpretive method at work in the presentation of the collections.
Museums Interpretive Programs: Attempts to provide a context for or explain the significance of artifacts, works of art, historic places, cultural sites, or historic events at museums, historic sites, and so forth. The term is not used to denote language translation at such sites.
National Trusts: National organizations chartered to provide leadership, education, and advocacy to save historic places. Please note: while the former summarizes the mission of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the U.S., the charges of other national trusts may vary.
Natural Resources Conservation: Generally refers to the protection of specific natural resources such as rivers, forests, prairies, wildlife, wetlands, flood plains, shorelines. The term generally does not refer to land that has been heavily impacted by people such as farmland, ball fields and golf courses, though Landscape Protection could include such land.
Open Space Conservation: Refers to the whole range of techniques used to protect land from inappropriate development, including education, land use plans, zoning laws, easements. It can be distinguished from Landscape Protection in that Landscape Protection is a narrower term, referring to the protection of open space that has been designed anything from a garden to a farm. Landscape Protection is usually used by landscape architects and historic preservationists; Open Space Conservation by planners and public officials.
Parks Interpretive Programs: Attempts to explain, provide a context for, or the significance of artifacts, structures, historic places, cultural sites, or historic events at parks. The term is not used to denote language translation at such sites.
Planned Communities: Refers to cities and towns built from the ground up on the basis of a carefully executed plan. A central example is Greenbelt, Md., a garden town built as a New Deal era project by the U.S. government. Other examples are Columbia, Md. and Reston, Va. Large-scale suburban developments are usually not included.
Preservation Techniques: Methods of maintaining the historical integrity of a building with limited alterations or additions; methods of stabilizing and preventing further decay. The term should be distinguished from Restoration Techniques, which denotes rebuilding in order to achieve authenticity, and Conservation Technology on the basis of the difference between preservation and conservation, which in the U.S. can be summed up thus: the former can refer to buildings, while the latter refers to other cultural objects and natural resources.
Public-Private Partnership: Joint ventures between community members and government or business or between corporations and government.
Restoration Techniques: Methods used in rebuilding buildings and structures with historically accurate materials to achieve historical authenticity in keeping with a particular time period or event. The term should be distinguished from Preservation Techniques on the basis of the difference in meaning between restoration and preservation, which is a matter of degree. While both seek to achieve historical accuracy, preservation does not imply rebuilding. Restoration Techniques should also be distinguished from Conservation Technology, a distinction having to do with the range of reference present in each term. While restoration can include buildings, in U.S. usage the term conservation cannot.
Revival: Used to describe later revivals of historical styles. If the building was designed after the original style period, "Revival" is added to the style name. For instance, if the article says "1945 Colonial house," ARCHITECTURE, COLONIAL REVIVAL is used.
Revolving Funds: Defined by Lynn Moriarity in the Landmark Yellow Pages as a "pool of capital created and reserved for a specific activity, such as historic preservation, with the restriction that the monies are returned to the fund to be reused for similar activities."
Seismic Retrofit: Refers to the shoring-up of buildings to enable them better to withstand earthquakes.
Street Furniture: Refers to objects such as street lights, benches, and so forth that are part of a streetscape.
Sympathetic Additions: Additions to structures which follow or complement the architectural style or scale of the original building.
Transfer of Development Rights: Explained by Frank B. Gilbert: "Landmarks are often located in the center of cities where zoning resolutions would permit much larger buildings should they be replaced. . . . In New York City the owner of a landmark may now transfer unused development rights from his lot to an adjacent site where a new building is to be constructed. This transaction, allowing the new building to be larger, enables the landmark owner to realize some of the present-day value of his land without destroying the historic building" (qtd. in All about Old Buildings 215).
Universities and Colleges: Can be used to refer to articles about historic buildings on university or college campuses, to university programs in historic preservation, or to a university or college's involvement in a local preservation issue or conflict.
Utopias and Communal Societies: Refers to tightly-knit communities that are bound in nature and structure by religious or social beliefs.
Wrought Iron: Used for wrought iron, as opposed to cast iron; usually a building or structural material.
