Why is Preservation Important?

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 Historic preservation is an effort to  save places that matter for the benefit of current and future  generations. Today, Historic Preservation is also an important economic  development tool and strategy that builds sustainable, livable  communities. Historic Preservation also serves as a proven catalyst for  heritage tourism and small business development in rural and urban  communities. 

 Today, most preservationists start with a  50-year cut-off to determine the ‘historic’ eligibility of a particular  resource. Thus, something built before 1966 could technically qualify  as historic. “Historic” also includes other measures of criteria that  were established by the National Register of Historic Places (created in  1966) and guide the work of most preservation efforts and projects and  include: 

The National Register broadly defines eligibility in four categories:
· Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or
· Associated with the lives of significant persons in or past; or
· Embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of  construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess  high artistic values, or that represent a significant and  distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction;  or
· Have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.
 

Using these categories, preservationists  across the country are able to focus their work on compelling and  important places – places worth preserving. These categories are also  used for property owners attempting to list their property on the  Connecticut State Register of Historic Places and the National Register  of Historic Places. 

Listing on the Connecticut State Register  of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places does  not preclude changes to a building or its demolition, but it does  encourage preservation. In Connecticut approximately 32,000 such  resources in more than 140 towns are listed on the National Register. In  Greenwich there are 30 properties listed including houses, churches,  bridges, mills, municipal buildings, a lighthouse, railroad stations and  a parkway. In addition to individual properties, there are six historic  districts and each contains many properties.

 Historic Preservation, as a discipline and movement in the United  States, is a relatively young endeavor. It was not until the mid-19th  century that efforts commenced to ‘save’ or ‘preserve’ important homes,  public buildings and later landscapes. George Washington’s Mount Vernon  and America’s Civil War battlefields are now fondly remembered as some  of the nation’s first forays into legitimate preservation – setting the  tone for generations to come.

Today, nearly 150 years after the first American preservation project  began, much has changed and oddly much remains exactly the same. From day one – preservation in the United States has been a decidedly  grassroots effort. While government agencies have taken on an important  role in most aspects of preservation – nearly every major preservation  campaign has first started with a group of concerned citizens sounding  the alarm, organizing and then identifying ways to save places that  matter.

In 2006, a similar group of concerned Greenwich citizens gathered to  establish the Thomas Lyon House Committee – known today as Greenwich  Preservation Trust. Their initial goal was to save the Thomas Lyon House  from demolition but soon thereafter expanded their mission to the  preservation of all of Greenwich’s unique building history.

A decade later, that effort continues.

Greenwich Preservation Trust is a community-based non-profit. But we also reach individuals from far outside of Greenwich. Volunteers, historians, clubs, schools, and civic organizations of all kinds are welcome to join us! Click on the "Get Involved" link above, or feel free to contact us with your ideas and suggestions.

Financial support is critical to our mission. From time to time, Greenwich Preservation Trust will hold fund-raising events to tackle specific projects. But there is an ongoing need for financial support the entire year. 

1) The Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) administers  programs and services specific to Connecticut including the National  Register of Historic Places programs, as well as, but not limited to,  tax incentives, easements, grants, technical assistance, Section 106  review, and education programs. Click here: https://portal.ct.gov/DECD/Services/Historic-Preservation

2)  The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic  Properties are common sense principles in non-technical language. They  were developed to help protect our nation’s irreplaceable cultural  resources by promoting consistent preservation practices.  Click here: https://www.nps.gov/tps/standards.htm/standards.htm 

3) Greenwich Historical Society.  The curators,  educators and docents have come together to bring the best of Greenwich  history – our stories, our landmarks, archives and collections –  online  for all to peruse and enjoy.  For educators, parents, and all those  curious about Greenwich and our rich history, we welcome to you enjoy.   Click here: https://greenwichhistory.org/

4) National Register of Historic Places  is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of  preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of  1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places  is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and  private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic  and archeological resources. Click here: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/index.htm

5) The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation  is a non-profit organization based in  Hamden. Their mission is to preserve the character and ensure the  vitality of Connecticut’s historically significant places. Their website includes a helpful "Restoration Services Directory" for Architects, Realtors, Builders, and Homeowners. Click here: https://www.cttrust.org 

Sure you can! Greenwich provides a method to create a Historic Overlay. Read more here: https://www.greenwichct.gov/503/Historic-District-Commission