Preserving Old Places

by John Patterson, Superintendent of Historic Sites, Illinois Department of Conservation

Six of Illinois' nine remaining covered bridges, like this one over Little St. Mary River near Chester, are on the National Register.

As citizen interest in preserving significant old places in Illinois grows, many park districts may find themselves being asked to assist in historic preservation activities. There are several tools available to them.

Last year the Illinois Legislature passed a comprehensive Preservation Act establishing an "Illinois Register of Historic Places" similar to the National Park Service's registry. The Act also set up strict regulations for preserving properties registered as Illinois Historic Places and prohibited public funds administered by state agencies from being used in any manner harmful to a registered historic site. In addition, the legislation gave statutory standing to a 15-member Historic Sites Advisory Council that had been established by a Department of Conservation Administrative Order six years earlier.

In 1970 the Department began taking major steps toward providing a means for individuals and government to work together to try and preserve the physical remains of the past. That year, Illinois began its current systematic preservation program by launching an exhaustive county-by-county and city-by-city inventory of the state's historical, architectural, and archeological resources.

The Davis Mansion in Bloomington typifies the historic and architecturally important structures saved by preservationists in recent years.

All Illinois towns with populations of more than 500 were surveyed for important architectural "finds." Many of the state's river valleys were examined for archeological sites, and researchers fanned out across each county searching for historically significant places. With approximately 70 percent of the survey effort now completed some 100,000 sites of significance have been identified.

When the effort began in 1970, Illinois was represented by fewer than 50 sites on the National Park Service's "National Register of Historic Places." Since then, 30 to 50 sites have been added each year. There are now about 250 Illinois sites listed.

Impetus for Illinois' reawakened interest in preservation of its cultural heritage came with passage of the National Preservation Act of 1966. The Act established the National Register, provided a measure of regulatory protection for sites listed on it, and authorized some funding on a matching reimbursement basis for rehabilitational, preservation and development of acquisition of significant places. It also authorized grants for planning and for discovery surveys such as the Department's nearly-completed historic sites inventory.

In addition, it provided for the appointment of an Historic Preservation Officer in each state. The

Illinois Parks and Recreation 4 July/August, 1977

View eastward along Williams St. in Decatur shows portion of Decatur Historical District, one of 23 such Illinois Districts on the "National Register of Historic Places." Some 250 "Places" in the state, districts as well as single sites, are listed on the "Register."

Director of the Department of Conservation is Illinois's State Preservation Officer (SHPO).

The state and federal "Registers" complement rather than duplicate each other. Together they comprise a preservation package unequalled elsewhere in the U.S. for protection of historically significant structures and lands.

Both Registers prohibit the use of public funds- federal money in the case of National Register sites, and any public funds administered by state agencies for places on the Illinois listing-for any project which would destroy, alter or otherwise adversely affect a listed site, until the proposed work has been approved by the State Historic Preservation Officer after review for negative economic or physical impacts. Both listings require preliminary evaluation of potential follow-up review by the Historic Sites Advisory Council.

Both were established as planning tools for governmental agencies, to identify important sites in advance so that protection would be considered when plans for publicly-funded projects are being drafted.

Differences in the two listings, however, are the core of their effectiveness as a protective package for each deals with some aspects not covered by the other.

Monk's Mound, in Cahokia Mounds State Park, is one of a number of important Illinois archaeological sites on the "National Register of Historic Places." Of approximately 250 Illinois "places"—buildings, Districts, bridges, ruins or land areas—on the National Register, 21 are DOC-owned properties.

There are a variety of economic incentives for preservation of National Register properties, such as federal grants, tax breaks, depreciation allowances, and special low-interest Federal Housing Administration home improvement loans. Public funds are not available for Illinois Register sites.

However, most Illinois Register sites will qualify for the National Register, and when added to it, they will become eligible for the same federal assistance. Moreover the high quality of Illinois Register entries is expected to attract private preservation funding.

A site on the National Register receives some protection if the threat to it is a project financed with federal money or is undertaken by a federally- licensed agency. But there is no protection if the offending project is privately financed.

Illinois Register sites, though, can be protected from privately-funded projects as well as publicly-financed projects (if they are administered by state agencies). A project threatening "Critical Historic Features" of an Illinois Register place may be halted for up to 210 days by the State Historical Preservation Officer. During this delay, an alternative to destruction of these critical features can be sought by private organizations and/or local goverment units.

Groups or government units who wish to nominate a site for either of the two registers should contact the Division of Historic Sites at the Illinois Department of Conservation.

Highly ornate interior, as well as an architecturally significant exterior, earned National Register listing for the Rookery Building in Chicago.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 5 July/August, 1977