Historic Districts and Then Some

St. Louis is a city rich with history. The city proper was generally completely built out by 1950, making most of it eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the best places to read about the city's many landmarks and historic districts can be found at the website for the City's Cultural Resources office.

However, even though most of the city qualifies for historic district status, the majority of it is not listed on the National Register. Why not? There are a number of reasons. First, it requires a proactive effort to list buildings or districts on the National Register. Second, it costs money. And third, it requires community support.

Some neighborhoods oppose historic district status because they are concerned about adding red tape and increasing rehab costs necessary to comply with historic district standards. This issue can be mitigated depending on how you establish your historic district as either a "local" or "national" historic district.

Usually, since historic district status offers significant financial resources that encourage historic rehab, historic district nominations are carried out as part of a neighborhood revitalization strategy. However, some neighborhoods actually oppose historic district status out of a concern that being listed on the National Register will restrict the use of their property or limit their rehab alternatives. This is not the case.

The only time federal or state rehabilitation codes are enforced within a National Register Historic District is if you plan to use state or federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, or federal funds in your project. If your construction activities are privately financed, say like building a new garage or installing new windows, there are no historic design standards. This is different in the case of "local historic districts", such as Lafayette Square and Soulard, where local historic codes do govern the design specifications of rehabilitation and new construction.

So the question is, if you lived in a city neighborhood that was not listed on the National Register, say in a place like St. Louis Hills or the O'Fallon neighborhoods, would you support having your neighborhood listed on the National Register?