Education for our local partners, concerned citizens and grassroots preservationists is vitally important. Preservation Massachusetts offers local preservation education workshops that have been developed by our Historic Districts/Historic Commissions Committee. Addressing topics from basic preservation and planning tools to the National Register program, these workshops are designed to bring education and resources to communities across the state.
Workshops are typically held several times a year, in locations across the state. To receive schedule updates, please consider becoming a Preservation Massachusetts supporter.
Workshop Descriptions
Preservation 101: Preservation Planning In Your Region
Preservation 101 is a preservation planning workshop for a regional area. The workshop is intended to inform the attendees about the purposes and administration of local preservation planning tools. Local historic district and historical commission members, planners, historians, real estate professionals and interested public from surrounding communities are encouraged to attend.
The Historic District and Historic Commission Committee of Preservation Massachusetts introduces the basic concepts of preservation planning on a local level and introduces attendees to the array of organizations and agencies that make up the preservation constellation. There are many entities both large and small that can assist the local commissioner and his/her colleagues in maintaining a community’s sense of place and character. Tools that are available to the local historic preservation community, such as architectural surveys, listing on the National Register of Historic Places, demolition delay bylaws, and preservation restrictions, are discussed.
Preservation 201: MHC Historic Property Forms
The Historic District and Historic Commission Committee of Preservation Massachusetts has developed a training module in collaboration with the Massachusetts Historical Commission entitled Preservation 201: MHC Historic Property Forms .
The workshop is intended to inform attendees about how to complete MHC Historic Property Inventory Forms. Local historical commission and historic district members, planners, historians, members of municipal and nonprofit organizations, and the interested public from surrounding communities are encouraged to attend.
The community-wide survey is a preservation planning and research tool. Completing a comprehensive inventory represents a town’s historical development by being chronologically and geographically comprehensive, and reflecting a full range of historic resource types within a community. Preservation 201 aims to meet those goals and include topics such as organizing a survey project and identifying local survey priorities, developing historic contexts, use of architectural terms in drafting property descriptions, and completing historic property inventory forms, with a focus on Form B-Building.
Preservation 301: Overview of the National Register Program
Preservation Massachusetts developed Preservation 301 to provide an overview of the National Register of Historic Places program, the country’s primary means of recognizing and honoring places significant for their contributions to local, state, and national history. Learn how properties qualify for National Register listing, what it means to be listed on the National Register, the steps in the nomination process, and how to generate interest in National Register designation. This workshop was originally presented at the Statewide Preservation Conference in Boston and over 80 attendees from across the Commonwealth were very pleased with the information that was delivered in the workshop.
Preservation 301, Overview of the National Register Program has been developed by the Historic District/Historic Commission Committee of Preservation Massachusetts in collaboration with the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The workshop will discuss the NR program in terms of:
- What is the National Register of Historic Places?
- How do you develop a National Register Program for your community?
- What are the steps in listing properties in the National Register?
Collaborating Organizations
The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) is a state agency within the office of William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth. The mission of MHC is to identify, evaluate and protect the historic and archaeological resources of the Commonwealth. Among its responsibilities, the MHC oversees the National Register Program, preservation planning programs including survey and local government programs, federal and state review and compliance, and federal and state grant programs.
