Historic New England receives numerous inquiries each week from people with a wide range
of questions about their old homes. Here are some of the questions that are
asked most often.
What color should I paint my historic house?
How can I date my house and its architectural features?
What is the National Register of Historic Places and how can I get my property listed on it?
How do I find reliable contractors to work on my historic property?
What funding sources are available for historic preservation?
Where can I find appropriate hardware and fixtures for my historic house?
What color should I paint my historic house?
Choosing paint colors based on the colors used when a house was constructed, and then applying the paint according to traditional practice, enhances the appearance of all historic houses.
There are several ways to determine what paint colors will work to highlight the architectural features and distinctive character of your historic house. Paint color analysis, which must be done by trained consultants, authenticates the exact paint colors used on your house over time. Paint color can also be selected using known historical precedents for the age and architectural style of your house.
Historic Homeowner members of Historic New England receive individualized paint color consultation based on historical principles. Visit www.historichomeowner.org for more information. Historic New England also sells a color card featuring historic paint colors and including information on period colors and paint suppliers. To orcer, call 617-227-3957, ext. 237.
How can I date my house and its architectural features?
Determining a likely date of construction for an old house usually requires both documentary and architectural research. Your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will have survey information documenting many historic properties; you should check with them to determine if your house has been inventoried as part of a comprehensive survey of historic resources in your community.
Documentary research that you can do yourself includes reviewing deed and probate information, tax records, and local histories. Your local library or historical society may also have other pertinent information, such as historic photographs or maps. Documentary research can be quite conclusive, but in some cases physical investigation will be necessary to supplement and/or corroborate the documentary evidence. The investigation of architectural fabric may require a more trained eye and some technical assistance from a preservation professional.
What is the National Register of Historic Places and how can I get my property listed on it?
The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. It is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. It includes buildings, structures, districts, sites and objects that have been determined to have national, state or local historic significance for their associations with historically important events, persons, or patterns.
The National Register is maintained by the National Park Service, but administered on the state level by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in each state. National Register listing offers limited protection from state and federally funded and/or permitted projects. While listing on the National Register does not limit a property owner’s rights, it may provide some tax and funding incentives for historic preservation. Before a property is deemed National Register eligible, the nomination must be evaluated at the state level. For more information, contact your SHPO or visit the National Park Service web site.
How do I find reliable contractors to work on my historic property?
Historic New England does not provide a list of contractors, painters, or preservation professionals; however, your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or statewide preservation organization may be able to provide a resource list.
Other sources of information on building practice for historic properties include The Old-House Journal and Traditional Building magazines. Trade shows or old house fairs, which a local or statewide preservation organization or historical society may sponsor in your area, also provide services and access to contractors and/or companies familiar with historic properties. Remember to always get three bids on any work proposed for your house, to obtain references from each bidder, and to check out the references you receive.
Historic Homeowner members of Historic New England receive design and technical assistance on proposed construction projects and questions related to the care and maintenance of historic houses. For information on this membership catagory, visit www.historichomeowner.org.
What funding sources are available for historic preservation?
Historic New England does not provide funding for historic preservation projects and there is limited funding available for privately-owned historic homes. However, a number of states now offer residential tax credit programs for historic preservation. Check with your State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or statewide preservation organization for more information on what may be available in your state.
Where can I find appropriate hardware and fixtures for my historic house?
Two good sources for hardware fixtures, as well as a host of other products
related to historic houses, are Old-House Journal and Traditional Building
magazines. Both of these periodicals should be available at your local book
store and/or library, and both maintain web sites. Historic Homeowner members of Historic New England receive access to additional sources of supplies and materials for historic houses. For more information visit www.historichomeowner.org.
Recommended Periodicals
Early American Life
P.O. Box 221230
Shaker Heights, OH 44122-0996
Subscriptions: (800)446-1696
www.ealonline.com
Old-House Interiors
P.O. Box 56006
Boulder, CO 80321
Subscriptions: (800) 462-0211
Back issues: (978) 283-3200
Old-House Journal
Two Main Street
Gloucester, MA 01930
Subscriptions: (800) 234-3797
Back issues: (800) 931-2931
www.oldhousejournal.com
Traditional Building Magazine
69A Seventh Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 636-0788
www.traditional-building.com
Local Contacts
State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) are mandated by the federal
government to identify and protect historic and cultural resources within
each state. Your SHPO can provide information about National Register listing and
application, Preservation Briefs and other federal publications, federal and state
preservation legislation, local survey efforts and preservation contacts and
consultants. Here are the New England SHPOs:
Historic Preservation and Museum Division
Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism
59 South Prospect Street
Hartford, CT 06106
(860) 566-3005
www.cultureandtourism.org/cct
Maine Historic Preservation Commission
55 Capitol Street, Station 65
Augusta, ME 04333
(207) 287-2132
www.state.me.us/mhpc
Massachusetts Historical Commission
220 Morrissey Boulevard
Dorchester, MA 02125
(617) 727-8470
www.state.ma.us/sec/mhc
New Hampshire Division of Historic Resources
P.O. Box 2043
Concord, NH 03302
(603) 271-3483
www.nh.gov/nhdhr
Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission
Old State House
150 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2678
www.rihphc.ri.us
Vermont Division for Historic Preservation
135 State Street, Drawer 33
Montpelier, VT 05633
(802) 828-3211
www.historicvermont.org
Statewide non-profit preservation organizations can assist individuals, communities and organizations with
advocacy, education and community revitalization, through the coordination and
sharing of information among small museums, groups or associations, local historic
commissions, and local historic district commissions. Larger cities in New England may also have local non-profit preservation organizations serving a similar function; check in the links section of your SHPO or statewide non-profit to see what organizations are present in your location. The statewide non-profits
in New England are:
Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation
940 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06517
(203) 562-6312
www.cttrust.org
Maine Preservation
P.O. Box 1198
Portland, ME 04104
(207) 775-3652
www.mainepreservation.com
PreservatiON Mass
45 School Street
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 723-3383
www.preservationmass.org
New Hampshire Preservation Alliance
264 North Main Street, P.O. Box 268
Concord, NH 03302
(603) 224-2281
www.nhpreservation.org
Preserve Rhode Island
957 North Main Street
Providence, RI 02904
(401) 272-5101
www.preserveri.org
Preservation Trust of Vermont
104 Church Street
Burlington, VT 05401
(802) 658-6647
www.ptvermont.org
Local preservation commissions are agents of local government and may identify,
evaluate and protect a community’s historic resources. Cooperative planning
efforts are often undertaken with other municipal departments or agencies
(planning, economic development, conservation commissions) as well as local
historical societies and other interested local groups. Call your municipal
town offices or SHPO to determine whether your town has a local preservation
commission or historic district.
