Historic Preservation Glossary: This link provides a quick glossary of common historic preservation terms.
Historic Preservation Acronyms: Familiarize yourself with common historic preservation abbreviations such as "CLG", "SHPO", "HABS/HAER," and "NHL."
Technical Assistance for Your Historic Property
Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation: These Standards are THE guide for preserving your historic property. Established by the National Park Service, if you own a historic property, adhering to these standards not only preserves your property's historic character, but also assures that your eligibility for funding opportunities such as tax credits. Eligibility for many tax credits and grants requires a project to conform to the Standards.Please contact County staff for more information.
Preservation Briefs: Historic property maintenance may pose unique rehabilitation scenarios for you; however, chances are that your repair issue may have an easy solution. Check out the preservation briefs for detailed "how-to" information that will enhance your rehabilitation efforts.
Landmarks IL Online Guide for Historic Preservation Specialists: (Please note that this database was compiled by Landmarks IL and that listing on Will County's website is not an endorsement.)
Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record (HABS/HAER): This database may include photos as well as measured drawings of historic resources in your community. In the event you are rehabilitating your property or simply have a general interest in your community's history, check this website out for context purposes.
Energy Efficiency Tips:
Historic buildings can be energy efficient. Per square foot, historic commercial properties rank among the best in terms of energy consumption. However, there is always room to improve a building’s energy performance.
Weatherizing or otherwise improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings should be undertaken carefully to preserve a building’s historic character. Because energy retrofitting is continuously evolving, products or solutions that are popular today may fall out of favor in the future. So it is important to select products and treatments that are reversible and do not require major structural or material changes.
Federal Government
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 - This Act formally established the United State's historic preservation policy for protecting its historic and culturally significant resources. Through this Act, State Historic Preservation Offices, Certified Local Government programs, Section 106, Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Rehabilitation, and other historic preservation policies and programs were created to assist communities across the nation in their historic preservation endeavors.
Preserve America - Will County was designated a Preserve America Community in Spring 2008.