Contributing property

According to the National Park Service, the first instance of law dealing with contributing properties in local historic districts was enacted in 1931 by the city of Charleston, South Carolina; it designated the "Old and Historic District." The ordinance declared that buildings in the district could not have changes made to architectural features that were visible from the street. By the mid-1930s, other U.S. cities followed Charleston's lead. An amendment to the Louisiana Constitution led to the 1937 creation of the Vieux Carre Commission, The same publication claimed that these two cities were the only cities with historic district zoning until Alexandria, Virginia adopted an ordinance in 1946. The United States Congress adopted legislation in 1950 that declared the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. a historic district and protected. By 1965, 51 American communities had adopted preservation ordinances. In 1976 the National Historic Preservation Act was passed by Congress. By 1998, more than 2,300 U.S. towns, cities and villages had enacted historic preservation ordinances. ==Definition==

in Newberry, Florida Contributing properties are defined through historic district or historic preservation zoning laws, usually at the local level. Zoning ordinances pertaining to historic districts are designed to maintain a district's historic character by controlling demolition and alteration to existing properties. In historic preservation law, a contributing property is any building, structure, object or site within the boundaries of the district that contributes to its historic associations, historic architectural qualities or archaeological qualities of a historic district. It can be any property, structure or object that adds to the historic integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, either local or federal, significant. Another key aspect of a contributing property is historic integrity. Significant alterations to a property can sever its physical connections with the past, lowering its historic integrity. Contributing properties are integral parts of the historic context and character of a historic district. A property listed as a contributing member of a historic district meets National Register criteria and qualifies for all benefits afforded a property or site listed individually on the National Register of Historic Places. Each property within a National Register historic district — contributing or non-contributing — is classified as one of four property types: building, object, structure, or site. ==Contributing versus non-contributing==

in Bloomington, Illinois is an example of a non-contributing property. The difference between contributing property and non-contributing property can at times be ambiguous. In particular, American historic districts nominated to the National Register of Historic Places before 1980 have few records of non-contributing structures. State Historic Preservation Offices conduct surveys to determine the historical character of structures in historic districts. Districts nominated to the National Register of Historic Places after 1980 usually list those structures considered non-contributing. For example, in the East Grove Street District in Bloomington, Illinois, contributing properties include the Queen Anne-style George H. Cox House (1886) and the Arts and Crafts-style H.W. Kelley House (1906), and non-contributing properties include the Italianate-style George Brand House (1886), whose original exterior has been covered with a sun room and asbestos siding, and a 1950s physician's office built in a style radically different from the surrounding neighborhood. == References ==