Wondering how it historic preservation works? Well, through a process called designation, the United States federal government acknowledges structures and sites whose characteristics are considered historically significant and merit placement on the official list called the National Register of Historic places. Your state and city governments can also grant such recognition with their own registers or historic resource inventories.
Recently, Stamford established a Cultural Resources Inventory to record and protect its historic resources. To be deemed historically significant, it must encompass architectural uniqueness, as the last remaining representative of a particular style or aspect of history; for its association with historical figures or events that contributed to the collective history of a neighborhood, city, state or the country as a whole. Significance can also be accorded to groupings of buildings or homes, designating them into historic districts.
Designation requires documentation of this significance in the form of a scholarly “nomination” report. It states explicitly the particular ways the unique or common elements and time period of a building, structure or landscape are worthy of recognition.
Stronger protection comes down to states and cities
Federal designation on the National Register is largely an honorarium–it alone cannot prevent demolition or alteration. Actual levels of legal protection vary because state and local governments can and do add stronger protections against demolition or alteration for areas under their jurisdiction.
Buildings become eligible for designation when they reach 50 years of age, but it should be said that not all 50-year-old buildings are “historic” (worthy of designation as landmarks). Local governmental entities, however, can set shorter or longer wait times for designation. In New York City the minimum age is 30 years. The minimum age for Federal designation is 50 years. In most states and cities, the minimum age requirement is also 50 years–as is Connecticut’s
Read more about requirements for the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places