Historic Preservation Education Library

Historic Preservation Resources

Preserving Boise’s historic heritage requires cooperation from homeowners. The city is committed to helping assist and educate community members about historic districts and how to properly maintain and modify properties in each. Below, you'll find the resources to help you understand what is and isn't permitted in our historic districts.

Value of Historic Preservation

Key Definitions from Code

• Historic Preservation - The research, protection, restoration, and rehabilitation of buildings, sites, structures, objects, or districts significant in the history, architecture, archeology, or culture of the state, its communities, or the nation.
• Preservation - The act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property. Work, including preliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property, generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repair of historic materials and features rather than expensive replacement and new construction. New exterior additions are not within the scope of this treatment; however, the limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a preservation project.
• Restoration - The act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. The limited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, and other code-required work to make properties functional is appropriate within a restoration project.
• Rehabilitation - The act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which that convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.
• Historic Landmark - A district, site, building, structure, or object that possesses exceptional significance in history, architecture, engineering, archeology, or culture at the national, state or local level and has been designated as an historic landmark through the public hearing process. Examples include US Assay Office, Adelmann, Union Block, St. John's Cathedral
• Historic Easement - Any easement, restriction, covenant, or condition running with the land designed and designated to preserve, maintain, and enhance all or part of the existing state of places of historical, architectural, archeological, educational, or cultural significance. Examples include Odd Fellows, Carnegie Library, Idanha.
• National Register - The National Register of Historical Places, a list established by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended) and codified in 36CFR60 (as amended) of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts having local, state or national historical, architectural, or cultural significance and considered worthy of preservation.
• National Register Criteria - The established criteria for evaluating the eligibility of properties for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. For further information on the criteria refer to the National Park Service Website, National Register of Historic Places.