Historic Preservation

When it comes to cultural resources management, proven expertise is key. We’re pleased to share the recent addition of three qualified professionals in California to help you navigate regulatory obligations, design a project in a historic district, or mitigate impacts to a historic resource. Debi Howell-Ardila, Garret Root, and Dan Herrick bring decades of experience in historic preservation, preservation planning, architectural history, and history support. All three meet and exceed the Secretary of Interior's professional qualification standards for architectural history and history. Their experience and expertise complement our broader cultural resources team across California and the west.

Emily Dickinson's home, built in the early 1800s, is preserved and open to the public as part of the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. Interested in building a historic replica of a backyard barn, the museum needed to know its exact location so as not to run utility lines through the original foundation or unintentionally destroy any artifacts during an upcoming maintenance renovation.

“We dig a lot of holes, so it’s fun when we actually dig some things up,” said Chris Donta, Project Manager and Cultural Resources team lead.

SWCA's recent historic preservation work on a sanctuary renovation in Houston, TX was key to the church's win of a Good Brick Award. Good Brick Awards have been awarded by Preservation Houston since 1979 to recognize outstanding historic preservation projects in Houston.

The St. Paul’s United Methodist Church contracted SWCA's services for the restoration of their historic 1930 sanctuary using historic preservation tax credits. As part of the Texas Historic Preservation Tax Credit program, non-profits can earn 25% of their qualified rehabilitation expenses in the form of a tax credit. SWCA’s work on this project helped the church earn $2.3 million in tax credits to apply to their construction loan. 

Even if you’re not familiar with San Francisquito Canyon watershed, you may have heard of the St. Francis Dam disaster of 1928, one of the largest engineering failures in U.S. history. Today, the site serves as an informal memorial for the lives lost in the dam disaster, and visitors come regularly to pay their respects. Remnants of the dam have been left behind in San Francisquito Canyon Creek, which provides sensitive cultural and historical context to visitors. However, those remnants are also contributing to an aquatic organism passage (AOP) barrier. 

In the 1970s, lapels were wide, fabrics were synthetic, and architectural features like oddly shaped windows and concrete panels suggested that George Jetson designed buildings from behind his atomic-powered drafting table.

In 1966, shortly before this rocket ride from traditional to “far out” in architectural design, President Lyndon Johnson signed the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). A little more than 50 years old now, the NHPA has cultivated an equal share of supporters and detractors.