2024 May Preservation ePost | |
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May is Preservation Month!
May is Preservation Month, a chance to recognize and celebrate the work and mission of historic preservation and the many individuals, organizations, and communities engaged in efforts to preserve our collective California heritage! We invite you to learn more about historic preservation and the National Historic Preservation Act that helped to codify the identification, designation, and protection of historic resources.
The NHPA led to the establishment, among other things, of State Offices of Historic Preservation. California State Parks Director William Penn Mott, Jr., was appointed as California's first State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) in 1967. Since then, there has been a succession of dedicated SHPOs and Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) staff shepherding the care of our state's richly diverse historic, archaeological and cultural heritage. Learn more about the history and work of California's Office of Historic Preservation on our About the OHP and SHPO pages.
Visit our Preservation Month California! page for a list of some of the local preservation activities taking place this month around the state. Is your organization or community planning preservation events for May? Send us links to your events and we may feature them on our page!
Images are courtesy of California State Parks and the Office of Historic Preservation.
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Awards Deadline Extended
The deadline for the 2024 Governor's Historic Preservation Awards has been extended! The nomination deadline is now May 10, 2024.
This state-sponsored awards program recognizes community-centered efforts to preserve and celebrate our shared California heritage. Nominees can include, among others, resource restoration and preservation; civic efforts to preserve, interpret, and educate about community history; and companies and public agencies that have exceeded expectations and contractual obligations in preserving the heritage of California. Efforts to address the challenges of climate change will be considered as well. Individuals whose passion for preservation has made a difference and saved numerous cultural, historical, and archaeological treasures may also be nominated.
Do you know of an individual, group, organization, agency, or project that exemplifies the best in historic preservation? We welcome your nominations!
Image of Capitol courtesy of Andre M/Creative Commons.
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State Historic Tax Credit Update
The second 15-day public comment period on the proposed tax program regulations concluded on April 3, 2024. The OHP responded to the public comments as part of the completed rulemaking package and sent the submission to the Office of Administrative Law for approval. It is anticipated that with final approval in place, the tax credit program will publicly launch later this year. In the meantime, the OHP has made the rulemaking package available to the public for their information, as required, on our State Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit page. As additional updates on the program become available, we will post them to the tax page and in future issues of this monthly ePost. We look forward to California joining the nearly forty states nationwide offering this important tax incentive on behalf of preserving heritage!
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New California THPO
The Director of the National Park Service recently approved the Tule River Indian Tribe of California to assume Tribal Historic Preservation Officer/Office (THPO) duties on tribal lands. The THPO will assume for tribal lands and resources many of the responsibilities of a State Historic Preservation Officer, including review of Federal undertakings per Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Felix Christman will serve as the Tribe's THPO. Congratulations to the Tule River Indian Tribe on joining over fifty other California Tribes with THPO responsibilities!
Learn more about the Tribal Historic Preservation Officers Program and California THPOs.
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Grants for Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) is accepting applications for the current round of National Trust Preservation Funds (NTPF). Grants support preservation efforts at the local level, and range from $2,500 to $5,000. Dedicated funding is available for California in this current grant cycle!
Application Deadline: June 3, 2024.
T-Mobile Hometown Grants are accepting the next round of applications. The grants fund projects to preserve, rehabilitate, or construct spaces that help to foster community life and connections.
Application Deadline: June 30, 2024.
California Humanities Grant Programs (California Humanities) support a variety of efforts by nonprofits and public agencies to preserve and educate about California's richly diverse heritage.
Upcoming deadlines through November 2024 for a variety of grant programs.
Photo courtesy of Markus Winkler on UnSplash.
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The Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places has previously expressed appreciation for the variety and quality of nominations received from California. The stand-out nature of California properties was evident again recently when the National Register chose to highlight the Yoshiko Yamanouchi House, San Mateo, CA, in the January 2024 issue of the Register’s Best Practices Review. The Yamanouchi House was one of just three properties from across the country selected by the National Register as examples of places that convey the significance of their communities’ foundations, persistence, and continuation.
The perimeter of the Yamanouchi property, located at 1007 East 5th Avenue, is enclosed by a combination of wooden fences and a masonry sound wall. Included on the property is the Ranch Style house and its associated resources (1957), Japanese style hill-and-pond garden (1958), and the Katsura Building, Walkway, and Garden (1968), all of which create an ensemble of designed landscape and architectural features reflective of suburban residential design from the post-World II era and traditional Japanese style architecture and garden design.
The property is associated with the life of Yoshiko Yamanouchi, a member of the pioneer Issei generation who was a leader in the San Mateo Japanese American community. Mrs. Yamanouchi developed the resources on the East 5th Avenue property in the latter part of her life after she had retired from running her family’s successful laundry business and remained active in the civic life of the community. She hosted events at her property to strengthen ties between the Japanese American community and San Mateo. Yoshiko Yamanouchi’s life reflects the significance of the contributions of Japanese American women of the Issei generation to the development of San Mateo and the greater heritage of California.
The Yoshiko Yamanouchi House achieved National Register of Historic Places designation on December 26, 2023, in association with the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California, 1850-1970 Multiple Property Submission.
Photo courtesy of Denise Bradley.
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News, Education, and More | |
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NTHP Annual Conference and Scholarships
The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) is hosting their annual PastForward Conference in New Orleans, October 28-30, 2024. The conference offers an opportunity to share and learn about the latest news and trends in historic preservation.
In conjunction with the conference, the NTHP is offering Diversity Scholarships. The scholarships offer complimentary registration and a travel stipend to the conference, as well as the opportunity to participate in bi-monthly, virtual convenings, which will be held through September 2025. Applicants do not need to be a student to apply.
Application Deadline: May 31, 2024.
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Items posted in the ePost are presented as an informational courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement by the Office of Historic Preservation.
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News from California State Parks
Now through an online news feed, you can keep up on the latest news from California State Parks, our parent department. Subscribe Here.
(This will not affect your subscription to the OHP ePost)
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