SITE EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

Summit Case Studies:

Client: DC West Architects
Location: Lyon County, Nevada

Client Need:
A historic way station and Pony Express stop, recently acquired by the Nevada Division of State Parks, is being restored for use as a visitors’ center. Funding through the Federal Highway Administration’s Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) is being sought, requiring compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended) and other federal regulations.

Agency Review:
Concurrence by the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office, and approvals from the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are required for this project.

Project Description:
In order to satisfy Section 106 requirements, project effect and eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places needed to be determined. This required assessing the restoration plans and construction specifications against the Secretary of the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings. By evaluating architectural style and other details, the Architectural Historian determined the age of the structure and its potential eligibility for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Documentary sources provided data to place the structure within its historical context and identified architectural elements that existed historically, in order to ensure that repairs and the replacement of historical elements were authentic.