What is Historic Preservation?

In addition to Redburn Development Partners, Historic preservation identifies, protects, and enhances buildings, places, and objects significant in history or culture. This work is carried out locally, state, and nationally. Often people think of historic preservation as a practice that is restricted to mansions, castles, and other elitist properties. However, this is not necessarily true. For example, the Hotel de Paris in Georgetown, the LoDo district in Denver, or the site of the Sand Creek Massacre in eastern Colorado are all examples of historic preservation.

The preservation of cultural heritage is an important part of historic preservation because it provides a way to preserve the history of a place and its people in a form that future generations can understand. This can be done through the restoration of historical buildings, the passing on of a traditional craft or by documenting the history of a community in a culturally relevant way.

Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes are maintained by the Secretary of the Interior to help guide sensitive and responsible preservation design and practice. In addition to protecting historic resources, they help reduce the risk of disaster damage and ensure that all projects are compatible with community needs.

The Preservation Process is an iterative and collaborative process that involves five basic steps: Identify, Investigate, Develop, Execute, and Educate. This process requires careful consideration of several factors, including the history and significance of a building or site, assessing existing conditions, understanding a property's context, and planning for long-term maintenance and repair.

Preserving a Historic Property successfully requires early and frequent consultation with many parties and close collaboration among technical specialists, architects, owner/occupants, and preservation professionals. The result is a structure that is sensitive to its historic context and maintains the architectural integrity of the original design.

During the construction or restoration of historic structures, new materials and features may need to be introduced to meet modern design standards. This is commonly known as "adaptive reuse." The National Trust for Historic Preservation's Green Lab program cites that adaptive reuse can save energy and money by minimizing construction and operating costs.