Moravian Preservation Master Plan.indb - Society for College and ...

Moravian College • Preservation Master Plan
and with the National Register of Historic Places.
A successful listing on the National Register will
not only honor the Moravian College North Main
Street Campus as a significant historic resource, but
will also provide a layer of protection from future
government undertakings that may impact it.
The neighborhood surrounding the North Main
Street Campus contains a variety of historic
buildings, many of which belong to Moravian
College. In its current condition, the neighborhood
possesses a level of historical integrity that may
make it eligible for the National Register. While
the establishment and growth of the Moravian
College campus was an important factor in its
development, the neighborhood’s overall historic
significance lies within the larger context of
Bethlehem’s industrial-age development. As
such, it would be appropriate to consider the
neighborhood as a potential historic district within
the city, but it should not be included as a part of
a Moravian College historic district. JMA believes
that any impetus for historic designation of the
neighborhood should come from the city or local
residents and property owners, and not from the
College. Moravian College is welcome to support
a future designation if such circumstances arise
and designation is deemed to be in the College’s
best interest in terms of overall stewardship and
campus preservation. However, no action towards
neighborhood designation is recommended at the
present time.
4.5 Preservation Treatments
and the Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards
The philosophy behind the recommendations
in the Preservation Master Plan is based upon a
set of federal guidelines entitled The Secretary of
the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic
Properties, commonly called the Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards. The Standards (36 CFR [Code
of Federal Regulations] Part 68) were established
by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
to provide consistent, national standards and
guidelines for the treatment of historic resources.
Because of their wisdom, flexibility, and usefulness,
The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards are widely
used throughout the field of historic preservation to
aid property owners, designers, and preservation
professionals in making good decisions affecting
their historic buildings and landscapes. They are
intended to promote responsible preservation
practices and help protect the nation’s irreplaceable
historic resources. The Standards can be applied to
virtually all types of properties, whether they are
buildings, landscapes, bridges, roadways, statuary,
or archeological remains.
The Standards address four specific types of
treatments: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration,
and Reconstruction. Of the four, Preservation
standards require retention of the greatest amount of
historic fabric, features, and materials. Rehabilitation
standards acknowledge the need to alter or add to
a property to meet continuing or new uses while
retaining historic character. Restoration standards
allow for an accurate depiction of the property’s
appearance at a particular time in its history.
Reconstruction standards establish a framework
for recreating vanished historic elements based on
documentation (Weeks and Grimmer 1995:2).
These four preservation treatments are used in
subsequent chapters of this preservation plan as the
basis for specific recommendations for identified
historic resources and features. They are more fully
described below:
Preservation
Preservation is defined as the 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 extensive 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.
1. A property will be used as it was historically, or
be given a new use that maximizes the retention
of distinctive materials, features, spaces, and
spatial relationships. Where a treatment and
use have not been identified, a property will
be protected and, if necessary, stabilized until
additional work may be undertaken.
2. The historic character of a property will be
retained and preserved. The replacement of intact
or repairable historic materials or alteration of
features, spaces, and spatial relationships that
characterize a property will be avoided.
John Milner Associates • October 2009 • Chapter 4 • Stewardship • 58