St. Mary's College of Maryland Preservation Master Plan

St. Mary’s College of MarylandPreservation Master PlanHistoric St. Mary’s City February 2008Page 1-14Preservation TreatmentsThere are four historic preservation treatment approaches,defined in the Standards, which are widely accepted inthe field of historic preservation today – Preservation,Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction (Weeksand Grimmer 1995:2).• Preservation treatments require the retention ofthe greatest amount of historic fabric.• Rehabilitationtreatments acknowledge the need toalter or add to a property to meet current needs, whilestill maintaining the historic character. Rehabilitationassumes that the property is deteriorated andtherefore provides more latitude with respect toretention and repair of historic features.• Restoration focuses on the retention of materialsfrom the most significant period in a property’shistory, while allowing the removal of materials fromother periods.• Reconstruction provides limited opportunitiesto re-create a non-surviving structure, landscape,building, or object with new materials that replicatethe original, historic materials.Definitions for each of the preservation treatments havebeen included below for reference.PreservationPreservation is defined as the act or process of applyingmeasures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity,and materials of an historic property. Work, includingpreliminary measures to protect and stabilize the property,generally focuses upon the ongoing maintenance and repairof historic materials and features rather than an extensivereplacement and new construction. New exterior additionsare not within the scope of this treatment; however, thelimited and sensitive upgrading of mechanical, electrical, andplumbing systems and other code-required work to makeproperties functional is appropriate within a preservationproject.Preservation stresses the protection, maintenance, andrepair of historic fabric and features, and should be thebaseline treatment for all historic resources under theoperation of the College, the Church, and the City.