National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

APPENDIX 8
CHARACTER-DEFINING FEATURES CHART -
EXTERIOR ARCHITECTURE AND FURNISHED INTERIORS
A character-defining feature (CDF) is a "prominent or distinctive [visual] aspect, quality,
or characteristic of a historic property that contributes significantly to its physical character.
Structures, objects, vegetation, spatial relationships, views, furnishings, decorative details, and
materials may be such features." 1491 "If the various materials, features and spaces that give a
[property] its visual character are not recognized and preserved, then essential aspects of its
character may be damaged in the process of change." 1492 Identification of forms and detailing of
"materials and features that are important in defining the [property's] historic character and
which must be retained in order to preserve that character" should precede treatment
recommendations. 1493 "When an entire interior or exterior feature is missing, . . . it no longer
plays a role in physically defining the historic character of the [property] unless it can be
accurately recovered in form and detailing through the process of carefully documenting the
historical appearance." 1494
Applying Character-Defining Features to Historic Furnished Interiors
Using the Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties as a model,
character-defining features can be identified for historic furnished interiors. For the Vanderbilt
Mansion, due to the complexity and significance of the overall design as well as that of many
individual rooms, CDFs are identified for the interior as a whole and for individual rooms. In
each case, the following categories are used to organize the elements that make up the furnished
interior:
Architectural Materials, Features, and Finishes
The choice and design of the materials of the walls, floors, ceilings, windows, and stairways
contribute to the significance and historic character of interiors. Individual features to consider
include columns, cornices, baseboards, fireplaces and mantels, paneling, light fixtures and
hardware, wallpaper, plaster, paint, and finishes such as stenciling, marbling, and graining; as well
as other decorative materials that accent interior features and provide color, texture, and
patterning to walls, floors, and ceilings. These features emphasize the relationship between the
interiors and the exterior and cannot exist independently. They may be designed or built for a
specific interior, reused from other interiors or be available as mass-produced elements. They
1491
Cultural Resource Management Guideline (National Park Service, 1997), Release No. 5, Appendix A,
Glossary, 178.
1492
Lee H. Nelson, FAIA, "Architectural Character: Identifying the Visual Aspects of Historic Buildings as
an Aid to Preserving Their Character," Preservation Briefs, #17, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
the Interior, National Park Service, Preservation Assistance Division, 1982), 1.
1493
Kay D. Weeks and Anne E. Grimmer, The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of
Historic Properties, with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring and Reconstructing Historic
Buildings (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource
Stewardship and Partnerships, Heritage Preservation Services, 1995), 63.
1494
Weeks and Grimmer, 65.
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