IRON MOUNTAIN - A team from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) has been in Iron Mountain this week conducting a historic preservation assessment as well as getting a nomination ready for the National Register of Historic Places.
On Wednesday night, a presentation was given at the Dickinson County Library on "Historic Preservation is Economic Development."
Kelly Larson, architect with the Michigan Main Street program from the SHPO, noted that the team has had a busy schedule in Iron Mountain, meeting with business owners and individuals.
"Iron Mountain was the first community to receive a $50,000 grant to have an assessment and nomination conducted. A National Register of Historic Places nomination opens the doors for so many opportunities for a community," she said.
The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's official list of cultural resources that are worthy of preservation and protection. Properties listed on the National Register include buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts that are historically or architecturally significant to local, state or national history.
Once the nomination has been written by SHPO team members, it goes to the National Park Service to be considered for status as an historic community.
The financial incentive for a property listed on the National Register includes being eligible for a 20 percent tax credit on qualified rehabilitation work.
In addition, the state historic team was looking at how the downtown area in Iron Mountain developed, which would probably take them outside of the current Downtown Development Authority boundaries.
In its presentation Wednesday, the SHPO team noted that the Main Street history for Iron Mountain looks at the density and diversity in architecture and people, physical characteristics of the downtown, as well as the anatomy of Main Street buildings. This anatomy includes the cornice on top of historic buildings, upper facade as well as the storefront. In researching local buildings, they look at the building styles, which are directly related to when the buildings were originally constructed.
In its relation to economic development, historic preservation recycles money back into the local economy and brings in tourism. The owners of historic properties have opportunities available to them in rehabilitation tax credits as well as increased property values, officials noted.
"Heritage tourists travel to experience the places, artifacts and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past," according to the presentation. Some examples in the local area are the Iron Mountain Iron Mine near Vulcan and the Menominee Range Historical Museum and Cornish Pump Engine Museum.
State officials also explained the evaluation criteria for the National Register. The designated place has to be associated with a historic event or trend that made a significant contribution to the development of a community; have an association with the lives of person significant in the past; the embodiment of a particular style, type or method of construction; or yielding information important to history.
In addition to Larson, the team also included Bob Christensen, National Register coordinator; Bryan Lijewski, architect; and Nan Taylor, field representative with the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.
The local application for this designation was completed by the Iron Mountain Main Street design committee with assistance from local historian William Cummings and Wesley Thompson, a preservation graduate and consultant from Eastern Michigan University.
Linda Lobeck's e-mail address is llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.