Putting Our Community on the National Register

Last November Joey Lampi graciously gave a slide presentation to the community about the process of putting Goodman-designed neighborhoods in Montgomery County, Maryland, on the National Register of Historic Places. Tauxemont-our neighboring community and an earlier Davenport development-has been busy working on their nomination for some time. Holmes Run Acres, a modern tract housing community off Gallows Road built by the Luria Brothers with architects Donald Lethbridge and Nicholas Satterlee, is beginning the National Register nomination process. Slowly around the country other examples of communities built in the Modern style are being appreciated and listed. Hollin Hills ranks as one of the most important examples of this style in the U.S.

As co-chairs of a CAHH-appointed committee to research the process of listing Hollin Hills on the National Register, we will discuss process, logistics, volunteer opportunities, budget implications, timeline, and other subjects over the next few months so that we canreport back to the CAHH Board. With hundreds of houses to survey, a comprehensive nomination form to produce, and state and national reviews and approvals involved, this is a large project to undertake. We expect it will be several years before we have the honor of becoming a National Register-listed Historic District.

A fact sheet on Historic District designation produced by the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR) describes how being on the National Register of Historic Places:

• Increases public awareness of a community's historic resources and encourages preservation
• Mitigates the negative impact of government-funded projects
Does not restrict the private property owner using private funds in any way
• Provides financial benefits, mainly in the form of tax incentives.

If you'd like to find out more right away, go to the VDHR site: www.dhr.virginia.gov. From the Programs and Services link on the site, you can go to National and State Historic Registers and from this page link to the National Park Services' web site on the National Register of Historic Places. From the FAQs link you can read about National and State Register Programs and Tax Credits. You also can view the properties listed in Alexandria, including Gadsby's Tavern, the Alexandria Historic District, and the Rosemont and Parkfairfax Historic Districts. In Fairfax County, the list includes the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Gunston Hall, Huntley, and Mount Vernon.

The committee will begin to meet soon. It includes co-chairs Jere Gibber and Pam Koger-Jesup, John Burns, Judy England-Joseph, Robert Fina, Bob Kinzer, Tom Kerns and Scott Wilson. We expect there will be many volunteer opportunities as this project progresses; let us know if you are interested. We will contact volunteers in a few months to discuss where your help might best be used.

Look for more Bulletin articles about the nomination process! We will post articles on www.hollinhills.org along with links to pertinent web sites. If you have questions or do not have access to the websites listed and would like to receive information, please let us know. We are looking forward to working with the community to make the possibility of being on the National Register of Historic Places a reality. Contact us via email.