Features
Read the Status Fields on a US Roadside Building Survey
How to read the status and review fields of a US roadside building survey sheet: SHPO form, contributing status, Section 106 and the standards behind ratings.
What to take away
- Read the sheet in orderidentification, description, condition, then code and safety notes. The status and review entries sit in the condition block.
- Contributing means the resource adds to the significance of a National Register of Historic Places district, which is judged against criteria A through D.
- Section 106 applies when a federal agency funds, permits or licenses a project, and it can require a survey before demolition or a new sign.
- A survey sheet does not stand in for HABS/HAER documentation, the deeper record kept at the Library of Congress.
- Vocabulary travels poorly. Words like contributing and intact are defined by each state historic preservation office.
Find the issuer before you read the status
Most roadside surveys begin on a state historic preservation office (SHPO) inventory form. California uses the DPR 523 series, and other states use their own numbered forms. The header identifies the resource: street address, parcel number, owner at the time of survey, and survey date.
The SHPO keeps the statewide inventory of surveyed buildings. Its staff also assess whether a roadside building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and whether it counts as contributing or non-contributing to a district. Record the form number first.
For a building you have not seen, a first-visit survey checklist shows how to record a site from public view.
Read the status line
A condition block rates each element from excellent to poor and notes whether the building contributes to a listed district. The status entry beside it uses terms such as contributing, non-contributing, eligible or unknown, and each term carries a limit.
| Status entry | What it tells you | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Contributing | The resource adds to the significance of a district | That any planned work has been reviewed |
| Non-contributing | The SHPO counts it outside that contribution | How sound the building is |
| Eligible for listing | The SHPO assessment finds it eligible for the register | That it is already listed |
| Unknown or not inspected | The field was not completed | That the feature is absent |
The register criteria behind a district are A for events, B for people, C for design and construction, and D for information potential.
Flag any field marked unknown or not inspected. An empty status is a question for the SHPO, not an answer. A building that contributes to a district may also be the one a tax credit project is built around, so the entry deserves a careful copy.
Know what triggers Section 106 and HABS/HAER
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act applies when a federal agency funds, permits or licenses a project. The review takes place when a federal or federally-assisted project has the potential to affect historic properties.
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation sets the process in 36 CFR Part 800. The review can require a survey before demolition or a new sign, so a sheet may be one step in a longer process. Note on the sheet whether a review is already under way.
HABS/HAER documentation, the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record kept at the Library of Congress, is a separate and much deeper standard. A survey sheet does not stand in for it.
Read the review fields in order
- Write down the SHPO form number and the survey date.
- Read the status entrylisted, eligible, contributing, non-contributing or unknown.
- Check whether a Section 106 review is already under way.
- Record condition ratings element by element. A sound roof with a failed canopy is two separate problems.
- Transcribe the code notes verbatim. Local amendments decide feasibility, not the national model text.
Signs get their own line. Note the tube count, transformer location, and whether the cabinet is porcelain enamel or painted steel. A field list for neon signs shows what else to photograph.
Check the standard behind a condition rating
A condition rating means little without the standard behind it. Preservation Brief 17, Architectural Character: Identifying the Visual Aspects of Historic Buildings, is the National Park Service guide to this kind of reading. Read each rating against it before you rely on it.
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, which apply to historic tax credit projects, treat these finishes as part of the resource, so cleaning and patching come before replacement.
Example: one California motel court sheet
A typical sheet for a 1961 L-shaped motel court in California reads like this. The description block lists a low slope roof, stucco walls, a steel canopy over the office, and a porcelain enamel sign panel.
The condition block rates the sign fair, with chipping at the fixing points and rust staining on the pole. That rating says the panel is repairable rather than gone.
A short code block comes last. It lists exits, fire separation and suppression status. Egress width, sprinkler thresholds and accessibility rules in a US sheet reflect the International Building Code or the International Existing Building Code, NFPA 101, and the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, plus local amendments.
NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, sets requirements for existing buildings that can force upgrades during rehabilitation, so read that block before pricing work, and check the edition and amendments your state adopted. Readers comparing homes abroad will find that Canadian and imported styles change the reading, since code notes do not transfer.
Common questions
Who sets the contributing status?
The SHPO's inventory carries it. The sheet only records that answer, so a surveyor's own opinion of the building does not set the status.
What does an empty status entry mean?
Nothing yet. Flag it and ask the SHPO, because a blank is a gap in the record, not a finding.
Can a survey sheet replace HABS/HAER documentation?
No. HABS/HAER is the Historic American Buildings Survey and Historic American Engineering Record, kept at the Library of Congress, and it records far more than a sheet.
Should I photograph the building before or after reading the sheet?
After. The sheet tells you which elements carry the significance, so your photographs follow the survey's own logic.
