The Lowdown on Landmarking History

For 20 years, the National Brewing Company’s mustachioed mascot has been the neon charm on Baltimore’s city skyline, calling to thirsty commuters traveling I-95 with its a sudsy siren song. But Natty Boh’s old-timey look is also a nostalgic nod to its nine-story perch that opened in 1885 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The historic brewing plant is one of over 1,300 treasures in Maryland—from covered bridges in Thurmont to University Park’s historic district—and thousands more nationwide safeguarded by their register designation, born 60 years ago this week with the signing of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Now a University of Maryland faculty member will help determine what sites in the state are selected for the recognition. Gov. Wes Moore last month appointed Professor Susan Kern, director of UMD’s Historic Preservation Program, to a four-year term on the Maryland Governor’s Consulting Committee on the National Register of Historic Places, which evaluates and forwards nominations for the register based on criteria determined by the U.S. Department of Interior.

Kern follows a long line of School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation faculty tapped for the committee, including Professor Donald Linebaugh and Distinguished University Professor Matthew Bell, who serves on the District of Columbia’s committee. Former Adjunct Professor Brent Leggs now serves as president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 

Beyond simply maintaining historic integrity of our urban and rural fabric, the NHRP is integral to telling the American story, said Kern, and preserving what matters to the people. 

“At the most basic level, it’s a tool to help people understand the meaning of places that mattered in their lives,” said Kern. “Whether the designation is a building or a historic event, it’s a brilliant device for connecting people with history.”  

So, aside from a commemorative metal plaque or highway marker, what are the rewards of being named to the register? Below, Kern delves into the details of this landmark legislation about … landmarks. 

The NRHP designation can come with substantial tax credits at the federal, state and local levels for income-producing properties, providing motivation for adaptive reuse, said Kern. (The National Brewing Company building is now residential and office space, for instance.) “Not only are you producing income, 45% of your taxes could be eliminated,” she said. “Plus, the building is there for everyone to know the history. It’s a win-win.”

Properties ripe for designation fall under four criteria: properties where a historic event took place, places associated with a historic person, architecturally significant structures, and places that offer information important to human history, like archeological sites. It’s a wide enough net, said Kern, to mark moments on the American timeline ranging from the 1962 TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, to a 40-foot fiberglass dinosaur in Utah, to the North Carolina ranch home of jazz singer Nina Simone and, to rails-to-trails projects like the Capital Crescent Trail near the UMD campus. (“They took an obsolete transportation infrastructure and turned it into something that served everybody,” said Kern.)

From the start, anything related to the Manhattan Project and the U.S. space program (including decommissioned space shuttles) were automatically considered historically significant, the only two categories that waive the age requirement. But sites that memorialize watershed events, like the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa., also move to the front of the line. “Yes, the space shuttle is a vehicle, but it’s also technically a national historic place, which is why it's such a big deal when Congress starts lobbying to move it from the Smithsonian to Houston.”

Nominating a place for the Register doesn’t require any special credentials (although the National Preservation Act requires those who review the nominations to hold an advanced degree), just the property owner’s permission. But community stakeholders, private contractors, even UMD graduate students have gone to bat for sites, completing the research and assessments required for nomination. In 2024, Emma Lucier-Keller MHP ’23 and Karen Yee MHP ’24 successfully stewarded two nominations for D.C. buildings related to Korean and Chinese American history.

The super-sized designation by the register is the historic district, which can encompass a main street, hamlet or an entire city. Historic district designations don’t come with specific aesthetic requirements but do open the floodgates for local regulations that maintain a place’s historic integrity, like signage, architecture and color palettes. The original Starbucks in Seattle, part of the historic Pike Place Market, has preserved its original signage (complete with a NSFW version of the mermaid logo) since opening in 1971. “Even if you’re the McDonalds, you have to adjust your look.”