Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

By Milford Wayne Donaldson FAIA, LEED AP
Chairman, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

July 20, 2019, marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the day Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Eagle on the moon. To commemorate the anniversary and preserve the unique history of that day, NASA has completed a restoration of the Apollo Mission Control Center (MCC) at Johnson Space Center (JSC) just outside Houston, Texas. On June 28, I will attend a ceremony at JSC to celebrate the completion of the project.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation announces its plans for the summer business meeting in Washington, D.C. Read the agendas

Members will meet July 9 in committees and July 10 for the business meeting. The Chairman's Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation will be presented, and members will hear from a variety of speakers discussing historic preservation issues.

In March 2019, the D.C. circuit court issued an opinion that clarified the meaning of the term “directly” in Section 110(f) of the National Historic Preservation Act as referring to the causality, and not the physicality, of the effect to historic properties. This means that if the effect comes from the undertaking at the same time and place with no intervening cause, it is considered “direct” regardless of its specific type (e.g., whether it is visual, physical, auditory, etc.). “Indirect” effects to historic properties are those caused by the undertaking that are later in time or farther removed in distance but are still reasonably foreseeable.

Interested applicants to the ACHP-Smithsonian Institution's fall cultural heritage fellowship regarding the music heritage of the District of Columbia have until June 23 at 11:59 p.m. to submit their applications. Please find information about the fellowship on the Smithsonian's website as well as contact information. 

The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places was announced on May 30, highlighting historic properties that the organization believes are at risk of destruction or irreparable damage. At least three of the places on this year’s list involve Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s attention in resolving preservation issues.