Historic Preservation in Juneau
To download the This Place Matters logo, click on the image above.
May is Preservation Month and Juneau is ready to celebrate!
Everyone has places that are important to them. Places they care about. Places that matter. This Place Matters is a national campaign that encourages people to celebrate the places that are meaningful to them and to their communities, and Preservation Month is the perfect time for you to share those Juneau places with others.
While there, take a photo holding the This Place Matters logo. Email that photo and a brief description of why it matters to you to allison.eddins@juneau.org and we will share your special place with the rest of Juneau.
NEWS AS OF MAY 2021
Juneau has a newly adopted Historic and Cultural Preservation Plan! The development of the Plan was made possible through a Federal Historic Preservation Fund grant administered by the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology. The Plan is meant to guide efforts to preserve and protect the valuable historic and cultural resources in the Juneau community. The Plan establishes goals and actions that the community has determined to be important and will guide CBJ’s preservation activities for the next 20 years.
You are read JUNEAU’S HISTORIC AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION PLAN here.
For questions contact Allison Eddins at the Juneau Community Development Department, 586-0753 ext. 4131 or allison.eddins@juneau.org.
Other Information of Interest
Historic Surveys
Search Tools
In 2015, the Community Development Department, Parks and Recreation Department and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, completed the Evergreen Cemetery Mapping and Brochure Project. For more information, check out the Brochure and the Evergreen Cemetery database below.
- Evergreen Cemetery
The Historic Sites & Structures Inventory was developed as a joint effort between the City & Borough of Juneau Community Development Department and Juneau-Douglas City Museum to provide students, researchers, citizens, and visitors of the community with a one-stop-shop for historic, cultural, and building-related information.
- Historic Sites & Structures
Historic Preservation Frequently Asked Questions
There are many benefits to owning a property listed on the National Register of Historic Places or owning a property that is within a neighborhood that is listed on the National Register. Juneau has two neighborhood listed – Downtown Historic District and Chicken Ridge. In addition to enjoying the historical and architectural character of your building or neighborhood, you may be eligible for federal tax credits, to assist you with restoration of rehabilitation projects. In addition to the federal tax credits, historic property owners are also eligible for planning and development grants through the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. There is a formal nomination process that must be approved by the U.S. National Park Service before a property or neighborhood can be listed. Visit the National Park Service website for more information.
The National Register nomination process usually starts with the State Historic Preservation Office. Contact SHPO or check their webpage for National Register information, research materials, and necessary forms to begin the nomination process. If your property is on federal or tribal land, contact the Federal Preservation Office or the Tribal Office.
To be considered eligible, a property must meet the National Register Criteria for Evaluation. This involves examining the property’s age, significance, and integrity.
Age and Integrity: Is the property old enough to be considered historic (generally at least 50 years old) and does it still look much the way it did in the past?
Significance: Is the property associated with events, activities, or developments that were important in the past? With the lives of people who were important in the past? With significant architectural history, landscape history, or engineering achievements? Does it have the potential to yield information through archeological investigation about our past?
The exterior facades of properties located within the Downtown Historic District must comply with the Downtown Historic District Design Standards and Guidelines.
Preserving the integrity of the Downtown Historic District is a high priority for the community because it saves a key part of Juneau’s heritage, enhances quality of life and also supports economic development. For this reason, the design guidelines are provided as a means of protecting historic resources and promoting compatible new construction within the historic context.
For questions concerning the design guidelines contact Allison Eddins at allison.eddins@juneau.org or 586-0753 ext. 4131.
The review process begins when the applicant submits design drawings to the Community Development Department. A Preservation Planner will conduct an initial review of the drawings with the applicant at the time they are submitted. Once a full application is received, the plans will be reviewed at the next Historic Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) meeting. These are public meetings and take place the first Wednesday of every month. If the next meeting is more than a week away, a Design Review Subcommittee meeting may be held to review the plans. Plans will be reviewed for compliance with the Downtown Historic District Design Standards and Guidelines. In general HRAC will review plans in order to determine the following:
- The proposed work preserves, enhances, or restores, and does not damage or destroy the exterior architectural features of the subject property within a historic district;
- The proposed work does not adversely affect the special character or special historic, architectural, or aesthetic interest or value of the property and its site, or the historic district;
- The architectural style, arrangement, texture, color, arrangement of color, and materials used for existing and proposed structures are compatible with the character of the existing property and its site or the historic district.
Within the borough there are nine state and locally recognized historic neighborhoods – Casey Shattuck (The Flats), Chicken Ridge, Douglas Townsite, Downtown Historic District, Indian Village, Juneau Townsite, Starr Hill, Telephone Hill, and the Tidelands.
Juneau has two nationally recognized neighborhoods – Downtown Historic District and Chicken Ridge. These neighborhoods are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
