The Historic Preservation Officer and staff work to:

• Encourage the preservation, rehabilitation, or restoration of historic buildings and sites;
• Promote and highlight the importance of reinvestment in our historic assets;
• Provide technical assistance and guidance on local historic building projects;
• Document and maintain an inventory of buildings and sites that have been determined eligible or listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Indiana State Register, or designated by the Evansville Historic Preservation Commission (a certified local government entity);
• Develop and manage Section 106 review submissions for federally-funded or permitted municipal projects;
• Direct the development of nominations to the National Register of Historic Places;
• Serve as review authority for Certificates of Appropriateness;
• Serves as staff and administrator (Historic Preservation Officer) to the Evansville Historic Preservation Commission; and
• Serve as preservation liaisons and stewards to local, regional, state, and national agencies and departments.

Needing to work on your historic property?
View our Historic Preservation District Map

Work to be performed within the city’s two local historic districts shall adhere to the established District Guidelines and Procedures. Via these guidelines, proposed work is reviewed to insure compatibility and appropriateness regarding style, form, proportion, texture, and material as they relate to the historic buildings and neighborhoods.

Depending on the type of work, a review can take place via one of the following three review options:

• Staff Letter Documenting No Certificate Necessary;
• Staff Level Certificate of Appropriateness (COA); or
• Commission Level Certificate of Appropriateness (COA).

For further information and to download applications for COA, visit the Certificate of Appropriateness webpage.

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FOR CHANGES, ALTERATIONS, AND MODIFICATIONS TO BUILDINGS OR PROPERTIES WITHIN EVANSVILLE’S HISTORIC DISTRICTS

Work to buildings or properties within the city’s two historic districts, the Riverside Preservation Area or the Lincolnshire Historic District, require review of the intended project scope. 

In the Riverside Preservation Area, review of work SHALL OCCUR for:

• the demolition of any building,
• the moving of any building,
• conspicuous change in the exterior appearance of historic buildings by additions, reconstruction, alteration, or maintenance involving exterior color change,
• any new construction of a principal building or accessory building or structure subject to view from a public way,
• change in walls and fences or the construction of walls and fences along public way, and
• conspicuous change in the exterior appearance of non-historic buildings subject to view from a public way by additions, reconstruction, alteration, or maintenance involving exterior color change.

In the Lincolnshire Historic District, review of work SHALL OCCUR for: 

• the demolition of any building,
• the moving of any building, and
• any new construction of a principal building or accessory building or structure subject to view from a public way. 

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FOR CHANGES AND ALTERATIONS TO BUILDINGS OR PROPERTIES LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER AND THAT HAVE NO LOCAL DESIGNATION

Alternations to buildings listed on the National Register are strongly encouraged to follow the Secretary of the Interior’s (SOI) Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.  For questions relating to work on such structures, please feel free to contact our department and guidance can be provided to assure that historical integrity of the building is maintained.

For further information and guidance on appropriate treatment measures can be found in the SOI Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

ONLINE RESOURCES THAT CAN HELP WITH RESEARCHING YOUR PROJECT, DEVELOPING AN APPROPRIATE SCOPE, AND FOR SEEKING POTENTIAL INCENTIVES 

National Register of Historic Places 

Determination of Eligibility - Indiana DNR. Historic Preservation & Archaeology

Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) 

Indiana Buildings, Bridges, and Cemeteries Map

SOI Standards for Preservation

SOI Standards for Rehabilitation

SOI Standards for Restoration

SOI Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties and Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstruction 

Illustrated Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings

Technical Preservation Services including Preservation Briefs

Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes

A Citizen's Guide To Section 106 Review

Federal Preservation Tax Credits

Indiana DNR Preservation Grants, Tax Credits, Loans and Other Financial Assistance

Willard Library

Historic Evansville

Indiana Landmarks

Preservation Alliance of Evansville