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Welcome! Preservapedia is a free-content encyclopedia and knowledge base. Unlike other online encyclopedias, Preservapedia focuses specifically on technical material related to cultural resource management and its allied fields. Questions, comments, ideas? Please contact us at admin@preservapedia.org or check out the About page. We need your help We are currently looking for collaborators to both help with the general development of the site as well as generate content. Whether you have technical expertise in preservation, web development, or even if you're just interested, please contact us at admin@preservapedia.org, we'd love to hear from you!

Featured article Monel or Monel metal is an alloy made of nickel (roughly 70%), copper (25 to 29%), and a small percentage of manganese, silicone, carbon, and iron. This mixture was popular from the early to mid 1900s and was used in several architectural applications. Monel is stronger than steel, resistant to corrosion, and readily fabricated. (Read more...) Featured treatment Check back later for the featured treatment

Featured case study Built in 1936, the Lamar Barn is like thousands of other log structures constructed in the rustic style between the late teens and World War II. The two-story barn is made of Lodgepole Pine logs, daubed with mortar on the out-side, chinked with wood on the inside, and set on a stone and concrete foundation. Typical of this type of building, the intersecting log wall crowns extend 12" to 28" from the corners of the building. After about sixty years, decay had taken its toll. More than half of the extending crowns were so rotten that it was possible to pull large chunks of the heartwood out of the exposed ends. In the summer of 1986, the National Park Service repaired and selectively replaced the log crowns using epoxy and fiberglass reinforcing in a project costing $39,706. (Read more...) Featured legal case In 1968, the Penn Central Transportation Company applied to the New York Landmarks Preservation Commission for a “certificate of appropriateness” in order to construct a 50-story office building over Grand Central Terminal. The Commission denied the application on grounds that the proposed office building would overwhelm and otherwise interfere with the historic and aesthetic integrity of the landmark-designated terminal building. The plaintiffs filed suit against the Commission alleging that its application of New York City Landmark Preservation Law had effected a taking of property without just compensation and arbitrarily deprived the owners of their property without due process. (Read more...)

Articles wanted To get the ball moving, we're looking for knowledgeable folks to start the following articles: Comprehensive master plan Conservation Area Consolidant Central Business District Easement Faux finish Greenway Smart Growth Heritage Areas and Corridors Historic District Historic Landmark Designation Conservation District National Housing Act Infill Land conservation Land use Main street National Heritage Corridor Neighborhood New Urbanism Ordinance Placemaking Revolving fund Rural preservation Scagliola Secretary of Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties Secretary of Interior's Standards and Guidelines for Preservation Planning Sprawl Incentives Historic resource survey Historic resource inventory Tax Increment Financing Transect Transfer of Development Rights Transportation Brownfield Viewshed Watershed Zoning Overlay zoning Incentive zoning Zoning variance First time using a wiki? We've created a tutorial to help you get started.