Throughout the history of preservation in the United States, people have gathered formally and informally to establish organizations which disseminate information and promote responsible stewardship of historic built resources. The passing of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966 established new government entities whose primary goals and responsibilities involved the preservation of the historic built resources in the U.S. NHPA instituted the framework for partnerships among preservation organizations at the federal, state, and local levels, emphasizing that the responsibility to preserve built resources needed to be shouldered not only by the country as a whole, but by the states, cities, towns, and villages in which the resources are located. In addition to the government-run programs and entities, preservationists of various backgrounds have created neighborhood groups and organizations advocating specific causes related to preservation. It is through the efforts and partnerships developed among all of these organizations, public and private, large and small, federal, state, and local, that the goals of preservation in the U.S. are achieved and the message of the movement is spread through the country.
For a more detailed history of the development of these organizations, please read Preservation in the United States.
While the following list of organizations is not exhaustive, the information and assistance offered by these organizations are helpful tools for any preservation enthusiast.
Federal Government Resources
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. General Services Administration
- National Register of Historic Places
- National Register Information System
- Heritage Preservation Services, National Park Service: Technical Preservation Services for Historic Buildings
- National Park Service Preservation Briefs Series
- National Park Service Technical Notes Series
- National Park Service Tribal Preservation Program
Nationwide Organizations
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Association for Preservation Technology International
State Historic Preservation Offices and Other Local Preservation Groups
National Council for State Historic Preservation Officers
National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers
Connecticut
Illinois
Maryland
- Maryland Historical Trust
- Preservation Maryland
- Baltimore Heritage
- Bolton Hill
- Canton Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Cathedral Hill Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Greater Homeland Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Guilford Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Mount Vernon Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- North Central Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Ridgely’s Delight
- Roland Park Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation
- Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill & Fells Point
Massachusetts
- Massachusetts Historical Commission
- Preservation Massachusetts
- Boston Landmarks Commission
- Boston Preservation Alliance
- Historic New England
- Bedford Historical Society
- Brookline Preservation Commission
- Marblehead Historical Commission
- Milton Historical Commission
- Newburyport Preservation Trust
- Historic Salem
- Topsfield Historical Commission
New Jersey
- New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office
- Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association
New York
- New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
- New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
- Tony Robin’s Art Deco Metropolis
- Boerum Hill Neighborhood Association
- Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association
- Fort Greene Association
- Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
- Hamilton Heights – West Harlem Community Preservation Organization
- Historic Districts Council
- LandmarkWest!
- Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts