Lou’s View: WHAT’S HISTORIC?

By Lou Bernard

It just happened again—It’s not the first time I’ve fielded this question. A nice guy came to me, asking about his house. “Is it historic?” he asked. “Because the neighbor is doing some construction, and I need to know if my house is historic so he doesn’t damage my property.”

Or another time, I was looking into one of our local buildings. I went in and asked the business owner about the age of the building. “It’s not historic,” she assured me.

I’ll be the judge of that, lady.

Here’s the thing: It’s hard to actually say what’s historic and what’s not. Sometimes it’s obvious, but often it can be very subjective. And some of the confusion comes about because people don’t really understand the terms involved.

It basically breaks down into three categories: “Old,” “Historic,” and “Listed on the National Register.” Now, if it’s listed, you have a certain set of guidelines and protection involved. It means someone has done the research and filed the paperwork, and made sure the building is listed with the nationwide organizations who oversee these things, such as the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. Don’t ask me how to find out if your property is listed on the Historic Register, either—If you have to ask, it isn’t. There’s no way you own a property listed with the PHMC without being aware of it.

“Old” is a pretty easy one, too. It’s not hard to define. If you look into it and find out that a house was built in, say, 1881, then it’s pretty obviously old.

It’s that in-between one, “historic,” that causes the confusion.

See, unlike the other two terms, “Historic” is pretty subjective. A lot of it is in the eye of the beholder. Whereas a property can be provably old, and verifiably listed on the National Register, sometimes a historic building is a matter of opinion. Or information—I’ve seen plenty of times when a building is, in fact, historic (or at least has a fascinating past) but the owner has no idea. (The woman who told me her building wasn’t historic owned a place where city council used to meet in the 1800s. It was historic, but she wasn’t aware of it.)

Most people believe it’s one all-inclusive category. Many people think that it’s all lumped in one thing—I’ve met people who assume that because a building is old, it’s automatically listed and therefore protected. I’ve also met people who think that if a building isn’t listed, it’s got no history to it. Both views are wrong.

Let me give you an example. There’s a building in Lock Haven—A tan, brick building right across from Triangle Park. It’s plain-looking—You’d drive right past it without looking, and you probably have. It’s old, though it doesn’t look old. Is it listed on the National Register? No, it’s not. There are only a couple of buildings in Lock Haven listed on the register, and that’s not one of them.

Is it historic? I’m sure most people don’t think so, probably including the owner (unless he’s been on my tours.) But let me tell you this: The building was built by a florist named Eric Carlson, who ran his business out of there, and lived in an apartment above. Carlson was friends with E.J. Smith, the captain of the Titanic, and was interviewed about Smith in 1912 when the Titanic went down.

Now, you tell me: Is the building historic?

Personally, I’d say yes. I think most people would agree. (Again, they seem pretty impressed with this story on my tours.) Some people might debate that, and that’s their right—As I said, a lot of this boils down to opinion. But it makes my point—A building can be historic without being officially protected, and it can often be historic without anyone even knowing it.

So, you may know your place is old. You may know it’s not listed on the National Register.

Think it’s not historic?

Don’t be too sure.