Secretary Jewell, Director Jarvis Announce Five New National Historic Landmarks Highlighting America's Diverse Heritage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis today announced the designation of five new national historic landmarks, ranging from a 19th century reservoir in Massachusetts to a home in Indiana designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to provide affordable housing.

The new landmarks also include a historic covered bridge in California, a hotel in Yellowstone National Park, and a conference center in Detroit designed by renowned architect Minoru Yamasaki.

“These sites join more than 2,500 other landmarks that help tell America's story,” said Secretary Jewell. “From the remarkable strides made in engineering during the 19th century to the vision of our great architects, they are an important part of the tapestry of our nation's heritage.”

“National historic landmarks preserve some of our nation's most remarkable places and demonstrate the power of partnerships between the National Park Service and historic property owners,” said Director Jarvis. “These new landmarks offer opportunities for more Americans to make personal connections with our nation's cultural and historical heritage and have the potential to drive tourism and boost local economies.”

National Historic Landmarks recognize places that possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. The five new landmarks are:

Samara (John E. and Catherine E. Christian House), West Lafayette, Indiana Completed in 1956, Samara is an outstanding and mature example of a Usonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright during his late period (1941-59). It is a remarkably complete Usonian design, incorporating more than 40 Wrightian design elements, including character-defining Usonian features such as modular design, indoor-outdoor connections, slab floor construction, flat roofs, and open-plan public spaces conducive to simple living for average middle-class families.

Lake Hotel, Yellowstone National Park, Teton County, Wyoming
Initially constructed in 1891, the Lake Hotel was entirely reconceived in the first decades of the 20th century as a grand resort hotel displaying the Colonial Revival style as adapted to the context of a national park in the western United States. Located on the north shore of Yellowstone Lake, the hotel expansion and redesign was spearheaded by noted architect Robert C. Reamer.

California Powder Works Bridge, Santa Cruz County, California
Constructed in 1872, this covered bridge is one of the most outstanding surviving examples of a Smith Truss, a nationally significant timber truss type developed and patented in 1867 by Robert W. Smith in Toledo, Ohio. This truss type features diagonal truss web members that resulted in a light, strong, and efficient design whose components could be mass-produced at a factory and shipped to distant sites.

McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Detroit, Michigan
The McGregor Memorial Conference Center at Wayne State University, completed in 1958, is a benchmark work in the career of Japanese-American Minoru Yamasaki, one of the 20th century's most important Modern architects. The building's design represents a key turning point in Yamasaki's career as he moved away from International Style orthodoxy into his own distinct vision of Modernism, later considered part of the stylistic trend “New Formalism.”

Brookline Reservoir of the Cochituate Aqueduct, Brookline, Massachusetts Constructed in 1848, the Brookline Reservoir represents one of the most publicly-accessible and architecturally-distinguished components of early 19th-century public water supply technology. Its Principal Gatehouse is also important for the technical development of wrought iron as a structural and building envelope material in architecture and the cultural acceptance of iron technology in public architecture.

Additional information can be found here.

Click here for pictures of the designated properties.

Established in 1935, the National Historic Landmarks Program is administered by the National Park Service on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior. The agency works with preservation officials, private property owners, and other partners interested in nominating properties for National Historic Landmark designation. Completed nominations are reviewed by the National Park System Advisory Board, which makes recommendations for designation to the Secretary of the Interior. If selected, property ownership remains the same, but each site receives a designation letter and is eligible for technical preservation advice.

The National Historic Landmarks Program is one of more than a dozen programs administered by the National Park Service that provide states and local communities technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve our nation's shared history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities.