Types of Designed Historic Landscapes

To establish a consistent National Register designation for designed historic landscapes, several distinct landscape types have been identified in order that similar types of designed landscapes can be evaluated according to the same criteria. Some designed landscapes, particularly those that are large or complex, may incorporate several of the landscape types listed below. In such cases, the designed landscape should be classified according to the most general type that applies. Designed historic landscapes can usually be described as one of the following types:

• small residential grounds
• estate or plantation grounds (including a farm where the primary significance is as a landscape design and not as historic agriculture)
• arboreta, botanical, and display gardens
• zoological gardens and parks
• church yards and cemeteries
• monuments and memorial grounds
• plaza/square/green/mall or other public spaces
• campus and institutional grounds
• city planning or civic design subdivisions and planned communities/resorts
• commercial and industrial grounds and parks
• parks (local, State, and national) and camp grounds
• battlefield parks and other commemorative parks
• grounds designed or developed for outdoor recreation and/or sports activities such as country clubs, golf courses, tennis courts, bowling greens, bridle trails, stadiums, ball parks, and race tracks that are not part of a unit listed above
• fair and exhibition grounds
• parkways, drives, and trails
• bodies of water and fountains (considered as an independent component and not as part of a larger design scheme)