Database

National Register of Historic Places Focus Database

We have not yet digitized the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.

If the file has not been digitized yet you can request a copy from us. Please include the name of the property, the state, and the reference number (or as much information as you know on the property). And e-mail the request to us at: Reference e-mail 

Status of our Collection

We are currently digitizing our records. This has led us to splitting the collection into two parts:
1966-2012 and 2013-present. Records listed from 1966-2012 that have been scanned are in the NRHP Focus Database. Records from 2013 to the present are in our weekly list search page. We will scan all of our records and put them into one source. We recognize and apologize for this inconvenience.

Map

You can see a map and do an address search of non-restricted listed properties in the National Register of Historic Places at:
https://www.nps.gov/maps/full.html?mapId=7ad17cc9-b808-4ff8-a2f9-a99909164466

The map prefers Google Chrome, and doesn't work well in Firefox or Internet Explorer.

To download GIS spatial data, please see the instructions on our Data Downloads page.

 

Spreadsheets

The three spreadsheets are current through late September of 2015.  While not all nominations have been digitized yet, we provide PDF links for the text and photos for those that have been digitized in our collection which can be reached by clicking on the text or photo spreadsheet cell.  We have not yet digitized the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.  If you cannot follow a link to the documentation on a property it is because we have not digitized it yet or it is a “restricted” archeological site. 

Listed properties on the National Register (over 90,000)

Spreadsheet of NRHP List

National Historic Landmarks

Spreadsheet of NHLs

Multiple Cover Documents in the National Register

Spreadsheet of Multiple Property Covers

Sometimes the pdf shows up as "gibberish". We are looking into this, but we think it has to do with the browser Chrome and Safari and how they "view" the pdf. If this occurs, please download the pdf, you may have to hit the download option in the browser, then open it.

The sort order is by state, county and resource name or, in the case of multiples, by state and resource name.  Standard spreadsheet navigation tools allow you to go to “Find and Select” in the upper right hand corner of the spreadsheet and using the find utility you can search for keywords such as “Fort”. The default search searches all columns but you can restrict a search to a given column by highlighting the column.  For example you can search for properties in Fairfax County, Virginia by highlighting the County column and searching for Fairfax. 

More spreadsheets on our Data Downloads page.

Additional resources on our site you can use, particularly for finding copies of recent nominations, can be found at

http://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/weeklylistsearch.html

Many times individual states offer additional digitized information, which can be found at

http://www.nps.gov/nr/shpoinventories.htm

Almost two million pages of the PDF text and photos are word searchable in the Advanced Search in Google by going to

www.google.com/advanced_search and limiting the site or domain to the Focus server, http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp

and entering your search parameters.

Geographical (GIS) Data

• Now available from our Data_Download page

 

How to best find:

Multiple Property Covers:
By Name: use our Focus Database and select National Register Multiples (covers) as the "Record Category" or use the MPS spreadsheet to look up the reference number, then use the reference number to search in our Focus Database.

National Historic Landmark Files:
By Name:use our Focus Database and select National Historic Landmark System as the "Record Category" or use the Spreadsheet of NHLs to look up the reference number, then use the reference number to search in our Focus Database.

National Park Service Properties:
Most NPS Properties have been scanned and are in Focus. You can search by Park name.

If an address is listed:
You can do an address search in the spreadsheet and in the weekly list search engine (for new properties). Many properties are within historic districts. You can look for likely districts based on the address field in the spreadsheet. You can also try looking at the GIS data we have.

Determinations of Eligibility:
DOEs have not been scanned. You can download a spreadsheet of Federal DOEs.

 

About National Register Documentation:

Since its inception in 1966, more than 90,000 properties have been listed in the National Register. Together these records hold information on more than 1.4 million individual resources--buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects--and therefore provide a link to the country's heritage at the national, state, and local levels.

The Documentation consists of

• National Register registration form, which provides a physical description of the place, information about its history and significance, and a bibliography.

• Photographs - Use of photographs and forms is available under Fair Use, see our Content and Copyright page for more information

• Maps

 

• Many State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) have digitized their files and put them online. The depth of information available varies from state to state, but ranges from basic locational information to searchable databases with downloadable narrative descriptions and photos. You can check their websites to see if they have the information you need. List of SHPOs extended information.

 

• Request copies of individual nominations either via e-mail please include your mailing address and the property name, county, and state. or postal mail:
National Register of Historic Places
National Park Service
1849 C St., NW (MS 2280)
Washington, DC 20240

Please note, due to irradiation of USPS mail in Washington, DC, we recommend sending official correspondence to us by direct or overnight mail at the following address:

1201 Eye St., NW
8th Floor (MS 2280)
Washington, DC 20005