(1) Historic buildings shall be so designated by the State Historic Preservation Officer if one of the following criteria is met:
(a) The building is in the National Register of Historic Places either as an individual property or as a contributing property to a historic district;
(b) The State Historic Preservation Officer concurs with a federal agency/applicant as the result of a proposed federal action that a building is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In the case of property located within a district considered eligible, the particular building must be included as a contributing property to the district;
(c) The State Historic Preservation Officer has recommended to the National Park Service under the provisions of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 that a building can be:
1. Certified as a contributing building to a district listed in the National Register of Historic Places; or
2. Preliminarily certified as eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or as a contributing building to a district eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; or
(d) The State Historic Preservation Officer determines that a building, or a contributing building in a historic district, meets the criteria for the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the National Register nomination procedures of the State Historic Preservation Office.
(2) A building shall be designated as a landmark museum building if all of the following criteria are met:
(a) The building is used as an exhibit of itself which means it is presented to the public as a work of architecture by means of such activities as tours, seminars, workshops, brochures and/or information made available to visitors. The use of a building as an exhibit should be included in any statement of purpose of the occupying organization, or should be documented by a written statement of the property owner;
(b) The building has a high degree of architectural integrity which means it remains relatively unchanged from its historic appearance, or represents clearly the particular history of a building, including its evolution during various historic architectural periods. Integrity is a quality that applies to historic and prehistoric resources in the following ways:
1. Location, which means the place where the historic resource was constructed or where a historic event or series of events took place (except in rare cases, the relationships between the resource and its natural and man-made surroundings are destroyed if a historic resource is moved);
2. Design, which means the composition of elements that comprise the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property;
3. Setting, which means the physical environment of a historic property which may include natural or man-made physical features;
4. Materials, which means the physical elements that are combined or deposited in a particular pattern or configuration;
5. Workmanship, which is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture of people during any given period in history or prehistory;
6. Feeling, which is the quality a historic resource has in evoking the aesthetic or historic sense of a past period of time; and
7. Association, which is the direct link between a property and an event or a person for which the property is significant;
(c) The building has been shown to have significance according to the categories of significance established for the National Register of Historic Places. Areas of significance may include prehistoric and historic archaeology, agriculture, architecture, art, commerce, communications, community planning, conservation economics, education, engineering, exploration/settlement, industry, invention, landscape architecture, law, literature, military, music, philosophy, politics/government, religion, science, sculpture, social/humanitarian, theater, transportation; and
(d) The building is open to the public a minimum of twelve (12) days per year.
(3) A building shall be preliminarily designated as a landmark museum building if the building is proposed for use, but not yet used, as an exhibit of itself, pursuant to 110-37-1-.02(2)(a) and (d), and if it is shown to meet the criteria for landmark museum designation, pursuant to 110-37-1-.02(2)(b) and (c). Preliminary designation is an indication that a building, if put into use according to approved plans, will meet the criteria for landmark museum designation. Actual designation as a landmark museum building will be contingent upon the faithful execution of approved plans. It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure that approved plans are faithfully carried out and to apply for actual designation as a landmark museum building upon completion of the work.
O.C.G.A. §
25-2-13.
