Arch Survey Terms.

• Alteration
  A change made to a historic resource after its period of significance, evaluated by impact rather than presence alone.
   
• Architectural Survey
  A systematic, field-based documentation process evaluating historic resources in relation to one another within a defined area and historical frame.
   
• Aspects of Integrity
  The seven National Register categories used to evaluate integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
   
• Character-Defining Features
  The physical elements conveying a resource’s historic identity, including form, massing, roof shape, fenestration patterns, materials, and details, used to evaluate integrity within a period of significance.
   
• Character Home
  A non-regulatory, vernacular term describing a house retaining visible character-defining features associated with its historic period, scale, and construction, even when minor alterations are present. The term carries cultural meaning but does not replace National Register or SHPO classifications.
   
• Chronology of Alteration
  The historical timing of changes, used to distinguish period alterations, later maintenance, and modern interventions.
   
• Comparative Framework
  An evaluative method where buildings are assessed against peer resources rather than as isolated cases, supporting consistency across a district.
   
• Contributing Status
  A classification for resources retaining sufficient integrity to support the significance of a historic district.
   
• Degree and Visibility
  Measures describing how extensive an alteration is and how prominently it affects a building’s appearance.
   
• Design
  The combination of form, plan, massing, structure, and style defining a building’s overall configuration.
   
• District Credibility
  The defensibility of a historic district’s boundaries, classifications, and eligibility based on consistent documentation.
   
• Fidelity
  Adherence to a survey’s evaluation logic, thresholds, and documentation context within the established period of significance.
   
• Feeling
  The cumulative impression of time and place created by a resource, dependent on the survival of design, materials, and setting.
   
• Integrity
  The ability of a resource to convey its historic identity, evaluated through location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.
   
• Internal Consistency
  Uniform application of evaluation standards across all resources within a district.
   
• Material Integrity
  The condition and survival of historic materials, which may diminish without eliminating contributing status when other integrity aspects remain strong.
   
• Materials
  The physical elements used during the historic period, including siding, roofing, windows, and finishes.
   
• National Register Bulletin 15
  The National Park Service guidance outlining how significance and integrity are evaluated for National Register eligibility.
   
• Period of Significance
  The span of time during which a district or resource achieved historical importance, established in advance and used as the baseline for integrity evaluation.
   
• Reversibility
  The extent to which an alteration can be removed without permanent loss of historic fabric.
   
• Setting
  The physical environment surrounding a historic resource, including spatial relationships, streetscape, landscape features, and adjacent development.
   
• SHPO Survey Practice
  State-level application of National Register criteria through standardized documentation, field evaluation, and consistency review.
   
• Survey Record
  The collected documentation, evaluations, and determinations produced during a survey and relied upon for future review and decision-making.
   
• Thresholds
  The limits established during a survey distinguishing acceptable change from loss of integrity.

Last update: 28-Jan-2026 Wednesday | 5:29 AM