In honor of May being National Preservation Month, the Seguin Main Street Program will feature local preservation efforts in its weekly column.
Thanks to grants from the Anice Read Fund of the Texas Downtown Association and the Certified Local Government Program of the Texas Historical Commission, the City of Seguin has been able to launch a historic resource survey.
A historic resource survey is a survey of a neighborhood’s historic architectural features, creating an irreplaceable record of the present state of that neighborhood’s heritage at that time. The survey assists communities in creating awareness of its cultural heritage and planning in protecting those assets. The survey often includes recommendations on whether the building or landmark should be considered for a local historic landmark designation, a state landmark designation, a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, or creating/amending historic districts.
Seguin’s survey will incorporate the downtown historic district and the area along Austin Street between downtown and the railroad tracks. The City of Seguin selected Cox McLain Environmental Consulting to conduct the survey and the contractor has made significant progress in the survey. The survey will be completed late summer 2019.
“The Historic Preservation & Design Commission and city staff will be using the results of the survey to assist in preservation planning. Each property surveyed will include a description of the historical elements of the building and whether it should be considered for designation as a landmark,” said Kyle Kramm, Seguin Main Street & CVB Director and the City of Seguin’s Historic Preservation Officer, “This is the first step in the process of being able to protect Seguin’s historic fabric; first comes identification through the survey, then applications for landmark designations and then once designation occurs, the property is protected from demolition and alterations that would remove the historic character.”
The results from the survey will be shared with the community once it is completed. Property owners will be encouraged to use the results of the survey as they plan the future of their property.
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