GIS Access Introduction

The New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is a bureau of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The SHPO houses and maintains a broad range of information relating to historic properties in New York State including historic buildings, structures, sites, districts, and objects. The SHPO includes in its mission a responsibility to provide this information to municipalities, state and federal agencies, and the general public for the purposes of planning and research.

Two categories of information are available from the SHPO via the Internet in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) format. These include 1) locational information on State and National Registers of Historic Places in New York State, and 2) Archeological Sensitivity Zones for New York State. Both of these GIS resources are based on current records, databases, and file information retained at the New York State Historic Preservation Office.

The State and National Registers of Historic Places GIS Database

The New York State and National Registers of Historic Places are the official lists of properties significant in the history, architecture and archeology of the state and the nation. The database includes generalized boundary information for nearly 4500 individual properties and historic districts in New York State. Please note that Archeological Sites listed in the Registers are protected under state and federal law and as such are not depicted on this site.

This site is updated on a quarterly basis, as such the information depicted may not include the most current information regarding properties presently in the process of being nominated to the registers.

For legal purposes, the precise locations and boundaries are defined in the National Register of Historic Places Nomination documentation on file at the SHPO or with the National Register of Historic Places office within the National Park Service, Washington, D. C.

Archeological Sensitivity GIS Database

The Archeological Sensitivity Maps for New York State define areas within the state where the discovery of archeological sites is predicted. These areas also contain the locations of all known sites that are included in the SHPO Archeological Site files and the New York State Museum Archeological Site files. The exact locations are not displayed on this site since they are protected from disclosure by Section 304 (16 USC 4702-3) of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and Section 427.8 of the implementing regulations for the State Historic Preservation Act of 1980. This information can only be accessed at the SHPO in accordance with the SHPO's Policy on Access to Files, Data, and Information.

The site information depicted in this overlay reflects known sites protected by randomly placed buffer zones. These defined sites with their buffer zones are used by the SHPO to provide recommendations to state and federal agencies regarding the need for archeological surveys. This site is updated on a regular basis as a result the maps displayed may not be up to date and should only be used as a reference tool. The depictions displayed on this site supercede all earlier versions of the Archeological Sensitivity Maps for New York State.

The Appropriate use of SHPO GIS Database in Environmental Review

The information contained in the National Register and Archeological Sensitivity web pages can be useful to state and federal agencies, municipalities, planning and engineering firms in the early planning stages of a project. The general information contained in the State and National Registers of Historic Places web page can provide an early indication of the presence or absence of Listed historic properties in or near a project area. The likely need for an archeological survey of a project area can be ascertained by determining if the project is within a sensitive area on the Archeological Sensitivity Maps.

Accessing these GIS web pages cannot serve as a substitute for consultation with the SHPO for projects reviewed under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 or Section 14.09 of the State Historic Preservation Act of 1980.