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Historic Preservation Resources

Plans

The Heritage Preservation Plan is the City of Racine’s guiding policy document and outlines the components of the City’s preservation program.

The Heritage Preservation Plan can be reviewed by following the link below:

Design Guidelines

In 2021, the City of Racine was awarded a grant from the Wisconsin state Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to develop updated residential design guidelines for the treatment of historical structures. The guidelines list recommended and not recommended approaches to various elements of homes.

View the guidelines for residential properties (2022). This is applicable to local historic landmarks/districts:

Reconnaissance Surveys

Reconnaissance Surveys review an area for potential historical significance. Generally speaking, the significance is based on: events (Criteria A), significant persons (Criteria B), significant architecture/design (Criteria C), or importance to our prehistory (Criteria D); these are the criteria the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) uses when determining if something is historic. The City has undertaken several reconnaissance surveys which can be viewed below.

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National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Listings

The NRHP is maintained and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The City of Racine has many properties which are listed on the NRHP in one of two ways. A collection of properties sharing some commonality collectively as a group, is a called a district; an individual property can be eligible by itself as a landmark. The links below indicate the district or landmark and are hosted by the NPS and not this website. You may also download an excel sheet of this data from the NPS here (scroll down to the middle of that page). The year (in parenthesis) below indicates the year it was added to the NRHP.

It is important to note that the NRHP does not give the City additional regulatory authority. Changes to properties follow standard zoning and building codes as adopted by the City of Racine. The NRHP is honorary in nature and adherence to the The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties is optional and encouraged, but not mandatory.

NRHP Landmarks

Local Historic Districts and Landmarks

Local historic districts and landmarks undergoing exterior changes are required to have those changes reviewed and approved by the City of Racine Planning, Heritage, and Design Commission; in instances or minor repairs or routine maintenance, City Development Department staff are able to approve projects which are consistent with the Design Guidelines (linked at the top of this page). Currently, the City of Racine has the following properties designated as locally historic.

Local Landmarks
  • 845 Villa Street (Zord 5-11)
  • 1611 College Avenue (Zord 09-08)
  • 1135 Main Street (Zord 08-08)
  • 1001 Main street (Zord 07-08)
  • 716 College (Zord 06-08)
  • 936 Main Street (Zord 01-07)

Note, the list above includes landmarks which were redesignated after a change in requirements circa 2006. The City of Racine before that time, designated all of the landmarks in the listing below. Due to the change in listing requirements, these properties are not currently subject to local historic review.

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