Properties Eligible for Listing on Historic Registers

Image of historic post office building at 380 Hamilton Avenue featuring front archways

A historic property may have previously been evaluated by the City of Palo Alto and deemed eligible for the National Register of Historical Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. These eligible resources are noted in annual reports filed with the State Office of Historic Preservation. Filing of annual reports is an obligation of a Certified Local Government. The City of Palo Alto is a Certified Local Government.

Property owners may elect to pursue placement of their properties on the State and National Register to take advantage of State and National incentives for historic preservation. The City of Palo Alto is not responsible for listing these properties on the State and National historic registers. Properties are not placed on these registers without owner approval.  

The City of Palo Alto has preservation incentives in place for properties on its local historic inventory.

Properties(PDF, 476KB) the City previously evaluated for National Register eligibility during the 1997-2001 history survey and properties evaluated for California Register eligibility thereafter have associated State forms prepared by qualified historic preservation consultants. Collectively, these eligible properties may be nominated to our local Historic Inventory, following outreach to property owners and public hearings with the Historic Resources Board. On March 21, 2022, the City Council directed staff to work with the Historic Resources Board to review these properties previously determined eligible for State and National registers and make recommendations for listing on the City’s local inventory pursuant to the process established in the Palo Alto Municipal Code, and collaborate with the HRB for community engagement.

Maps of properties(PDF, 3MB) listed on the City’s local inventory and previously found eligible for listing on the National and California Registers as well as properties listed on the City’s historic inventory as category 1-4 local historic resources.

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