Regina Hilo

The National and State Registers of Historic Places are intended and designed to list and, by extension, protect places worthy of preservation. Ostensibly, the Registers function to reflect those places valued by the society within which they are situated. However, the listings can become populated by a preponderance of resources of a single type, or they can fail to directly highlight those cultural heritage values esteemed by society, such as intangible cultural heritage (ICH). While ICH can be indirectly tied to a listed place, assessing adverse effect to an intangible feature can be convoluted. The consequence is that a bias in preservation can become inscribed.

This paper will present a statistical analysis of properties in Hawai‘i listed on the National and State Registers to better understand the type and distribution of listed properties. The results will assess the balance of resource types as a reflection of various stakeholder values. Finally, discussion will consider how effective the National and State Registers are at addressing and ensuring community preservation priorities, as well as providing suggested considerations and alternatives.