THE OPPORTUNITY

Cape May, New Jersey, the only U.S. city to be wholly designated as a National Historic Landmark, possesses one of the country’s largest concentrations of 19th-century, frame buildings. However, the 1976 landmark designation, which encompassed the entire city, did not include a survey of individual properties, leaving the majority of the historic resources undocumented.

THE CHALLENGE

The City of Cape May, working in conjunction with the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, required an intensive-level survey that would accurately document the condition, history, and eligibility status of approximately 1,350 residential and commercial buildings. The survey efforts have encompassed several projects over several years, with the goal of documenting every historic building within city limits.

THE PS&S SOLUTION

PS&S architectural historians brought several years’ worth of Cape May experience to the firm when they joined, having studied approximately 1,000 of the City’s buildings. Most recently, PS&S completed an intensive-level survey of historic properties, evaluating eligibility status as defined in the Standards of the Secretary of the Interior and the Design Standards established by the City of Cape May Historic Preservation Commission and making recommendations about covering the remaining gaps in knowledge that should be covered in future surveys.

The most recent Cape May survey, completed by PS&S, covered roughly 150 buildings. It included photographic and written documentation of all key-contributing, contributing, and non-contributing resources within the district, as well as notation of any changes made since each properties’ initial development. The work has provided a crucial baseline of information for the municipality.