There's a lot happening at Camp Ellis

HOME > NEWS



A Newsletter by the City of Saco, Maine	August, 2007	Return to newsletter index

Saco Historic Resources Survey Almost Complete

Saco City Hall Featured on NPS Webpage
Saco City Hall is featured on the National Park Service webpage that answers "Frequently Asked Questions" about the national Certified Local Government (CLG) program. The Certified Local Government program is a local, state, and federal partnership administered by the National Park Service and State Historic Preservation Offices. The primary goal of the program is to integrate local government and historic preservation. Saco has participated in the CLG program since 1992.

Saco is a city proud of its outstanding historical and cultural assets. Now that the Saco Historic Resources Survey is nearly complete, the city has a resource to identify and describe Saco's rich built environment. The Historic Resources Survey allows for a greater understanding of the extent of the community's architectural and historical assets, and can also be used to determine areas where buildings of historical significance are concentrated. The survey information provides a valuable tool to inform the management of future growth. Some areas of Saco that are popular for development, such as Saco's riverfront and oceanfront, are also the location of some of Saco's richest architectural resources.

The Saco Historic Resources Survey involved photographing and detailing each building in Saco that is over 50 years old. For the survey, Architectural Historian Andrea Strassner identified the building's architectural style, estimated date of construction, potential historical significance, address, map and lot number. Copies of the information are available at the Planning Department and at the Dyer Library.

For the past several years, the City of Saco has received Certified Local Government (CLG) grants to help with this survey. Saco received CLG status from the National Park Service in 1992, and as a result qualifies each year for funding for historic preservation projects.

With the completion of the survey, the city will have record of Saco's 2300+- buildings that are over 50 years old. Surveys from the past two years focused on areas in the eastern downtown, east of the downtown, and along the Atlantic Ocean. Earlier completed survey work includes 700 buildings in the downtown core, and 500 buildings in more rural areas of the City, including the area west of the Maine Turnpike and the area north of Interstate 195. The latest survey covered an area west of the downtown and in the Ocean Park Road area near Interstate 1-95.