FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does the acronym HALS mean?
Is HABS connected with HALS?
When was HALS created?
What is the difference between designed and vernacular?
Is a natural landscape like Yosemite also a cultural landscape?
Who administers HALS?
How is a landscape documented?
What are the criteria for documentation?
How do I find out if a landscape is a candidate for HALS documentation?
Where can I view completed HALS documentation for a landscape?
What is the difference between HALS, CLI, and CLR?
Who might be interested in HALS documentation of a property?
How can a historic landscape be preserved?
How do I get involved?
Hal was the name of the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. What does that have to do with historic landscapes?
Absolutely nothing. HALS is an acronym that stands for Historic American Landscape Survey.
Is HABS connected with HALS?
Yes. HABS is an acronym for Historic American Building Survey. HABS was created by the National Park Service in 1935. The purpose of HABS is to document historic buildings. HALS is modeled after HABS. There is also a program called HAER--Historic American Engineering Record--created in 1969 to document historic engineered structures like bridges.
When was HALS created?
HALS is a relative late comer. The legislation that created HALS was approved by the National Park Service in 2000, so it is a comparatively new federal program.
What is the difference between a designed landscape and a vernacular landscape?
A designed landscape is one that was consciously designed or laid out by a landscape architect, master gardener, architect, engineer or horticulturist according to design principles. A vernacular landscape is one that evolved through use by the people whose activities or occupancy shaped it. Such a landscape reflects the physical, biological, and cultural character of everyday lives. Function plays a significant role in vernacular landscapes.
See the National Register Bulletins on Designed Historic Landscapes and Rural Historic Landscapes for more information.
Is a natural landscape like Yosemite also a cultural landscape?
Yes and No. To be considered a cultural landscape the land has to have been impacted by "the touch of man," as opposed to the natural areas of Yosemite Park such as Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, etc. The designed landscape leading up to Yosemite Falls - by landscape architect Lawrence Halprin - is a designed landscape, while Yosemite Falls itself is a natural landscape.
Who administers HALS?
HALS is jointly administered by three entities: The National Park Service (NPS), the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the Library of Congress (LOC). The NPS generally administers, the ASLA guides, and the LOC services the collection.
How is a landscape documented?
There are three components to the documentation: historic research and narrative,
measured drawings
and photographs. Each of these is described in detailed guidelines that describe what information should be recorded and how it should be done. HALS is intended to be a comprehensive, scholarly record that provides a permanent detailed record of the landscape.
There are two history formats that may be used for HALS documentation of nationally, state, or locally significant landscapes. Critical need, time, and resources will all factor into your decision of which format to follow.
- Short Format:
The short format was devised for situations in which detailed information was unnecessary, unavailable, or when time or funding was not available. The short format is generally a one to five page distillation of the standard outline format.
- Standard Format:
This long format historical narrative and descriptive report is prepared using the standard HALS outline format, divided into five sections: the Identification Information, Historical Information, Descriptive Information, Sources of Information, and Project Information.
What are the criteria for documentation?
To qualify for documentation, a landscape must be at least 50 years old if traditional or 30 years old if modern, be significant, and possess integrity.
There are several criteria for rating significance. For example, a landscape may be associated with a significant historic person. The property surrounding the home of John Muir in Martinez would qualify in this category. The property could be an example of the "work of a master." Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, designed by Frederic Law Olmsted who is considered the Father of Landscape Architecture, meets this criterion. The Kaiser Roof Garden in Oakland is an example of a landscape that included innovative technologies in the field of landscape architecture--another criterion of significance.
"Integrity," according to the NPS, is "the authenticity of a property's historic identity, evinced by the survival of physical characteristics that existed during the property's historic or prehistoric period. The seven qualities of integrity as defined by the National Register Program are location, setting, feeling, association, design, workmanship, and materials."
See the "Identifying Historic Landscapes" section in the HALS Toolkit for more information.
How do I find out if a landscape is a candidate for HALS documentation?
This website includes an inventory list of landscapes that are potential candidates for HALS documentation in northern California.
Where can I view completed HALS documentation for a landscape?
You can view completed HALS, HABS, and HAER documentation at the Library of Congress. Because HALS is such a new program, only a limited amount of HALS documentation is available online in the LOC's digital collection. This website has some of the HALS documentation that has been completed for landscapes in northern California.
What is the difference between HALS, Cultural Landscape Inventory (CLI), and Cultural Landscape Report (CLR)?
Good question with no simple answer. CLIs and CLRs typically include an inventory of historic features, and an assessment of their condition, integrity and significance. The CLR typically also includes recommendations for treatment of the resource, which is useful to those responsible for managing a landscape. Treatment recommendations can also help guide how best to implement needed changes to a historic property in a manner that will minimize impacts on historic features. HALS is the only form of documentation that is accessible to the public.
Government agencies and private property owners use CLIs and CLRs as guides to managing their property. Since 1966, the National Historic Properties Act (NHPA) has mandated that all federal projects or projects using federal money be required to prepare a CLI or CLR when impacts to resources are unavoidable.
HALS is similar in some ways to CLI and CLRs. HALS is intended to be a comprehensive, scholarly record of a landscape. The historic narrative provides a description of the history of the landscape. The measured drawings depict what the landscape looks like when the documentation is done. HALS photographs record what the landscape looks like when the photographs are taken.
Who might be interested in HALS documentation of a property?
Anyone who wants to learn more about a historic landscape including landscape architects, architects, community groups, non-profit groups, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, government agencies such as the National Park Service, California State Parks, CalTrans, private property owners, historians, students, historic preservationists, and others.
How can a historic landscape be preserved?
See the registration programs of your State Office of Historic Preservation, the preservation projects of the Garden Conservancy, and Protecting Cultural Landscapes by the National Park Service.
This is all fascinating. How do I get involved?
HALS is a national program. Most states have a HALS liaison appointed by ASLA. To find the HALS liaison in your state contact ASLA. Or, contact us if you are in northern California.
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