Database Help Definitions

APN - Assessor's Parcel Number. Nine-digit identification number assigned to a property by the County Assessor.

Architect - The name of the person, firm, pattern book, engineer, artist, landscape architect or planner responsible for designing a building, structure, or object.

Architectural Style - A particular type of architecture that includes many of a known set of structural and stylistic characteristics, such as mass, scale, building materials, porches, windows, and ornamentation. Examples of architectural styles include Queen Anne, Craftsman, and California Ranch. An architectural style generally identifies a period of construction, but a building can also exhibit features of more than one architectural style.

Area - Geographic limits of area in which a historic resources is significant.

Builder - The person or company responsible for construction of a historic resource.

California Historical Resource (CHR) Status Codes - A categorical system that defines the level of historical resources in accordance with the National Register and California Register, and local criteria for evaluation. CHR Status Codes are assigned to resources as part of the historic resources survey process.

California Point of Historical Interest - A list of historic resources within the state of California that are of local interest. The program is administered by the California Office of Historic Preservation.

California Register of Historical Resources - A listing of archaeological and historic resources that meet the criteria for designation on the State Register. The program is administered by the State Office of Historic Preservation.

Citation - Indicates the name and author of a report associated with a historic resources survey project.

Contemporary Use - Use of a historic resource at the time in which it was surveyed.

Contributing Building - A building within in a historic district that is significant within the defined historic context and period of significance of the district.

Designation Type - Indicates the type(s) of historic designation assigned to a historic resource in accordance with national, state, county and local designation categories.

DPR Forms - State-approved, Department of Parks and Recreation forms used for documenting historic resources. The most commonly used forms are the Primary Record form, which describes the historic resource and the Building, Structure, and Object form, which is used to establish the significance of a historic resource.

Historic District (HD) - A defined geographic area containing a collection of historical buildings, the majority of which represent a significant aspect of the community's history, such as settlement, development, or architectural styles(s).

Historic Resource - A general term that refers to buildings, areas, districts, streets, sites, places, structures, outdoor works of art, natural or agricultural features and other objects having a special historical, cultural, archaeological, architectural, community or aesthetic value, and are usually 50 years old or older.

Historic Resources Inventory - The organized compilation of information on those properties that have been surveyed by the City.

Historic Resources Survey - A process of identifying and gathering data on a community's historic resources to help establish preservation goals and objectives and to assist in the review of planning cases. A survey includes fieldwork (the physical search for and recording of historic resources) as well as research, organization, and evaluation of the properties for designation by local, state and federal criteria.

Intensive Level Survey - Defined by the Secretary of the Interior to guide survey efforts, this type of survey goes beyond the systematic identification and description of historical resources to encompass the evaluation of those properties within a historical context.

Landmark - A site, including significant trees or other significant permanent landscaping located on a site, place, building, structure, street, improvement, street furniture, sign, work of art, natural feature or other object representative of the historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community, aesthetic or artistic heritage of the City and which has been designated by the City Council.

National Register Criteria for Evaluation - The four aspects of American history used to evaluate significance and eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. They are (A) association with historic events or activities, (B) association with important persons (C) distinctive design or physical characteristics, or (D) potential to provide important information about prehistory or history. A property must meet at least one of the criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

National Register of Historic Places - The nation's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects significant in national, regional or local American history, architecture, archaeology and culture, maintained by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.

Neighborhood Conservation Area (NCA) - A designated geographic area of the City, whether commercial or residential, that meets the criteria of Chapter 20.26 of the Riverside Municipal Code, which is intended to assist in the implementation of the goals and objectives of the City's general plan.

Non-Contributing Building - A building within a historic district that does not contribute to the significance of the district because it has been extensively altered or is outside the defined period of significance or historic context.

Original Use - Use of a building at the time it was constructed.

Period of Significance - Span of time in which a property has attained significance.

Property Type - Generally relates to the original use of a property, such as single-family residence, church, hospital, or library.

Reconnaissance Survey - Defined by the Secretary of the Interior to guide survey efforts, this type of survey entails a systematic effort to identify and summarize information about historical resources in a given area.

References - Information used to research a historic resource for completion of a historic resources survey.

Related Features - Important ancillary features on a historic resource that relate to the primary building but do not merit separate documentation. Typical related features include garages, sheds, barns, and landscaping.

Resource Attributes - Codes developed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which define and describe the attributes of historic resources at the time of construction. These codes are applied during the historic resources survey process. A resource may have more than one code assigned.

Riverside County Historical Landmark - Historic Resources within the County, which are determined to have a high degree of historic or architectural integrity and worthy of being preserved. The program is administered by the County Historical Commission.

Significance - A narrative discussion of the history and significance of a historic resource in relation to a specific historic context. The significance statement indicates at what level a property is significant and eligible for designation.

State Historical Landmark - Historic resource of statewide significance to California. The resource is generally the first, last, only, or most significant of a type in a region of the state. The program is administered by the State Office of Historic Preservation.

Structure of Merit - A site, building or structure which contributes to the broader understanding of the historical, archaeological, cultural, architectural, community, aesthetic or artistic heritage of the City and which has been designated by the City Council.

Theme - The subject or topic under which a historic resource is significant. For example Commercial Development, Citrus Industry, Residential Architecture.