About

The Trust for Architectural Easements is a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to historic preservation. The Trust achieves its mission primarily by accepting historic preservation easements and cash contributions, providing grants to be used toward community service projects in the historic districts it serves, assisting communities in obtaining certification of historically significant districts and properties on the National Register of Historic Places, and educating the public on the importance of preserving America’s architectural heritage.

The Trust allocates part of its resources towards public education on architectural and historic values. For example, the Trust worked with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City and selected elementary and secondary schools in the states it serves to develop programs and curricula to educate students about the architecture of the United States, and to build further awareness about the need for its preservation. The instructional guide and student activities may be downloaded as a PDF on MOMA's Website.

The Trust also supports local initiatives to restore the character of historic neighborhoods. The Trust has provided grants to community groups in New York City’s Greenwich Village and NOHO, and has worked with the city’s transportation department to restore the neighborhoods’ historic granite cobblestone streets. The Trust has also provided financial support to community groups working to preserve and restore historic neighborhood parks in New York City and Boston. Canal Park, (between Canal Street and West Side Highway), and James Bogardus Triangle Park, (at the intersection of Hudson Street, West Broadway, and Chambers Street) are two examples of parks that the Trust has helped restore and preserve in New York City. The Trust also helped to restore Hiscock Park in Boston’s South End historic district.

America’s architectural heritage includes the memorials and monuments that have been created to recognize America’s heroes or commemorate specific historic events. The Trust supports the restoration and preservation of these memorials through its educational grant program. In New York City, the Trust provided a grant to the Arts and Antiquities unit of the Parks Department’s Citywide Monuments Conservation Program. This grant gave students an opportunity to learn the rare skills of sculpture conservation and restoration and also provided important maintenance for part of New York City’s architectural heritage.

In addition to promoting preservation in existing historic districts, the Trust is also an effective ally for historic communities that are working to obtain federal certification or a listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Trust has assisted with these efforts in the following communities:

Maryland
Reservoir Hill (Certified in 2004)

Massachusetts
Beacon Hill (Update to the listing, April 2007)

New York
Wall Street (Listed in March 2007)
Treadwell Farm (Listed in 2004)
Riverside/West End (Certified in 2004)
Madison Square North (Certified in 2004)
Carnegie Hill (Certified in 2003)
Ladies’ Mile (Listed in 2003)
NOHO East (Certified in 2003)
Metropolitan Museum District (Certified in 2002)

The Trust has also helped to obtain individual listing for the following properties in the National Register of Historic Places.

Massachusetts
Boston Transit Commission Building (former) (Listed in 2007)

New York
304 Park Avenue South (Listed in 2005)
R.C. Williams Warehouse (Listed in 2005)
Blum and Blum Lofts (Listed in 2004)
Fred F. French Building (Listed in 2004)
General Electric Building (former) (Listed in 2004)
Look Building (former) (Listed in 2004)