National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 - Post WWII and Urban Renewal

Post WWII and Urban Renewal

In 1956, President Eisenhower signed into law the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 which established the interstate highway system, which provided an easy and efficient way for troops to depart if under attack. Due to this new construction, many historic properties were destroyed. In the 1960s, the Kennedy administration launched the Urban Renewal Program. Hoping the plan would rejuvenate the cities, it in fact increased the destruction in the downtown areas. The increase in population around this time, as well, and the manufacturing of cars called for a rapid change, therefore hindering our nation and its culture. “With the urbanization, tear downs, and rebuilding America...it is destroying the physical evidence of the past.” During the 1950s and 1960s people saw the negative changes in their city and developed a concern for their “quality of life that reflected their identity.”

As a response to the nationwide destruction brought about by federally initiated programs, a report coordinated by Lady Bird Johnson analyzed the country and the effects of urban renewal. With Heritage So Rich, an accumulation of essays, wrote “an expansive inventory of properties reflecting the nation’s heritage, a mechanism to protect those properties from unnecessary harm caused by federal activities, a program of financial incentives, and an independent federal preservation body to coordinate the actions of federal agencies affecting historic preservation.” The book triggered public awareness of the issue and offered a proposition to handle the situation through the National Historic Preservation Act.