AIA’s Longstanding Commitment to Historic Preservation  

Architects are trained to approach the built environment as stewards. The profession balances the need for change with the responsibility to protect public institutions and our shared heritage. Preservation has long been a core part of our mission at The American Institute of Architects.  

For more than a century, AIA has helped shape preservation and adaptive reuse practices in the United States. Our responsibility to safeguard architecture and the public places it shapes has driven our involvement in numerous landmark preservation efforts.  

 

Early foundations in preservation  

AIA’s interest in historic preservation began in the late 19th century. Through advocacy and professional leadership, AIA members established the foundation for modern architectural conservation.  

 

  • 1890: AIA members created the Committee on Conservation of Public Architecture to protect shared architectural heritage.  
  • Early 1900s: AIA took a leading role in the McMillan Plan for the design of Washington, DC, and helped create the Fine Arts Commission.  
  • In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt tasked AIA with safeguarding the White House, ensuring it remained “unchanged and unmarred” for future generations. AIA embraced this as a permanent obligation, later influencing the creation of the federal Council of Fine Arts, now the Commission of Fine Arts.  
  • 1933: AIA played a pivotal role in creating the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) in collaboration with the National Park Service and the Library of Congress. Proposed by Charles E. Peterson, AIA, this became the nation’s first federal preservation program.  
  • In the 1930s through the 1950s AIA resisted “any material alteration” of the central portion, and later led a sustained, multiyear campaign that ultimately preserved the historic East Front and secured a congressional appropriation for restoration rather than extension.  

In the same period, AIA helped shift opinion on what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building away from demolition and toward “architecture worth saving,” reinforcing the principle that presidential and congressional workspaces are part of the civic patrimony the Institute is bound to defend.  

 

Mid-Century Leadership and Landmark Cases  

As U.S. cities rapidly expanded and modernized, the association actively defended significant architectural and cultural sites from demolition.  

  • 1958-1962: AIA and preservationists strongly opposed plans to extend the US Capitol’s East Front, advocating instead for restoration. The fight was unsuccessful and the East Front was expanded. As a result, the AIA was more adamant during the debate to renovate the West Front.
  • 1959: Following the death of Frank Lloyd Wright, AIA joined the National Trust for Historic Preservation to recommend 17 of Wright’s buildings for national protection.  
  • 1966: AIA lobbies for passage of the National Historic Preservation Act which was a response to urban renewal projects that resulted in the rapid destruction of places of significance in our nation’s history. The was a signal by Congress that historic preservation was in the public’s interest.  
  • 1971: AIA and architects join with Don't Tear It Down the precursor to the DC Preservation League to save the Old Post Office Building in Washington, DCrchitects  
  • 1973–1974: The AIA St. Louis Chapter, the national Committee for Historic Preservation, and the National Trust successfully worked to save Louis Sullivan’s iconic Wainwright Building in St. Louis.  
  • 1978: AIA joined an amici curiae brief to support the preservation of New York’s Grand Central Station as a landmark building. This pivotal case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and resulted in a major victory for preservationists nationwide.  
  • Ongoing Stewardship: AIA has consistently advocated for preservation of the White House and the U.S. Capitol since 1900, supporting and developing long-term preservation guidelines and processes.  

 

Recent advocacy and action  

Federal review processes ensure that architectural expertise, preservation standards, and public input inform major decisions that affect civic architecture. AIA continues to advocate for transparency and the rule of law regarding nationally significant sites.