Historic Preservation Plan

The City of Columbia and its Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is excited to announce the preparation of a Historic Preservation Plan for the community. The Historic Preservation Plan will include a discussion of various historic contexts, property types found throughout the city and recommended strategies for additional identification and documentation of historic architecture around town.

The HPC held a public meeting on Sept. 10, to begin the process. We invite everyone to learn more about notable properties here in Columbia and how the registry process works. We also welcome you to share your priorities for preserving and sharing local history. Do you know of a building or neighborhood that has a special significance? We want to hear from you! Please share any comments or questions below, and complete a five-question Visioning Survey to help guide the direction of this process.

This project is being funded by a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources through the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund. The development of the Historic Preservation Plan is expected to be concluded in the spring 2025.

Pennsylvania consultant, David Taylor, was selected to prepare the Historic Preservation Plan. Taylor has been a preservation professional for more than 30 years and has worked throughout the eastern states, New England and the Midwest. He has also assisted communities throughout Missouri with planning for the preservation of historic architecture in Joplin, Lee’s Summit, Jefferson City, Cuba, Ferguson and Moberly.

Columbia presently has a variety of individual buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places, along with several historic districts and one archaeological site. The HPC has also conducted several grant-funded historic resource surveys throughout the community. More information about these can be found on our website: https://www.como.gov/boards/historic-preservation-commission/