Register of Culturally Significant Property
The Secretary of State's Register of Culturally Significant Property[1] is the United States Department of State's registry of properties that are owned or leased by the Department and have particular cultural or historical significance.
The State Department owns or has under long-term lease over 3,500 properties at 265 posts worldwide. Among these are buildings that are historically, architecturally, or culturally significant. Building types include chanceries, residences, office buildings, staff apartments, a gardener's house, and a guesthouse. The Department also has a significant collection of fine and decorative arts in its inventory.
These seven criteria were used to evaluate properties for listing by the Secretary of State in the register:
- Designation or acknowledgment by a government as a significant property
- Part of the United States' overseas heritage
- Association with a significant historical event or person
- Important architecture and/or by an important architect
- Distinctive theme or assembly
- Unique object or visual feature
- Archaeological site
The Secretary's Register is similar to the National Register of Historic Places maintained by the Secretary of the Interior. The Register is an important initiative to commemorate the significant international heritage of the United States and to promote and preserve American history and architecture.
Culturally Significant Places
The following is a list of the Register's significant buildings. Many of these are currently used as the embassy or residence of the United States Ambassador to their respective countries.
- Chancery of the Embassy of the United States in Manila, Manila
- Winfield House, London
- Schoenborn Palace, Prague
- Palazzo Margherita, Rome
- Twin Villas, Rome
- Seoul Old American Legation, Seoul
- Hôtel de Talleyrand, Paris
- Hôtel Rothschild, Paris
- Tangier Old Legation, Tangier
- Ambassador’s Residence, Tokyo
- Palacio Bosch, Buenos Aires
- Ambassador's Residence, Hanoi
- Villa Otium, Oslo
- New Delhi Chancery, New Delhi
- Tirana Embassy, Tirana
- American Center, Alexandria
- Athens Chancery, Athens
- Truman Hall, Brussels
- Byne House, Madrid
- Villa Petschek, Prague