Bloomington, IN Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

08 (Historic Districts, Conservation Districts, and Standards) of Title 8, sets the criteria the City of Bloomington uses to decide what can become part of a historic district: a building, groups of buildings, structure, site, monument, streetscape, or neighborhood qualifies if it meets at least one of two tests. The historic test covers a resource that has significant character, interest, or value as part of the development, heritage, or cultural characteristics of the city, state, or nation, is tied to a person who played a significant role in local, state, or national history, is the site of a historic event, or exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social, or historic heritage of the community, which is the clause that most directly covers a cultural monument.

A separate architecturally worthy test, in the same subsection, covers design and craftsmanship instead of cultural meaning. 010(a) through (d), the historic preservation commission has to survey and map the proposed district, classify each building or site, hold a public hearing with statutory notice under Indiana Code 5-3-1-1, and send a written report to the Common Council, which alone can adopt the designating ordinance. 030 folds the resource into the city's general building-maintenance requirements so it cannot be neglected into disrepair.