Historic Plaques Will Recognize Birmingham's Heritage Homes

Some of Birmingham's historic windows into the past have windows of their own.

Century-old homes are a community asset worth recognizing, city leaders believe. A new initiative will offer brass plaques to owners of houses built in 1911 or earlier. The cost of each 6-by-6-inch marker is being partly subsidized by the Community Development Department.

Keith Deyer of the Historic District Commission said 76 households will receive letters in June, addressed to “Dear Centennial Home Owner,” that begin, “We would like to recognize (your) structure as it contributes to the city character and heritage.”

Each homeowner will be offered a free Centennial Home Certificate, showing the construction year, and will have the option of buying a three-line plaque that says “Certified Heritage Home | City of Birmingham.” The cost, estimated at roughly $65, will be reduced by an initial allocation of $1,000 to $1,200 from the community development fund.

That amount is available under the current budget, city planner Sheila Bashiri confirmed at a May 18 meeting of the Historic District Commission. “I think there's more room in next year's budget,” commission member Shelli Weisberg added.

The initiative, discussed since January, doesn't need City Commission review because no new appropriation is requested. “We'll go forward in the next couple of weeks,” Deyer said.

Thirty-nine 19th-century homes already have metal plaques stating they're historic. “Some owners don't want a formal designation,” Bashiri noted, because that means significant exterior changes would require Historic District Commission approval.

“We want to offer some type of recognition to increase pride for owners who can say, 'My house is special,' ” Bashiri said.

Another goal is to make owners “more aware of historic preservation, so they'll perhaps give consideration before making (exterior) changes and call us so they make only those that are appropriate," she said. "We refer to it as conservation.”

The new program adds no legal restrictions. That's also true for 44 Birmingham homes designed by local architect Wallace Frost from the 1920s-1950s. Those homeowners received free brass markers during the 1990s.

“Birmingham is unique in the number of existing structures which are over 100 years old,” the pending letter says.

After the mailing to determine interest in plaques, the city's underwriting will be split among participants to reduce each person's cost.

Similar programs designate old homes elsewhere in this state and others, noted Bashiri, a member of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network board. “I don't know of any other cities doing it around here,” she said.