Their value is measured in numbers.
"This little cottage on north weber.. it's like before the civil war.."
Dates that go back from 1870 to the early 1900's.
Each of them has a history, and some people say it's time to preserve it.
"It's part of our heritage and who we are," says Libbi Tyler of the City of Urbana, "so we don't want to lose that."
Tyler says in the past seven years, only five buildings have been designated as landmarks.
It's a lot of responsibility she says some people don't want to mess with.
"Many improvements that you might make to the exterior of the building require approva,. so the thoguht is that if we can provide further encouragement, we'd be able to expand our listings of local landmarks," she says.
Encouragement or incentives.
Things like giving property owners a tax rebate or even a no-interest loan.
But sometimes, it's not the owners who see the need.
This home is just one of the buildings that could soon become a historic landmark, but in this case, it's not the owner who asked for the title., but a neighbor who sees it most everyday.
One neighbor says, "They provide sort of a living history of the city, they're very unique, and it's what makes our community different from other communities."
Brian Adams says preserving these buildings is simply about pride.
"They're still here, they still have a story to tell.."
A story he and many others hope goes down in history and lives to be re-told time and time again.
Some realtors in the area fear if a home is deemed historic, they may have restrictions on their property, making it harder to attract a buyer or sell.
