• Yes: Congratulations! You have made it over the first hurdle. You will receive a letter from the NHL program indicating that you may proceed with preparing a nomination. We will assign a reviewer/contact person to you; this reviewer will send you the NHL forms and work with you throughout the process.

• Maybe: You will receive a letter from the NHL program indicating that additional information is required. Before we can make a preliminary determination on the potential eligibility of the property, we need additional information from you.

• No: You will receive a letter from the NHL program explaining why we've determined that the property is not eligible for further consideration.

Please note: This is a first step. Not all applicants who make it through this stage go on to become NHLs.

photograph by wallyg via Flickr The Breakers, RI: In 1895, the year of its completion, The Breakers was the largest, most opulent house in Newport, a summer resort considered the social capital of America during the Gilded Age. The house was built for Cornelius Vanderbilt II (1843-1899), a key figure in American railroads, philanthropy, and fashionable society. It was designed by Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895), one of the founding fathers of architecture in America.