There’s a Building On the National Historic Landmark Registry That’s Not Even In the U.S.



The National Historic Landmark Registry is a register of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation and it’s maintained by the federal government. The register includes everything from theaters to parks to statues, and even burial plots. The one thing that ties all the entries in the register together is that they’re all located within the borders of the Untied States — all of them except one. The Tangier American Legations, a building located in Tangier, Morocco, is the first piece of public property owned and maintained by the U.S. government after the U.S. became a sovereign nation. Built in 1821, it housed the United States Legation and Consulate for 140 years — making it the longest-occupied diplomatic post in U.S. history — and was later turned into a base of operations for World War II intelligence agents. By the 1970s, the building had fallen into disrepair, so a group of American citizens funded a restoration effort. The building was turned into a museum commemorating the long history of diplomatic relations and friendship between the United States and Morocco, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places during the 1980s.