Salem's historic buildings are located throughout the city. These buildings range from modest workers' housing to grand brick mansions to mid-20th century homes, each with their own unique story to tell. Salem's preservationists have worked to identify the city's historic buildings and to honor and protect these buildings with historic designations. Today, more than 4,000 buildings in Salem are documented on historic inventory forms, 600 buildings are protected within local historic districts and more than 1,000 buildings are recognized with listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
