Bradford Patterson, DSHPO
Chief Preservation Officer
Texas Historical Commission
Bradford Patterson is Chief Preservation Officer, serving as the Chief Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer for the administration of the National Historic Preservation Act. Responsibilities include three agency divisions: Architecture, History Programs, and Community Heritage Development. Programs include tax credit programs, disaster response, review and compliance for federal and state projects, three grant programs including the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program and Texas Preservation Trust Fund, survey, covenants and easements, Texas Main Street, heritage tourism including the Texas Heritage Trails Program, the National Register of Historic Places, museum services, cemetery preservation, historical markers, the Real Places Conference, and support for County Historical Commissions and Certified Local Governments. From 2009 to 2023, Mr. Patterson was Director for the Community Heritage Development Division dedicated to helping communities create and sustain their historic preservation infrastructure through downtown revitalization, local preservation ordinances, and heritage tourism. With the agency since 1996, Mr. Patterson previously worked in the Architecture Division coordinating architectural review and compliance as well as overseeing the restoration of numerous historic county courthouses. He has architectural degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and Miami University. By appointment of city council, he serves on the board of Rally Austin, the city’s nonprofit real estate partner.