16 U.S.C. § 437 (CONSERVATION)
§ 437. Fort McHenry; restoration and preservation
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to begin the restoration of Fort McHenry, in the State of Maryland, including the restoration of the old Fort McHenry proper to such a condition as would make it suitable for preservation permanently as a national monument and perpetual national memorial shrine as the birthplace of the immortal “Star-Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key, and he is further authorized and directed, as are his successors, to hold the said Fort McHenry in perpetuity as a military reservation, national monument and historic shrine, and to maintain it as such, except that part mentioned in section 439 of this title, and that part in use on March 3, 1925, by the Department of Commerce for a light and fog-signal station under revocable license from the Interior Department with the maintenance of the electric lines thereto and such portion of the reservation, including improvement, as may be reserved by the Secretary of the Army for the use of the Chief of Engineers, the said reservation to be maintained as a national public monument, subject to such regulations as may from time to time be issued by the Secretary of the Interior.
(May 26, 1914, ch. 100, 38 Stat. 382; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 425, 43 Stat. 1109; Ex. Ord. No. 6166, § 2, June 10, 1933; Ex. Ord. No. 6228, § 1, July 28, 1933; Aug. 11, 1939, ch. 686, 53 Stat. 1405; July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, § 205(a), 61 Stat. 501.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Codification
text: This section and sections 438 to 440 of this title were derived from act Mar. 3, 1925, which was entitled “An act to repeal and reenact chapter 100, 1914, Public, Numbered 108, to provide for the restoration of Fort McHenry, in the State of Maryland, and its permanent preservation as a national park and perpetual national memorial shrine as the birthplace of the immortal ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ written by Francis Scott Key, for the appropriation of the necessary funds, and for other purposes.” The enacting clause reads as follows: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That an Act authorizing the Secretary of War to grant the use of the Fort McHenry Military Reservation in the State of Maryland to the mayor and city council of Baltimore, a municipal corporation of the State of Maryland, making certain provisions in connection therewith, providing access to and from the site of the new immigration station heretofore set aside be, and hereby is, repealed and reenacted to read as follows:”.
As reenacted in 1925 this section recites that Fort McHenry is “now” occupied and used as a military reservation and authorized the restoration “so soon as it may no longer be needed for uses and needs growing out of the late war.” The foregoing provisions have been omitted as temporary.
The words of this section “on March 3, 1925” refer to the date of passage of the Act.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Change of Name
text: “National monument and historic shrine” substituted in text for “national park, and memorial” in view of redesignation of Fort McHenry National Park as Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine by act Aug. 11, 1939, classified to section 440a of this title.
Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II, 61 Stat. 501. Section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, was repealed by section 53 of act Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 641. Section 1 of act Aug. 10, 1956, enacted “Title 10, Armed Forces” which in sections 3010 to 3013 continued military Department of the Army under administrative supervision of Secretary of the Army.
heading: Designation of Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center
text: Pub. L. 118–175, § 1, Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 2604, provided that:
“(a) Designation.—
The visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, currently located at 2400 E Fort Ave, Baltimore, MD 21230, is designated as the ‘Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center’.
“(b) References.—
Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other document of the United States to the visitor center designated by subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center.”
heading: Termination of War and Emergencies
text: Joint Res. July 25, 1947, ch. 327, § 3, 61 Stat. 451, provided that in the interpretation of these sections, the date July 25, 1947, shall be deemed to be the date of termination of any state of war theretofore declared by Congress and of the national emergencies proclaimed by the President on Sept. 8, 1939, and May 27, 1941.
heading: Executive Documents
heading: Transfer of Functions
text: Administrative functions of Fort McHenry National Park transferred to Department of the Interior by Ex. Ord. Nos. 6166 and 6228, set out as notes under section 901 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.
National Park Service substituted for Office of National Parks, Buildings, and Reservations referred to in Ex. Ord. No. 6166, by act Mar. 2, 1934, ch. 38, § 1, 48 Stat. 389.