This article lists the oldest known surviving buildings constructed in the Americas, including on each of the regions and within each country.
"Building" is defined as any human-made structure used or interface for supporting or sheltering any use or continuous occupancy. In order to qualify for this list a structure must:
be a recognisable building;
incorporate features of building work from the claimed date to at least 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height;
be largely complete or include building work to this height for most of its perimeter.
contains an enclosed area with at least one entry point.
Ruined King's Castle ("Queen's Castle" during the reigns of Queens Anne and Victoria, and also called "Seaward Fort") on Castle Island (including its Captain's house, the oldest surviving dwelling house in Bermuda). Oldest extant building in Bermuda.[43]
The State House was the first purpose-built home of the House of Assembly, which then constituted the only chamber of the Parliament of Bermuda. Other than fortifications, it was Bermuda's first stone building. It is the oldest surviving Bermudian building, again excepting some fortifications (St. Peter's Church was established in 1612, but rebuilt several times and its oldest parts are thought to date from the 1620s), and has been used since 1815 as a Masonic lodge.
Oldest Protestant church in the "New World" (the Americas and certain Atlantic islands such as Bermuda). St. Peter's Church was the first of nine Parish churches established in Bermuda by the Church of England. It was originally built in 1612, but rebuilt several times and its oldest parts today are thought to date from the 1620s. The House of Assembly of Bermuda met in the church pending completion of the State House.
San Basilio de Palenque, according to UNESCO it was the first free African town in the Americas, located 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.
^"Iglesia San Jose"(PDF). American Express World Monuments Watch Grant Selection, April 2004. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
^"Collections". National Museum of American History. 7 February 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^Fray Domingo de Petrés en el Nuevo Reino de Granada, "Iglesia San Francisco" pág. 96–99.
^World Heritage SitesUnesco 2009 "The first capital of Bolivia, its early wealth came from mining activities, but it soon also became a major cultural centre, ... The impressive Metropolitan Cathedral was begun in 1559 but not completely finished until 250 years later."
^Roberts, Kathaleen (16 February 2012). "New Palace story emerges". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. New Mexico State Historian Rick Hendricks has discovered that the nation's oldest continuously occupied public building may have been constructed in about 1618 – and by a different governor.
^Bermuda Forts 1612–1957, Dr. Edward C. Harris, The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press
^Brescia, Michael M. (July 2004). "Liturgical Expressions of Episcopal Power: Juan de Palafox y Mendoza and Tridentine Reform in Colonial Mexico". The Catholic Historical Review. 90 (3): 497–518. doi:10.1353/cat.2004.0116. JSTOR25026636. S2CID159841691.
^Sherman, William H. (2010). "Palafoxiana, Biblioteca". In Suarez, Michael F.; Woudhuysen, H. R. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to the Book. Oxford University Press.
^Colón, Christina Paulette; Flippin, Alexis Lipsitz; Marino, John; Porter, Darwin; Prince, Danforth (22 July 2011). Frommer's Caribbean. John Wiley & Sons. p. 774. ISBN 978-1-118-10734-8.
^"Sandy Hook Light". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^Christina Paulette Colón; Darwin Porter; Alexis Lipsitz Flipin; Danforth Prince; John Marino (23 August 2010). Frommer's Caribbean 2011. Frommer's. pp. 252–. ISBN 978-0-470-61446-4. Retrieved 22 June 2011.