Recording Historic Structures

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) work to preserve important structures, not physically, but through documentation–precisely measured drawings, photographs, and written records. This Second Edition of Recording Historic Structures offers a detailed reference to the methods and techniques used to document America’s historic structures, from bridges and buildings to landscapes and ships. This new edition of the definitive guide provides information on the latest technological advances being used in practice–such as laser scanning, CAD, and digital–rectified photogrammetry–and state–of–the–industry case studies, including new material on recording landscapes. Packed with everything necessary to study and document any existing structure, this thorough guide discusses initial survey and planning, field notes, historical research and analysis, photographs and measured drawings, and all other aspects of documentation. Complete with a list of helpful Web links for further research, this Second Edition of Recording Historic Structures is a reliable resource for designers and engineers who work with historic structures.

Foreword. Foreword to the 1989 Edition. Preface. Preface to the 1989 Edition. Acknowldegments. PART 1: RECORDING METHODS. 1. Overview (John A. Burns). 2. History (Alison K. Hoagland & Gray Fitzsimons). 3. Photography (William L. Lebovich). 4. Measured Drawings (John A. Burns). PART 2: CASE STUDIES. 5. Recording Vernacular Building Forms (Catherine L. Lavoie). 6. Documenting Historic Bridges (Eric N. DeLony). 7. Recording Structural And Mechanical Systems (John A. Burns). 8. Recording Historic Ships (Richard K. Anderson). 9. Recording Monuments (Mark Schara). 10. Recording an Industrial Process (Richard K. Anderson). 11. Recording Historic Landscape. List of Illustrations. Bibliography. Appendixes. Index.

JOHN A. BURNS, FAIA, is a deputy chief and principal architect of HABS/HAER/HALS. He has lectured and written extensively on topics related to historic buildings, including the technologies of architectural and engineering documentation. HABS/HAER/HALS are part of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The programs document important architecture, engineering structures, industrial sites, and landscapes throughout the U.S. and its territories. The HABS/HAER/HALS collections are archived at the Library of Congress and are also available at http://memory.loc.gov.