Historic Preservation Research Guide

Dictionaries | Books | Articles | Inventories | Directories  
Images, Plans, Maps | Organizations | Codes | Theses, projects

Dictionaries, encyclopedias

• Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World.  Cambridge, 1997. v.1-3. AAA REF NA208 .E53 1997.
• Illustrated Dictionary of Architectural Preservation: Restoration, Renovation, Rehabilitation, Reuse.  McGraw-Hill, 2004.  AAA REF NA105 .B87 2004.
• Oxford Reference Online: Art & Architecture provides full-text of Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Dictionary of Modern Design, Oxford Companion to Art, Oxford Companion to Western Art & more.
• Oxford Art Online, accesses the extensive Grove Art Online, the most extensive scholarly art and architecture encyclopedia, and other encyclopedias.
• What Style Is It?: A Guide to American Architecture. Preservation Press, 1983.  AAA REF NA705 .P6 1983.

Books

A database that identifies library holdings (predominately books) is usually called a catalog.  The UO Library catalog comes in two flavors.

• UO Local Catalog accesses books and other cataloged materials owned by the UO Libraries
• UO WorldCat. This database includes library holdings from around the world.  Note: The UO WorldCat database also includes articles and other kinds of materials. Searches can be restricted to type of material, date, scope, etc.  Can also narrow by UO Library, Summit Libraries, or Worldwide Libraries.
• Google Books is a useful source for finding information buried in books, some full-text online.

Articles

There are many databases that index articles in journals and trade magazines useful for preservation research.  Clicking on the  FindText which appears with citations helps you locate an item in the library, online, or elsewhere.  Multi-database searching is a feature that can be employed to expand searches beyond one database.

• AATA Online ; Abstracts of International Conservation Literature, is a comprehensive database of more than 100,000 abstracts of literature related to the preservation and conservation of material cultural heritage.
• Avery Index to Architecture Periodicals.  The principal architecture database indexes 2,000 periodicals published worldwide on architecture, landscape architecture, planning, interior design, and preservation. Coverage is from the 1930s (with selective coverage dating back to the 1860s) to the present.
• Academic Search Premier. Contains indexing for more than 8,000 publications, with full text for approximately 4,600 of these titles. ASP focuses on academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education and multi-cultural journals.  
• UO WorldCat. - In addition to library  holdings, millions of article citations populate this database.
• Web of Science The most comprehensive coverage of science, humanities, and social science articles, 1965-present. In addition to keyword, author, and source searching, uses cited sources as discovery and analysis tools.  
• Historic Oregon Newspapers consists of digitized historical Oregon newspapers dating from the 1850s to the 1920s.    See also the parent digital collection, Historic American Newspapers, sponsored by the Library of Congress.
• An Index and Summary of Oregon Building Information in the Portland Daily Abstract (1906-1910). Compiled by Michael Shellenbarger, UO Historic Preservation Program, this index cites articles from a key Portland building periodical published during a major period of the city's development.

Historic Sites Records & Inventories

• National Register of Historic Places database.
• Oregon Historic Sites Database.  Created by the State Historic Preservation Office, this database includes  58,737 records compiled from cultural resource inventories, National Register nominations, and other sources.  Includes about 1,814 scanned NR nominations which normally provide authoritative information and bibliographies. 
• Oregon Historical County Records Inventory
• Building Oregon: Architecture of Oregon & the Pacific Northwest, includes over 20,500 images & data.   Sources includes images and documents from the State Historic Preservation Office; the City of Eugene; the collections of Michael Shellenbarger, Marion Dean Ross, C. Gilman Davis, and other donors; and historic books and periodicals, such as Pacific Coast Architect.
• Architecture of the University of Oregon:  A History, Bibliography, and Research Guide.  Online guide to UO's built environment.
• Northwest Digital Archives.   Access to descriptons of primary sources in the Northwestern United States.
• Pacific Coast Architecture Database.  Database with information about California, Washington, and Oregon architects and their works.  Hosted by the University of Washington.
• Seattle Historical Sites Database (Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods)
• WISAARD (Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Records Data)

Directories

• The Special Collections & University Archives department of the UO Libraries holds a large collection of Oregon city directories.
• Ancestry.com has an extensive online collection of city directories, yearbooks, census data.  This link goes to the Oregon directories. 
• The Internet Archive has a growing collection of digitized city directories.
• [Crane Directory] (Crane's Direct-Mail Service, 1931) is a valuable resource that cross-references Portland street names after the 1931 renaming project.

Images & plans

Some sources for architectural plans, images, with descriptive information:

• ARTstor, over 200,000 architectural images including Quick Time panoramas (QTVR) are included in this database of over 1,000,000 images of cultural objects.
• AAI:  Art & Architecture Images Database, created by the UO Visual Resources Collection, provides access to thousands of images.
• Building Technology Heritage Archive.  Reproductions of trade catalogs and house plan catalogs from the 19th century on.
• Sears Home Archive. From 1908–1940, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold more than 100,000 homes through their mail-order Modern Homes program
• Google's Image Search, Google Earth, and Google Maps (with street view) can be useful tools to find images or verify building information
• Databases like the Avery Index enable refined searches to help locate plans, sections, etc.

Maps

• Digital Sanborn Maps (includes coverage of Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and California)
• Eugene Maps, from the city of Eugene's website
• Portland Maps, from the city of Portland's website, PortlandOnline.com
• The UO Libraries Maps & Aerial Photography Library (Knight Library) has an extensive collection of print and electronic cartographic materials.

Preservation agencies, societies, organizations

Local, State, Regional

• Oregon: Oregon State Historic Preservation Office
  • Eugene:  Lane County Historical Society
  • Jacksonville:  Southern Oregon Historical Society
  • Portland:  Architectural Heritage Center (Bosco-Milligan Foundation); Oregon Historical Society
  • Salem: Williamatte Heritage Center (Marion County Historical Society & Mission Mill Museum)
• Washington:  Dept of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, WISAARD (state cultural resources databse
  • Seattle:  Historic Seattle, Seattle Dept of Neighborhoods: Preservation,  

National

• Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of America's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy. Excellent list of related web links.
• Alliance for Historic Landscape Preservation, Dedicated to the preservation and conservation of historic landscapes in all their variety, from formal gardens and public parks to rural expanses. Excellent list of related web links.
• Association for Preservation Technology, promotes the best technology for conserving historic structures and their settings. The APT Bulletin is accessible online via JSTOR.
• Directory of State Historic Preservation Officers When beginning research or a project related to preserving historic structures or resources, your first stop should be to your SHPO to inquire about the programs and services offered in your State
• HABS/HAER, Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, federal program documents important architectural, engineering and industrial sites throughout the United States and its territories.
• HALS, Historic American Landscapes Survey,U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Like HABS and HAER, HALS is a federal program charged with recording historic landscapes in the United States and its territories. Homepage has excellent information and links.
• National Council for Preservation Education,  excellent source for training, employment, and other links, including international.
• National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Coordinates and supports public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. Excellent links to resources, procedures.
• National Trust for Historic Preservation, private nonprofit organization provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to save America's diverse historic places and revitalize our communities.
• Preservation Directory, over 1,300 online preservation organizations, programs and historical societies in North America. Click on the map of your state for organizations in that location.
• Preserve America, Directs Federal agencies to improve their management of historic properties and to foster heritage tourism in partnership with local communities
• Recent Past Preservation Network, promotes preservation education and advocacy to encourage contextual understanding of our modern built environment.
• Save Outdoor Sculpture!  SOS! is a joint project of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Heritage Preservation.

International

• Adventures in Preservation, non-profit organization offering hands-on building conservation workshops and volunteer vacations at historic sites around the world.
• Getty Conservation Institute works internationally to advance the field of conservation through scientific research, field projects, education and training, and the dissemination of information in various media. They publish a number of free online publications (PDFs).
• ICCROM, International Centre for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments, a world-wide organization promotes the conservation of all types of cultural heritage, both movable and immovable. It currently comprises over 100 Member States. Contributes to preserving cultural heritage in the world today and for the future through Training, Information, Research, Co-operation and Advocacy. You can search their online catalog or access free PDF publications.
• ICOMOS, International Council on Monuments and Sites, international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites
• International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works,promotes the knowledge, methods and working standards needed to protect and preserve historic and artistic works throughout the world.
• Society of Architectural Historians,promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. The SAH Journal is accessible online via JSTOR.

Building codes & standards

• Oregon: Oregon Building Codes. Links to PDF versions of The Oregon Structural Specialty Code, Oregon Mechanical Specialty Code, and the Oregon Residential Specialty Code.
• Oregon cities: Eugene City Code, Portland City Code

Theses, Terminal Projects

• School of Architecture & Allied Arts Terminal Projects Collection.  This record links to a database of projects.
• Theses.  Search the keywords "historic"  "preservation" "theses" in the UO Catalog if author or title are not known.
• Some Historic Preservation theses are digitized in Scholar's Bank, the institutional repository

Page author:  Edward H. Teague, ehteague@uoregon.edu.  Updated: February 5, 2013.