Federal Resources for Architects and Planners

Selected Federal Resources for Architects And Planners

The following list of resources for architects and planners is by no means complete and serves only as a sampling of materials published by the Federal Government. Included are both print and electronic resources which are located either in the Microforms and Documents Department (MADD) on the first floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon (RBD) Library, or in the Library of Architecture, Design, and Construction (LADC) located at Dudley Commons in the College of Architecture, Design, and Construction.

Federal Departments and Related Websites:

  • The Department of the Interior (http://www.doi.gov/ ) which oversees several units that provides a variety of useful information to architects, landscape architects, interior designers, and planners. Its mission is to preserve both the cultural, historical, and environmental landscape of the United States. Within the Department of the Interior are:

    • The National Park Service (http://www.nps.gov/) which has programs in archeology, ethnography, historic landscapes, historic structures, history, and museum management. Besides the print publications, its website provides access to informational databases, inventories, and collection descriptions and reproductions that can be searched, studied, or downloaded.

    • The Smithsonian Institution (http://www.si.edu/newstart.htm) which includes the Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation (OAHP). The OAHP maintains information about the architectural history of the Smithsonian buildings and provides text and digital images related to specific buildings via the World Wide Web.

    • The United States Geological Survey (USGS) (http://www.usgs.gov/) which has a mission to provide geologic, topographic, and hydrologic information on U.S. natural resources. This information consists of maps, databases, and descriptions and analyses of the water, energy, and mineral resources, land surface, underlying geologic structure, natural hazards, and dynamic processes of the earth.

      Among the most popular and versatile products of the USGS are its 1:24,000-scale topographic maps (1 inch on the map represents 2,000 feet on the ground). These maps depict basic natural and cultural features of the landscape, such as lakes and streams, highways and railroads, boundaries, and geographic names. Contour lines are used to depict the elevation and shape of terrain, which is useful for civil engineering, land-use planning, natural-resource monitoring, and other applications.

      Some examples of what can be done with various ditigal formats include:

        Earthshots Landsat images showing environmental changes.

        The Temporal Urban Mapping page documents human-induced land transformations in large metropolitan areas. Examples showing changes in urban growth over time are illustrated through both static maps and animated maps of major urban areas.

      USGS sponsors workshops in which some of the web pages have excellent resources and illustrations. One of the best is Impact of Climate Change and Land Use in the Southwestern United States. Another aspect of USGS "publications" are its collaborations with other agencies on local, state and federal levels. An example of this is explained in the factsheet South Florida Ecosystem Program Fact Sheet. This collaboration is just one aspect of the USGA Ecosystem Program.

  • The Department of Commerce (http://www.doc.gov/) has a variety of agencies, two of which gather and disseminate statistical data or predict the weather. Other agencies within the Department provide business information, and patents (including design patents); however, the overarching mandate of the department is "to work with the business community to foster economic growth and the creation of new American jobs."

    • The Bureau of the Census (http://www.census.gov/) provides indepth demographic data and the Tiger Map Server. The Tiger Map Server can be manipulated to reveal a variety of features including transportation routes, geographic features, and city labels. The U.S. Gazetteer is used to identify places to view with the Tiger Map Server and obtain census data from the 1990 Census Lookup server. You can search for places, counties or minor civil divisions (MCDs) by entering the name and state abbreviation (optional), or 5-digit zip code.

    • The National Climatic Data Center (http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/) is the world's largest archive of weather data. Climatological data that can be charted is available in both print and electronic format.

  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development (http://www.hud.gov/) is responsible for both the national policies and the programs that address America's housing needs. This includes providing information and resources on new technologies, adaptability, and restoration and renovation of houses and communities.

  • The Library of Congress (http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/aboutlc.html) uses the World Wide Web (WWW) to present information about and materials from its collections over the Internet. This includes the American Memory Project homepages as well as links to the Library of Congress catalog and other library catalogs. One current hot site is the one for panoramic maps, including maps of Alabama, is at the following web address: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/pmhtml/panhome.html

Electronic Publications



Along the Georgia-Florida Coast (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/g-fintro.htm), uses the area's historic sites, buildings, structures, objects, and districts to reveal many of the most important developments in America's past: encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples, European occupation and settlement, plantation agriculture based on African slavery, African American culture, and tourism. All 51 properties featured in the itinerary are listed in the National Park Service's National Register. Two of the cities include St. Augustine and Miami.

American Memory Historical Collections (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/), consists of primary source and archival materials relating to American culture and history. These historical collections are the key contribution of the Library of Congress to the National Digital Library. Most of these offerings are from the Library's unparalleled special collections. Some of the collections of interest include:

    Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America: Photographs by Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner, 1935-1955. Approximately 29,000 photographs of buildings, interiors, and gardens of renowned architects and interior designers.

    The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 Multiformat collection of photographs, printed works (including government documents), and manuscripts documenting the conservation movement in the United States. Features an album of paintings, photographs, and scientific and literary works produced by the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899.

    Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880-1920. 25,000 photographs of turn-of-the-century America from the Detroit Publishing Company.

    Color Photographs from the Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information, ca. 1938 to 1944. Photographs of rural and small town America during the late 1930s and scenes of the defense and war mobilization effort from 1939-1944.

    Washington as it Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959. Over 14,000 photographs of buildings, business, news, and human interest items in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

    Around the World in the 1890s: Photographs from the World's Transportation Commission, 1894-1896. Views of foreign countries and their native forms of transportation.

CRM: Cultural Resource Management (http://www.nps.gov/crweb1/crm/crm-hom.htm), includes information on Federal, state, tribal, local, and international preservation programs; preservation treatment; management, protection, and interpretation of cultural resources; preservation legislation; information management; publications, training, conferences; and news notes, opinions, and letters. CRM is also located in the MADD Government Microfiche collection under the Superintendent of Documents number: I 29.86/2:

Chicago: A National Register Travel Itinerary (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/Chicago/chintro.htm). Twenty-five of the more than two hundred Chicago National Register of Historic Places are introduced. The accompanying map, descriptions, and photographs provide a sample of the city's rich past, including influential early skyscrapers, stylish homes, and buildings central to the African American community. To view the places you can either utilize the clickable map or look them up by name and address.

GPO Access (http://ralph.lib.auburn.edu/gpo/index.html). Available through the Auburn University Libraries homepage, this Goverment Printing Office website offers access to federal publications such as the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), and Public Laws. These publications and others are fully searchable for current and retrospective information on laws and government reports.

Landview II: Mapping of Selected EPA-Regulated Sites, Tiger/Line 1992, and 1990 Census of Population and Housing. Washington, D.C: Environmental Protection Agency, 1992.
Location: MADD Online: EP 1.104/4:CD 92-LV 2-

    A set of 11 compact discs which offers a complete mapping system. The discs cover regions of the United States from the state boundaries to the street network. All discs have basic census data for several levels and five Environmental Protection Agency databases. Maps have already been created for several Alabama counties and may be viewed or downloaded from a stand alone terminal in the Microforms and Documents Department of RBD Library. A new version called Landview III was released on January 14, 1998.
SeaView:Satellite Imagery of the Southeastern U.S. Coast. Charleston, SC: U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center, 1996.
Location: MADD Online: C 55.54:Se 1/CD

The Smithsonian Preservation Notes (http://www.si.edu/organiza/offices/oahp/spq/start.htm), a quarterly newsletter, is published by the Smithsonian Institution Office of Architectural History and Historic Preservation (OAHP). The publication reports on issues of historic preservation and architectural history. The Smithsonian Preservation Notes were formerly called the Smithsonian Preservation Quarterly. OAHP maintains Internet editions of select Quarterly issues available via the World Wide Web.

While the U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin (http://geology.usgs.gov/bulletins.html) can be highly technical in its publications, some issues provide excellent information in utilizing digital materials. This is especially true for the "Selected Papers in Applied Computer Sciences" issues of 1992 and 1994.

Print Publications

Biography and Bibliography

Birnbaum, Charles A. and Lisa E. Crowder, et. al.; eds. Pioneers of American Landscape Design : An Annotated Bibliography Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Preservation Assistance Division, Historic Landscape Initiative, 1993.
Location:

  • MADD: I 29.82:P 65
  • LADC: SB 469.9.P 56 1993

      • A representative cross section of sixty-one entries prepared by historians and landscape architects, this does not include those "pioneers" who have been the recent subject of books or papers (e.g. Fletcher Stelle, Jens Jensen, the Olmsteds, etc.). Each entry includes a brief biographical profile, annotated period and modern sources, a concise statement on the location and contents of archival collections, and an illustration of the person or related landscape project. A diversity of disciplines, a range of time periods, influences on the profession, regional diversity, and new information is represented. The project was produced in collaboration with the Catalog for Landscape Records in the United States at Wave Hill, Smithsonian Institution Office of Horticultural Services, American Society of Landscape Architects, Dumbarton Oaks Garden Library and Harvard University Graduate School of Design Frances Loeb Library.
    Birnbaum, Charles A. and Julie K. Fix; eds. Pioneers of American Landscape Design II : An Annotated Bibliography. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Heritage Preservation Services, Historic Landscape Initiative 1995.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.82:P 65/995
  • LADC: SB 469.9.P 57 1995
      • Following the pattern of the first volume, this edition again includes a cross-section of practitioners that are not currently "in the news."
    Birnbaum, Charles A. and Cheryl Wagner; eds. Making Educated Decisions: A Landscape Preservation Bibliography. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Preservation Assistance Division, Historic Landscape Initiative, 1994.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.82:L 23
      • This bibliography contains over 500 annotated citations indexed by subject, author, and place. It was conceived by and for landscape architects, horticulturalists, architects, planners, and archeologists, among others. The focus is predominantly on landscape preservation philosophy, research, preservation planning, practice, treatment, management and maintenance. Many case studies have been used, and the volume contains illustrations in the form of maps, plans, and photographs.
    Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record: An Annotated Bibliography. Washington, D.C.: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Board, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 1992.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.74:B 47
      • Covering the years 1933-91, this bibliography is limited to publications issued by HABS/HAER, the National Park Service, and the Government Printing Office, as well as those published by other publishers in cooperation with HABS/HAER.

    Landscape Architecture

    Drabelle, Dennis. The Art of Landscape Architecture. Washington, D.C.: Partners for Livable Places, 1990.
    Location:

  • MADD: NF 2.2:L 23
      • The projects in this pamphlet are funded by grants from the Design Arts Program for the National Endowment for the Arts. Projects discussed include: "Design for an Ecosystem" on Virginia's Eastern Shore; "Sky Mound" where Nancy Holt changes a New Jersey landfill into art; Zoo design in Dallas working to propagate endangered species; "Restoring the Master's Parks" working towards restoring Frederick Law Olmsted's designs; an interview with Ian McHarg; "Visualizing the Future of the Columbia River Gorge;" Victor Regnier's study on outdoor places for the elderly; and biking and hiking paths in New York City.
    McClelland, Linda. Presenting Nature: The Historic Landscape Architecture of the National Park Service, 1916-1942. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Interagency Resources Division, National Register of Historic Places, 1993.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.2:N 19/4
      • The idea for the study came from the growing interest in landscape preservation and the concern that, while significant park buildings and structures were being recognized, the larger landscapes of which they were an integral part were being overlooked. Based on the history of landscape architecture in the National Park Service, this 310-page study traces the role that practitioners had in establishing the principles, policies, and practices with which the parks were developed from 1916 through 1942.
    National Park Service Popular Study Series. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1941- .
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.45:(number)
      • Irregular series of small books, sometimes reprints from other sources, each on a specific historical topic. Titles include "Gardens of the Colonists" (#10), and "Wharf Building of a Century and More Ago." (#9).

    Preservation and History

    Historic American Engineering Record
    Location:

  • MADD, RBD Library, LADC: various numbers
      • Search this series as an author in AUBIEcat. These materials are shelved in various places because they were produced in collaboration with other public and private agencies. An example of one of the studies is: Rehabilitation: Danville 1978, A Strategy for Building Reuse and Neighborhood Conservation, (1979) which was a feasibility study in rehabilitating historic industrial buildings. Other subjects include inventorying engineering and industrial sites in Rhode Island and a look at railroad stations in America.
    Historic Resource Study. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.58/3:(various numbers)
      • These studies, which include everything from the history of San Francisco's Presidio to the establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic site in Atlanta, "treat the historic resources of the parks in a holistic manner, establishing the relevant historic context, and containing the information necessary to list all of the eligible resources in the National Register of Historic Places." The studies include maps, photographs, and bibliographies.
    Historic Structures Report. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.88:(various numbers)
      • An example of this series is: Brick Walks...William Howard Taft National Historic Site published in 1988. This study includes maps, photographs, and a bibliography. Some of these publications are housed in the Architecture Library under individual call numbers. To locate a list of these search, AUBIEcat using keywords "historic structures report".
    Preservation Case Studies. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.70/2:(various numbers)
      • Subjects include Maymont Park Italian Garden, Olmsted's Jamaica Pond Boathouse, and rehabilitating historic hotels or office buildings. Photographs, architect's specifications, and brief histories of the projects are included.
    Preservation Planning Series. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Interior.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.70/3:
      • Includes such topics as directions in rural preservation, state program overviews and state historic preservation reviews.
    Weeks, Kay D and Anne E. Grimmer. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring & Reconstructing Historic Buildings. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, Heritage Preservation Services, 1995.
    Location:
  • MADD: I 29.9/2:H 62/6
      • These standards apply to all proposed development grant-in-aid projects assisted through the National Historic Preservation Fund, and are intended to be applied to a wide variety of resource types, including buildings, sites, structures, objects and districts. An earlier (1979), less illustrative edition, is shelved in MADD under the number I 70.8:St 2.