Historic American Building Survey (San Francisco, Calif.)

The Hampton Lillibridge House was built in 1796 by Rhode Island native, Hampton Lillibridge in the traditional New England style. The house was originally located at 310 East Bryan Street in Savannah, Georgia, but when it was purchased by antiques dealer, Jim Williams, in 1963 it was moved to its present location at 507 East Julian Street in Savannah, where it is known as one of Savannah's most haunted homes.

From the description of Hampton Lillibridge House architectural drawings, 1962. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 630141480

U.S. Works Progress Administration, Historic American Buildings Survey.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey drawings, 1936. (Maine Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 70960364

The Historic American Building Survey (HABS) was established as a Depression relief organization in 1934 to permanently record architectural and historical landmarks by name, location, date of construction and structural information. The project continues to the present day and its original records, consisting of measured drawings and photographs, are kept in the Library of Congress.

From the guide to the Historic American Buildings Survey collection, 1934-1941, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Northwest Architectural Archives, Manuscripts Division [naa])

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was established in 1933 by the National Park Service to document American structures of historic importance. The drawings in this collection, of selected buildings in Westchester County, are on permanent loan from the Westchester County Historical Society.

From the description of Drawings of Historic Sites in Westchester County. 1933. (Westchester County Archives). WorldCat record id: 18198381

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) is the nation's first federal preservation program, begun in 1933 to document America's architectural heritage. Creation of the program was motivated primarily by the perceived need to mitigate the negative effects upon our history and culture of rapidly vanishing architectural resources. A source was needed to assist with the documentation of our architectural heritage, as well as with design and interpretation of historic resources, that was national in scope. As it was stated in the tripartite agreement between the American Institute of Architects, the Library of Congress, and the NPS that formed HABS, "A comprehensive and continuous national survey is the logical concern of the Federal Government." As a national survey, the HABS collection is intended to represent "a complete resume of the builder's art." Thus, the building selection ranges in type and style from the monumental and architect-designed to the utilitarian and vernacular, including a sampling of our nation's vast array of regionally and ethnically derived building traditions [from the NPS website].

From the guide to the Historic American Buildings Survey Collection, 1963-1965, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)

The HABS drawings at the CSWR were copied from the collection at the Library of Congress. Stemming from a 1933 National Park Service proposal to put unemployed architects to work documenting "America's antique buildings," the HABS program was funded by the Federal Works Project division during the depression and has continued down through the decades. In 1974 all the HABS measured drawings made between 1933 and 1974 were collected and transferred to the Library of Congress, where they were grouped by state, county, and vicinity, and microfilmed on 63 reels (35 mm). Reel 41 pertains to New Mexico. Those drawings done since 1974 continue to be collected at the Library of Congress. The HABS program operates as a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress, as the depository, the National Park Service, as the administrator of the surveys, and the American Institute of Architects, as advisor, to document and preserve American buildings.

From the description of HABS measured drawings of New Mexico buildings, 1934-1973. (University of New Mexico-Main Campus). WorldCat record id: 49753472

The Historic American Buildings Survey is a program of the Federal Government to document historic buildings within the fifty states.

From the guide to the Historic American Buildings Survey photographs, 1965, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)

The Historic American Buildings Survey was established as a Great Depression relief organization in 1934 to permanently record architectural and historical landmarks by name, location, date of construction, and structural information. The project continues to the present day. Its original records, consisting of measured drawings and photographs, are stored in the Library of Congress.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey collection, 1934-1941. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis). WorldCat record id: 63279917

The Historic American Buildings Survey was conducted in the 1930s by the Office of National Parks, Buildings and Reservations, U.S. Dept. of the Interior.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey records, 1934. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122363995

From the guide to the Historic American Buildings Survey records, 1934, (The New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division.)

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was established in 1933 by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Its mission then, as today, was to create a lasting archive of America's historic architecture.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey collection, 1934, 1940, 1960, 1963, and 1968. (Clemson University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 42134935

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was started in 1933 under the Civil Works Administration to provide employment for architects and draftsmen who lost their jobs during the Depression. It was designed to identify and preserve historic structures. Indiana's initial involvement in the project was under the direction of Herbert W. Foltz, who was active in the Association of Indiana Architects. After the project was disrupted by World War II, the A.I.A. took over the administration of the project and several individuals have served as preservation officers since.

From the description of Records, 1933-1978. (Indiana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 29602731

The Historic American Buildings Survey was established in 1933 by the National Park Service to document American structures of historic importance.

From the description of Drawings, 1933. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155540623

In 1933, the Park Service established the Historic American Buildings Survey as a make-work program for architects, draftsmen, and photographers left jobless by the Great Depression. Guided by field instructions from Washington, D.C., the first HABS recorders were tasked with documenting a representative sampling of America's architectural heritage. By creating an archive of historic architecture, HABS provided a data base of primary source material for the then fledgling historic preservation movement.

These drawings result from Works Project Administration Historic American Building Survey. WPA Official Project #65-1715.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey drawings for Maine, 1936. (Maine Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 744661318

Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP), part of the National Park Service, administers HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey), the Federal Government's oldest preservation program, and companion programs HAER (Historic American Engineering Record), HALS (Historic American Landscapes Survey), and CRGIS (Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems). Documentation produced through the programs constitutes the nation's largest archive of historic architectural, engineering and landscape documentation. Records on nearly 40,000 historic sites, consisting of large-format, black and white photographs, measured drawings, and written historical reports, are maintained in a special collection at the Library of Congress. HDP conducts a nationwide documentation program in partnership with state and local governments, private industry, professional societies, universities, preservation groups, and other Federal agencies. The program assigns highest priority to sites of national significance that are in danger of demolition or loss by neglect, and to National Park Service properties.

Documentation provides a permanent record of the nation's most important historic sites and large-scale objects. The Collection is unique in the strong support it enjoys from its institutional sponsors and the public, and is distinguished in its national scope, consistent format, archival stability, and continued growth. The documentation also contributes to wider recognition and appreciation of historic resources as National Historic Landmarks; provides baseline documentation for rehabilitation and restoration; and makes available well-researched materials for interpretation and illustration.

From the description of Historic American Buildings Survey Collection, Circa 1975. (Michigan Technological University). WorldCat record id: 703879232

Organizational History

At the height of the Great Depression, architect Charles E. Peterson of the National Park Service proposed an innovative New Deal program that would relieve unemployment among architects, draftsmen, and photographers, while documenting the nation’s threatened architectural heritage: the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). Inaugurated in 1933, the program would be administered by the National Park Service, with professional support from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and funding from various public works programs, including the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Since 1934, the Library of Congress has preserved HABS’ documentary legacy in hundreds of thousands of photographs, drawings, and other materials.

Soon after the program was inaugurated, California was divided into two administrative districts—Northern California and Southern California, including Arizona—and HABS surveyors set to work, documenting a wide range of structures, with a focus on missions, colonial buildings, and Gold Rush towns. A year later, California was reorganized into four districts, Northern California, including Nevada; Santa Barbara County, including San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties; Southern California, including Arizona; and San Diego County. The national program received a boost in 1935, when HABS was permanently established by the landmark Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act.

In the early 1940s, with the beginning of American intervention in World War II, HABS lost its WPA funding. For the next sixteen years, the program was sustained by donations of records from the National Park Service. During this period, HABS began to employ summer teams of architecture students to record historic buildings, a practice that would endure until the present day. In 1957, HABS regained its financial footing, revived and funded by the National Park Service as part of its Mission 66 historic restoration program. Building surveys in California and other Western states were administered by the National Park Service’s Western Office in San Francisco, under the supervision of architect Charles S. Pope. This period (1957-1960s) witnessed the careful documentation of many important places in California, including Yosemite and Old Sacramento.

In the early 1970s, the National Park Service closed its Western Office, headquartered in San Francisco. (It was later reopened as the Pacific West Regional Office, again in San Francisco.) At this time, the California Historical Society was named the official state repository for HABS documentation, and records maintained at the Western Office were transferred to CHS on a permanent loan basis. The National Park Service continues to administer the program, supervising the preparation of HABS documentation by summer teams, individuals, and organizations. The Library of Congress preserves and provides access to original HABS records, while supporting institutions like the California Historical Society maintain auxiliary collections of duplicate documentation.

From the guide to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) records, circa 1790-2011, 1933-1965, (California Historical Society)

The HABS drawings at the CSWR were copied from the collection at the Library of Congress. Stemming from a 1933 National Park Service proposal to put unemployed architects to work documenting "America's antique buildings," the HABS program was funded by the Federal Works Project division during the depression and has continued down through the decades. This national HABS collection consists of over 363,000 measured drawings, photographs and pages of written historical and architectural information for over 35,000 American buildings across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Canal Zone.

In 1974 all the HABS measured drawings made between 1933 and 1974 were collected and transferred to the Library of Congress, where they were grouped by state, county, and vicinity, and microfilmed on 63 reels (35 mm). Reel 41 pertains to New Mexico. Those drawings done since 1974 continue to be collected at the Library of Congress. Those completed through 1979 are available on microfice.

The HABS program operates as a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress, as the depository, the National Park Service, as the administrator of the surveys, and the American Institute of Architects, as advisor, to document and preserve American buildings. Following standard archival record formats set up in the 1930s, architects have continued to systematically study, measure and draw the built environment of the United States, producing this impressive collection. Today, the survey work is carried on primarily by college students pursuing degrees in architecture and history.

From the guide to the HABS Measured Drawings of New Mexico Buildings, 1934-1974, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)

The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) was established in 1933 by the National Park Service (NPS) to create a lasting archive of America's historic architecture.

In 1934 the NPS entered into an agreement with the Library of Congress and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) as cosponsors of the HABS program. Under this agreement the NPS administers the operations of HABS with funds appropriated by Congress and supplemented by donations from individuals, foundations, historical organizations, and other local, state and federal agencies. The NPS sets qualitative standards and directs the preparation of records to be placed in the Library of Congress. The AIA provided professional counsel.

HABS operates under congressional authority from the Historic Sites Act of 1935. HABS projects include the creation of measured drawings, written histories, and large-format photographs.

The Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) was established in 1969 as a companion program to document structures of technological and engineering significance.

The program documents America's industrial, maritime and engineering history, and produces measured and interpretive drawings, historical reports, and large format photographs of significant sites nationwide. This information is housed and maintained in the HABS/HAER collection at the Library of Congress, where it is made available to the general public, students, and scholars.

The Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) coordinates many HABS/HAER projects in the state, particularly those involving historically-significant properties scheduled for demolition.

From the guide to the Records relating to Minnesota structures., 1882-2001 (bulk 1981-1998)., (Minnesota Historical Society)