474 American Archivist / Vol. 50 / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

Images of New England: Documenting the Built Environment

NANCY CARLSON SCHROCK

Abstract: The 1980s find the New England states in a period of economic expansion and development that has an impact upon its landscape and built environment. Older structures are being renovated or destroyed, while extensive new building is simultaneously under way. Documenting these changes involves identifying and preserving the records of build- ings that are disappearing as well as those of new construction. The author reviews briefly the history of architecture in New England, focusing on its relationship to the evolution of types of documentation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: original design records, publications and stock plans, and visual records of completed buildings and their changes over time. The differing approaches of the six states to preserving these records are profiled, and their efforts linked with the growth of an active historic preservation movement. Aspects of the built environment remain less well documented: current development, commercial architecture, landscape design, builders' records, and owner-initiated projects. The author concludes by proposing regional efforts to deal with these issues, capitalizing upon the expertise and experience of the curators, archivists, and conservators of New England's architectural collections.

About the author: Nancy Carlson Schrock is self-employed as a book conservator and consultant on library preservation in Winchester, Massachusetts. During 1979-82, she served as project di- rector for NHPRC- and NEH-sponsored surveys of architectural records, which culminated in publication of Mass COPAR's Architectural Records in Boston. She has written on architectural records management and currently serves as conservation specialist for the preservation needs assessment of the Peabody and Stearns Drawings Collection in the Boston Public Library. For information about architectural collections beyond Massachusetts, Schrock acknowledges the assistance of Earle Shettleworth (Maine Historic Preservation Commission), James Garvin (New Hampshire Historical Society), Stuart Wallace (New Hampshire Historic Preservation Office), Con- nell Gallagher (University of Vermont Special Collections), and Mark Jones (Connecticut State Archives). She thanks colleagues Helen Samuels, Mildred O'Connell, Elizabeth Banks, Ellie Reich- lin, and Eva Moseley for their contributions and encouragement. Images of New England 475

NEW ENGLAND INSPIRES IMAGES of colon- vacation homes. These developments are ial farmhouses, town greens, ivy-covered altering New England's urban centers, sub- colleges, rugged coasts, and mountains. Its urbs, and even some rural areas, and they sense of regional identity is linked to the threaten the environment and sense of past land and its history, personified by its that others are seeking to preserve. buildings. The red brick townhouses of The architectural archives of New Eng- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 Beacon Hill, cottages of Nantucket, and land should reflect the dual patterns of mansions of Newport are among the many preservation and growth. On the one hand, attractions that draw tourists to the area and there is a great demand for earlier records make it a desirable place to live. An active that document the appearance of older historic preservation movement has devel- buildings. These are used by architects, de- oped since the 1970s to ensure that this signers, homeowners, planners, and pres- early fabric is saved. ervationists as a basis for restoration and But New England has another image in town planning; by art historians as works the 1980s: a region in the midst of an eco- of art; and by researchers as an essential nomic boom. The prosperity of high tech part of the historical documentation of a industries has brought the lowest unem- city or region. On the other hand, the cur- ployment rate in the nation and a dramatic rent growth in new construction is creating increase in new construction, not only of a need for new types of documentation. The commercial buildings but also housing and following essay will explore both aspects:

Old and new Boston: Church Court Condominiums by Graham Gund Architects, 1983. This development incorporates the remains of the 1891 Mt. Vernon Church, destroyed by fire in 1978. Copyright © Steve Rosenthal, courtesy of Graham Gund Architects. 476 American Archivist / Fall 1987

the problems of identifying and preserving specific project; and records that document older building records that are now in de- the finished project, its use, and its ap- mand, and the challenge of documenting pearance over the years. the current dramatic changes to the envi- The record types have changed over the ronment. It will examine the building process centuries as the process of building has as it relates to record types, discuss kinds evolved from a craft based on apprentice- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 of records that have been ignored, and as- ship to a business enterprise generating sess efforts to develop architectural ar- complex records.1 The history of New chives in the region. England's architecture has been described When examining the architectural past, and analyzed.2 A documentation strategy it is useful to distinguish three parallel requires an understanding of the relation- sources of building design and modifica- ship between this history and its records. tion: the formally trained design profes- In many ways, the documentation patterns sional, usually an architect; the builder- of the late twentieth century reflect the trends craftsman; and the building owner. Large- of previous centuries, especially the nine- scale projects and public buildings have de- teenth. manded the skills of architects, while sin- gle-family housing has generally been the Historical Background domain of builders and developers. Owners The earliest European settlers in New and residents have modified their proper- England were rural people who brought ties through additions, renovations, and medieval building traditions that shaped their neglect. In some cases, owners bypass both buildings and towns. Housewrights and architects and builders to construct their own carpenters constructed "saltbox" houses homes or purchase prefabricated units. In around the town green and its meeting house, this essay, the term built environment en- which served as the center for religious and compasses the wide range of structures political life. Simple buildings, adapted to erected by New Englanders to alter their the harsh New England climate, remained environment. Landscape design and engi- the prevalent style in rural areas throughout neering projects are also part of this process the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. and will be discussed briefly. The builders worked from a craft tradition, The best sources for information about needed no drawings, and produced few rec- the built environment are the buildings or ords. Our knowledge of early buildings is landscapes themselves. These, however, therefore based on surviving examples, such have often been so altered that it is no longer as the Parson Capen House in Topsfield possible to judge their original appearance and the Fairbanks House in Dedham, Mas- or trace their histories. Sometimes the sachusetts, on references in contemporary buildings have been destroyed and the documents, or on archaeological excava- landscapes obliterated. Written and visual tion as at Plimoth Plantation. documentation become essential and can During the eighteenth century, classical take several forms: published design sources styles were transmitted to the colonies via such as pattern books, stock plans, and pe- publications. Gentleman architects such as riodicals; original records generated by the Peter Harrison in Rhode Island imported process of designing and constructing a large folios of Palladian designs. Less ex-

'David Gebhard, "Drawings and Intent in American Architecture," in David Gebhard and Deborah Nevens, 200 Years of American Architectural Drawing (New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1977), 22-71. 2For a list of books on New England architecture, see the bibliography in Jane Holtz Kay, Preserving New England (New York: Pantheon Books, 1986), 202-05. Images of New England 477

pensive builder's handbooks were also ac- mained in print from 1830 until 1854. quired from England; these provided the Houses and churches resembling his plates details that provincial craftsmen needed to can be found throughout New England. construct buildings in the new style. Draw- The nineteenth century was a period of

ings during this period were simple, con- rapid development, providing work for ar- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 sisting of floor plans and front elevations. chitects, engineers, and builders in all the Few were made and fewer survive. Ama- New England states. Shipping and fishing teur architects relied upon capable masons brought prosperity to expanding ports. In- and carpenters to translate their ideas into land, abundant water power provided the actual buildings. Today historians study the energy for mills and industrialization; after architectural books available during the co- the 1840s, railroads were available to trans- lonial period to trace designs and recon- port goods nationwide. Engineering pro- struct plans, especially for public buildings jects for dams and canals harnessed rivers and residences built in urban centers.3 It is and streams; factory buildings and housing usually impossible to find contemporary were built for increasing numbers of work- documentation for the houses constructed ers. Manchester, New Hampshire, and in rural areas by builders who incorporated Lowell and Holyoke, Massachusetts, ex- the new styles into their craft traditions. panded into major industrial communities, The career of Charles Bulfinch marked but mills were built on a smaller scale a change from the eighteenth century view wherever a stream was available. of architects as artists and educated ama- During the 1820s, to the 1840s, the dis- teurs. In 1787 Bulfinch returned from Eng- tinction between engineer and architect was land and began his career as the first not clearly drawn. Loammi Baldwin, the American-born professional architect, de- "father of civil engineering in America" signing buildings for Boston in the more and engineer of the Middlesex Canal, de- refined Adamesque style. His Massachu- signed Holworthy Hall for Harvard Uni- setts State House, his elegant houses on versity in 1811. Architect Alexander Parris Beacon Hill, and his vision of city plan- served as chief engineer of the Charlestown ning, as in the now destroyed Tontine Cres- Naval Yard, Boston, and ended his career cent, helped transform Boston from a as chief engineer of Portsmouth Naval medieval town into a cosmopolitan city. His Shipyard in New Hampshire. Training was new Federal style had an effect far beyond acquired on the job as an assistant for an Boston. Architect and carver Samuel established architect or engineer. Firms were Mclntire adapted Federal designs for the small. finely crafted mansions of Salem, Massa- After the Civil War architectural practice chusetts. Asher Benjamin, author of the first evolved from a trade to a profession, with architectural book published in America, formal educational requirements based on translated the style into a domestic scale in academic study similar to programs at the his 1806 pattern book. Like the English Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Bostonian craftsman's handbooks, Benjamin's mod- Richard Morris Hunt was the first Ameri- est octavo volumes could be readily pur- can trained at the Ecole. Returning to New chased and understood by architects and York in 1858, he trained others, including carpenters practicing outside urban centers. William Robert Ware, who in 1868 set up Benjamin's Practical House Carpenter re- the Architecture Department for the Mas-

3Helen Park, A List of Architectural Books Available in America before the Revolution (Los Angeles: Hen- nessey & Ingalls, 1973). 478 American Archivist / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

Postcard of Arch Bridge, Bellows Falls, Vermont, ca. 1912-13. Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

sachusetts Institute of Technology, the first Architects increasingly identified them- such program in the United States. The cur- selves as a profession. The Boston Society riculum was based on the French model, of Architects was formed in 1867, provid- with studies of historic precedents, exten- ing an opportunity for architects to meet sive drawing, and scientific instruction in and sponsor activities. The first major ar- construction and materials.4 chitectural journal, American Architect and MIT's programs in engineering also pro- Building News, was issued in Boston in vided more comprehensive training than the 1876. The Boston Architectural Club, es- old apprenticeship system. More technical tablished in 1889, increased educational knowledge was necessary to handle the new opportunities for aspiring architects. Har- construction materials of iron, steel, and vard University granted its first B.S. in ar- concrete. These materials and such inno- chitecture in 1895; Yale University vations as elevators and steam-driven ma- established its Department of Architecture chinery made possible larger buildings, the same year. which required increased numbers of more Architectural records became more ex- complicated drawings. A large architec- tensive as firms expanded into large busi- tural firm often included an engineer on its nesses and designed more complex projects.5 staff or called in engineers as consultants. Staff members specialized in specific as-

"Caroline Shillaber, Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Planning 1861-1961: A Hundred Year Chronicle (Cambridge: MIT, 1963). 5Alan K. Lathrop, "The Provenance and Preservation of Architectural Records," American Archivist 43 (1980): 325-38; Pauline Saliga, "The Types and Styles of Architectural Drawings," in Chicago Architects Design (New York: Rizzoli, 1984), 20-30; Jane E. Sugarman, "Observations on the Materials and Techniques Used in 19th Century American Architectural Presentation Drawings," A.I.C. Book and Paper Group Annual 5 (1986): 39-60. Images of New England 479

pects of the design process, such as spec- urbs. Their stylistic innovations were trans- ification writing or presentation rendering. mitted to the general public through the Records took the forms that are still used architectural pattern books that proliferated today: during the nineteenth century.6 In this way,

the colonial revival houses designed by Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 Administrative office files, including ac- Peabody and Stearns, for instance, were counting, personnel, etc. adapted for the middle class market. Wom- Project files: en's magazines such as Godey's Lady's Book • Correspondence and contracts also offered house plans. After 1875 firms • Specifications (the written require- such as Palliser, Palliser & Company and ments for materials, equipment, con- Robert W. Shoppell transformed their pat- struction systems, and workmanship) tern books into sales catalogs. For a fee, • Drawings: owners and builders could purchase com- —Preliminary sketches plete sets of working drawings and speci- —Design development, including in- fications.7 Many were sold to meet the need itial presentation drawings for the for moderately priced housing in the sub- client urbs that were expanding along new trolley —Working drawings, used by con- and train routes. tractors and builders to construct a Property records in county registries of building (including plans, sec- deeds were among the earliest government tions, elevations, details) records with building information. In the —Record drawings or as builts, which nineteenth century the types and quantity document the building as finally of government records related to architec- constructed ture and the built environment increased to While the preliminary sketches and presen- include those of agencies commissioning tation drawings may appear more interest- projects, and those of agencies overseeing ing to the general public because they compliance with state or local regulations. resemble works of art, the working draw- As towns grew and offered more services, ings are the crucial documents because they municipal departments oversaw the con- transmit the technical information needed struction of roads, sewage systems, and gas to erect a building. They consist of both and electrical lines; they commissioned new original drawings and copies produced by city halls, schools, parks, and playgrounds a range of reproductive processes. The for expanding populations. At the same time, originals usually remain with the archi- city and state agencies took on a regulatory tects, while copies are submitted to clients, role that generated documentation. For ex- builders, contractors, and government ample, after the 1872 fire, Boston required agencies as needed. and maintained building permits for all new Architectural firms focused their atten- construction; the Building Department also tion on the large commissions that most maintained inspector's reports from 1879 required their skills and repaid their time to 1903. Both sets of records include draw- with the greatest profits: public and com- ings: permit drawings showing the in- mercial buildings, and houses for the wealthy tended plans, and the inspection drawings in the cities, fashionable resorts, and sub- showing what was actually constructed.

6Henry Russell Hitchcock, American Architectural Booh: A List of Books, Portfolios, and Pamphlets on Architecture and Related Subjects Published in America before 1895, revd. ed. (New York: DaCapo Press, 1976). 'James L. Garvin, "Mail-Order House Plans and American Victorian Architecture," Winlerthur Portfolio 16 (1981): 309-34. 480 American Archivist / Fall 1987

After 1889, the Massachusetts Department 1970s. Unlike the few drawings of their of Public Safety required submission of a predecessors, archives of these nineteenth complete set of as-built working drawings century individuals and firms were volu- for all public buildings (constructions other minous, resembling business files rather than

than single-family dwellings). Such gov- fine prints. Older records were more likely Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 ernment records provide substantial docu- to survive after the death of a principal if mentation of engineering and construction the firm continued through merger with an- projects. other firm or acquisition by the remaining These trends have continued in the twen- partners. For example, the drawings of tieth century: increased specialization among Henry Hobson Richardson were treasured larger and larger firms, government spon- by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge and were sorship and regulation of building projects, eventually donated to the Houghton Li- single-family housing based on stock plans, brary at Harvard University. Hoyle, Doran and individual initiatives by owner/occu- & Berry gave selected projects of Ralph pants. Is it possible to find documentation Adams Cram, their founder, to the Boston for these developments? Public Library. When there were no suc- cessors, records were often destroyed. Par- Early Attempts at Records ticularly tragic was the loss of the drawings Preservation of Clarence Blackall, who designed much Initial efforts to preserve architectural of Boston's theater district. records paralleled efforts to preserve build- Early twentieth century architects also ings. Just as nineteenth century New Eng- fared poorly, especially those whose firms landers rallied to save such historic buildings closed during the 1950s-1960s, the height as Old South Church in Boston and the of urban renewal, Modernism, and public Wadsworth-Longfellow House in Portland, disregard for old buildings. In Boston, for Maine, so too did concerned collectors and example, the records of Allen & Collens librarians save the drawings of well-known (1903-1933), nationally known designers early architects. Thus the drawings of of churches in the gothic style, were lost Thomas Jefferson were treasured by the when their successor firm, Collens, Willis Massachusetts Historical Society, and the & Beckonert, closed in 1962. The records drawings of Charles Bulfinch were kept in of Peabody and Stearns (1870-1917), one the American Antiquarian Society, the of Boston's most accomplished and prolific Boston Public Library, and Rotch Library firms, were thought lost until a fire in a loft at MIT. The Boston Athenaeum acquired in the business district resulted in their dis- the drawings of Alexander Parris, while the covery in 1968 and subsequent salvation by Society for the Preservation of New Eng- the Boston Public Library. land Antiquities collected drawings by Asher In today's milieu of Post Modern archi- Benjamin and his contemporaries. Eigh- tecture and newly constructed "Victorian" teenth and early nineteenth century records restaurants, it is perhaps difficult to appre- typically consisted of small numbers of in- ciate how pervasive the disregard for ear- dividual drawings and plans scattered among lier architecture once was, even within various institutions, where they were housed architecture schools. In 1934, MIT's Dean in print collections and treated as works of Emerson arranged to have the School of art. Written specifications were rarely saved. Architecture's original Bulfinch drawings The work of mid to late nineteenth cen- donated elsewhere because they "were of tury architects was not appreciated until the little interest to the modern student."8 The

Correspondence in the files of Rotch Library, MIT. The drawings were refused by the Boston Athenaeum Images of New England 481

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Scollay Square, Boston, 1952, now destroyed. Lynch-Kepes Collection, Rotch Library, Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology. architecture schools at Yale, Harvard, and niques, and aesthetics seemed to make ear- MIT rejected historicism and eclecticism in lier buildings obsolete and records of them favor of the International Style and Mod- irrelevant. ernism. The study of drawing for the prep- Government records relating to buildings aration of elaborate renderings was no longer continued to accumulate, and where there required. This rejection of the past ex- was ample storage space, they survived— tended to its records. Thesis drawings from through benign neglect rather than consci- MIT's beginnings to the 1920s were rolled entious care. Problems arose, however, up and stored in an attic where, covered when a new city hall was built or the town with dust, they were forgotten until the early clerk ran out of space in the vault: for ex- 1970s. The prize-winning drawings of the ample, Brookline, Massachusetts, threw out Rotch Traveling Scholarship, a prestigious its building department records when its new award given annually to an outstanding city hall was completed. Boston Building young architect by the Boston Society of Department records were slated for de- Architects, were saved haphazardly, de- struction when they were rescued by the pending upon the efforts of members of the staff of the Boston Public Library; once awards committee. For architects of the mid again, the move to a new city hall prompted twentieth century, new materials, tech- drastic weeding. and eventually accepted by the Library of Congress in 1935. Rotch Library Visual Collections has photographs of the drawings in the original collection. 482 American Archivist / Fall 1987

The built environment fared no better. built in 1913-1915, remained Boston's During the mid twentieth century, urban tallest building until the John Hancock renewal razed entire sections of old down- Building was completed in 1947; nearly towns. With the support of federal funds, twenty years elapsed before the next tower, the historic buildings on Chapel Street in the Prudential Building, was completed in Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 New Haven were replaced by a mall and 1965. The prosperity of the twenties that parking lot. In Boston, Scollay Square and produced so many Art Deco buildings in the West End disappeared, replaced by a New York City, Los Angeles, and the Mid- vast brick plaza and City Hall, other gov- west largely bypassed New England. Fac- ernment buildings, expensive apartments, tories stood vacant; the population remained and some empty lots that remain vacant after stable. twenty years. Manchester, New Hamp- The end of World War II brought de- shire, lost the Amoskeag Mills, and Port- mands for new housing and accelerated mi- land, Maine, the Union Railroad Station. gration to the suburbs. Developments of The destruction reached small towns and ranch houses and "Cape Cods" were built the countryside when the Federal Highway on farm lands in the towns surrounding New Construction Act of 1956 authorized build- England's urban centers; within twenty ing the interstate system. Highways cut years, 200,000 new homes had been built through some towns and isolated others. in eastern Massachusetts. Shopper's World, They provided access to wilderness areas, one of the first shopping malls, was con- spawning commercial strips and resorts. structed in Framingham in 1951. With so little regard for so much of the Prosperity returned to New England in environment and buildings, is there any the 1960s and 1970s, fueled by the elec- reason to think that the archival records tronics and high tech industries based along would be treated better? Route 128. By then, demolition in the name Fortunately, large sections of old New of urban renewal was being replaced by an England remained intact through the 1950s appreciation of the historic fabric of both and 1960s, less from a love of old buildings cities and towns. In the early 1960s, Straw- and the environment than from economic bery Banke in Portsmouth, New Hamp- necessity. As Jane Holtz Kay explained in shire, became the first urban redevelopment Preserving New England, "Long before the project to employ restoration rather than 'preservation movement' took hold, pov- demolition to save a blighted waterfront area. erty helped preserve New England. The The Historic Preservation Act of 1966 es- businessman in his 'dated' warehouse, the tablished the National Register of Historic rural family in an 'obsolete' Victorian Places and funded state historic preserva- farmhouse could not afford the shiny mar- tion commissions to protect historic prop- ket or the sprawling ranch house of the lat- erties. The Economic Recovery Act of 1981 est American dream."9 The first half of the gave owners a 25 percent investment tax twentieth century had brought a decline in credit for certified rehabilitation of build- fortune to New England long before the ings approved by the commissions. Saving Depression. Mills were deserted as textile older buildings—and even entire neighbor- and manufacturing industries moved south hoods—became a priority. and west where labor was cheaper. New By 1982, $52 billion or 32 percent of all building slowed. The Custom House Tower, construction dollars nationwide were spent

9Kay, Preserving New England, 33. Images of New England 483

on rehabilitation rather than new construc- of New York and subsequent funding from tion.10 The Digital Equipment Corporation the National Endowment for the Humani- was one of the first companies in New Eng- ties (NEH). The Committee for the Pres- land to locate its offices in a renovated mill ervation of Architectural Records (COPAR) (in Maynard, Massachusetts). Other com- developed a central data file identifying and panies followed suit in Lowell and Law- indexing architectural collections; it also Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 rence, and the mill towns of southern New served as a clearinghouse for information Hampshire. The financial success of Fa- about architectural records. In 1981, CO- neuil Hall Marketplace and Boston's water- PAR files were transferred to the Architec- front revitalization spawned similar efforts ture, Design and Engineering Collections in restored areas of Newburyport and Salem, of the Prints and Photographs Division, Li- Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; and Prov- brary of Congress. Now known as Coop- idence, Rhode Island. Successful urban erative Preservation of Architectural renovations have made city life more at- Records, COPAR continues to collect and tractive to young professionals. Within the share information. In 1982, COPAR began last fifteen years, Boston's South End has automation of the National Union Index to been transformed from an area of deterio- Architectural Records. rated roominghouses to a highly desirable Several states produced guides to the ar- neighborhood of condominiums in elegant chitectural resources in their regions, many Victorian rowhouses, although the process with NEH support. With New York CO- of gentrification displaced many of the less PAR's guide as a model, similar publica- affluent residents. Suburbs and small towns tions have been produced for records in now have their Victorian societies dedi- Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Fran- cated to preserving older buildings, and new cisco, and the District of Columbia. Pro- houses are being built in styles reminiscent cedures and programs for architectural of earlier centuries. records, a previously neglected area of preservation, became an NEH priority dur- Preservation Begins in Earnest ing the early 1980s. The Endowment helped Not surprisingly, the movement to pre- sponsor the first national symposium on is- serve architectural records began in the sues in architectural archives, organized by 1970s when the historic preservation move- the American Institute of Architects Foun- ment created a demand for early records dation, "Toward Standards in Architec- 11 and an awareness of their aesthetic and tural Archives." NEH funded work in documentary value. Original drawings and Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Con- specifications could save an architect hours necticut. It is currently supporting a con- of work and produce a more authentic res- servation survey/needs assessment of the toration. Owners were eager to research the Peabody and Stearns Architectural Collec- history of their own houses. Librarians, ar- tion in the Boston Public Library. chivists, and historians responded with pro- Mass COPAR, based in Boston and jects to locate, identify, and preserve the Cambridge, played an active role in the early needed records. stages of the movement and continues to Initial efforts began in New York City sponsor innovative projects. It received with support from the Architectural League grants from the National Historical Publi-

loNorman Williams, Jr., et al., eds., Readings in Historic Preservation (Piscataway, N.J.: Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, 1983), 234-35. "Proceedings of Toward Standards for Architectural Archives (Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Architects Foundation, 1983). 484 American Archivist / Fall 1987

cations and Records Commission (NHPRC) ducted a planning study for a Boston city to conduct the first survey of records in archives, leading to the establishment of a architectural firms and publish a report on division of archives and records manage- office archives with recommendations for ment. organization and preservation.12 With NEH Other New England states have taken support, Mass COPAR prepared a guide to different approaches to raise public aware- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 architectural records in Greater Boston and ness of the importance of saving architec- a directory of Boston architects.13 In 1985 tural records. Brown University, the Rhode the group sponsored the first Symposium Island Historical Society, and the Rhode on the Appraisal of Architectural Records; Island School of Design collaborated on a the printed proceedings are now avail- major exhibition in 1982 of their state's ar- able.14 In May 1987 Mass COPAR pre- chitectural drawings.16 The theme of the sented a workshop on the organization and exhibit and its substantial catalog was art preservation of architectural records in con- historical, focusing on original drawings of junction with the New England Museums elevations and sections rather than working Association. Mass COPAR accomplishes drawings and specifications. It drew to- its work as a nonprofit board composed of gether previously unpublished material and volunteers from organizations, institutions, raised awareness of the significance of the and firms concerned with the preservation documentary evidence of the building of architectural records. The state lacks a process as well as the beauty of Rhode Is- central architectural archives so preserva- land's buildings. The exhibition was also tion efforts must be coordinated among shown in New York City and Washington, various institutions according to collecting D.C. priorities. Early efforts often depended upon the in- Massachusetts has also begun to cope with itiative of individuals. Attempts to estab- its public records. The state archives has lish a Connecticut COPAR in the late 1970s accessioned the records of the Department failed when the founder moved out of state. of Public Safety, comprising over 80,000 The Yale University Archives was more sets of as-built working drawings of public successful and received an NEH grant to buildings erected throughout the common- consolidate its drawings of Yale buildings, wealth, excluding Boston, from 1889 until indexed by an aperture card retrieval sys- 1981.15 Originally collected to prove com- tem. The Art and Design Library at the pliance with safety codes, these provide ex- University of Connecticut is currently re- tensive documentation for all buildings newing efforts to initiate a state COPAR. except single family residences. The Bos- Meanwhile, the Connecticut Historical ton Public Library continues to house the Commission has surveyed state-owned city's Building Department records, 1879- buildings, uncovering many original draw- 1971; during a 1984-1987 NHPRC grant, ings. Staffing and storage limitations, how- the newly appointed city archivist con- ever, prevent the state archives from

12Nancy Carlson Schrock, Records in Architectural Offices: Suggestions for the Proper Organization, Storage, and Conservation of Architectural Office Archives, 2d ed. (Cambridge: Mass COPAR, 1981). 13Mass COPAR, Architectural Records in Boston (New York: Garland Publishing, 1983); Directory of Boston Architects, 1846-1970 (Cambridge: Mass COPAR, 1984). "Proceedings of the Symposium on the Appraisal of Architectural Records (Cambridge: Mass COPAR, 1987). I5Stanley Moss, "Survey of Department of Public Safety Building Plans" (Paper prepared for the Archives Program, Department of History, University of Massachusetts, 1986). "William H. Jordy and Christopher P. Monkhouse, Buildings on Paper: Rhode Island Architectural Drawings, 1825-1945 (Providence: Brown University, 1982). Images of New England 485

accessioning these collections, and they re- and the Maine Historical Society. The main with the generating agencies, often in commission publishes quarterly entries in poor condition. A Biographical Dictionary of Architects in New Hampshire has followed a similar Maine,17 which provides historical back- approach to government records. In 1984, ground and increases public awareness. The Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 the New Hampshire Historical Society su- commission also has substantial collections pervised an intern's survey of architectural of photographs, stereopticon views, and records in the society's collections and in postcards. Unlike its counterparts in other state agencies, focusing on the extensive New England states, the Maine Historical records of the Department of Public Works. Society has accepted substantial collections These records remain with the agencies and of late nineteenth and twentieth century ar- have not been consolidated nor systemati- chitectural firms, including the files of John cally cataloged. A few selected records have Calvin Stevens (1884-1940), Coombs, been acquired by private institutions such Gibbs & Pulsifer (1877-1908), and Miller as the New Hampshire Historical Society & Mayo (1900-1944). Records of busi- and the Dartmouth College Special Collec- nesses such as the Maine and New Hamp- tions. Major building projects in the nine- shire Granite Company also provide teenth and early twentieth centuries often documentation of building processes. relied upon Massachusetts firms, so many Although the six New England states have records of New Hampshire buildings re- taken different approaches with varying de- main out of state. grees of success, patterns do emerge in their Vermont's architectural records have fared efforts to document the built environment. better. Although its state records remain with The first stage includes surveying collec- the generating agencies in varying condi- tions and identifying materials in the field; tions, the Special Collections Department the second, general consciousness-raising of the University of Vermont has suc- among the archival and architectural com- ceeded in saving some private records. For munities and the general public through ex- example, its holdings include the Architec- hibitions and publications. The third stage, tural Plans Collection of about eighty pro- actually collecting and preserving records, jects (1896-1977), project records of depends upon the initiative of individual architect Lewis S. Newton (1923-1953), persons and institutions. Not all states have papers of three prominent surveyors, and had the resources to progress from assess- the office files of major mining and man- ing problems to implementing solutions. ufacturing firms. The department's photo- Networks among concerned people have graph collection of 200,000 images includes been informal and usually statewide rather many Vermont buildings and views. The than regional. curator has advised a private architect on the organization and preservation of his Architects Become Involved personal/office archives, which will ulti- The architectural profession was initially mately be given to the university. slow to deal with issues of inactive records Leadership in Maine has come from the and archives. The AIA Handbook of the state's Historic Preservation Commission American Institute of Architects provided

"A Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Maine, vol. 1- (1984-). Published quarterly by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission and distributed with the Newsletter of Maine Citizens for Historic Preservation, 50 Danforth Street, Portland, ME 04101. 486 American Archivist / Fall 1987

extensive information about office manage- sociation of Architectural Administrators is ment and standardized project documenta- also working on records management pro- tion, but no details about creating an office cedures. Rapidly escalating costs of liabil- archive or developing a records manage- ity insurance and increased threats of ment program.18 When Mass COPAR sur- litigation are prompting the construction in- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 veyed Boston firms in 1980, four had office dustry and architects to create records pro- librarians, only two of whom were respon- grams that emphasize legal protection rather sible for project archives. Some progress than archival preservation. The results may has been made since then. By 1986 the not ensure the preservation of documents number had risen to fourteen, enough to with historical significance. form Boston Design Librarians, an infor- A large percentage of architectural draw- mal group that meets regularly to discuss ings are routinely microfilmed by the Dodge/ records management and other issues. SCAN service of McGraw-Hill Informa- Architects have become more aware of tion Systems, which distributes copies of the need for records management.19 The documents to subcontractors and suppliers AIA Foundation brochure entitled Archi- so that they can bid on a job. Some archi- tectural Records Management (1985) alerted tects mistakenly believe that these records architects to the importance of organizing are part of a national archive, but they are and preserving their records.20 It suggests routinely discarded after two years. Al- record types that should be saved and ma- though past efforts to collect them had failed, terials that can safely be weeded, and lists in 1985 architect Robert Neiley arranged archival and preservation organizations that informally to have the Dodge/SCAN films should be contacted before discarding rec- of New England projects deposited in his ords. Its guidelines might be useful for ar- Boston firm until a suitable repository could chivists appraising architectural records, and be found. These are, however, films of in- it is a convenient guide for architects seek- itial sets of working drawings submitted prior ing assistance with their records. to construction, which are not necessarily Also in 1985, the Association for Rec- accurate representations of the final struc- ords Managers and Administrators (ARMA) ture. created an Industry Action Committee (IAC) Some architectural drawings are being for Design/Engineering/Construction. Dur- saved to display as decorative objects. In ing 1987 Boston ARMA members attended these instances, efforts to raise the public's local programs developed by the IAC na- awareness of the value of architectural rec- tional chairperson, who is Records Man- ords have, in a sense, been all too suc- ager at the Massachusetts Water Resources cessful. Facade Gallery, The Artis Group, Authority. This committee may provide a and the Max Protetch Gallery in New York mechanism for developing records man- City have been leaders in showing archi- agement programs for architects. It also links tectural drawings for sale. Not only are architects with the construction industry and eighteenth and nineteenth century masters engineering, where practices such as mi- displayed, but contemporary leaders such crofilming are better developed. The As- as Robert A. M. Stern and Michael Graves

iSTheAIA Handbook, 11th ed. (Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Architects, 1987, with updates). 19David Ballast, Records and Information Management for the Design Professional (Newton, Mass.: PSMJ, 1987); Catherine R. Burke, "Records Management in an Architectural Firm: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill," Science & Technology Libraries 6 (1987): 69-82; Dennis O. Hamilton, "Records Management: Shop Draw- ings," AAL Newsletter (Association of Architectural Librarians) 6 (Oct. 1987): 4-5. 20Nancy Carlson Schrock, Architectural Records Management (Washington, D.C.: American Institute of Architects Foundation, 1985). Images of New England 487

increasingly exhibit current work. These maintain their archives intact. When dis- exhibitions have focused public attention persal cannot be averted, architects should on architectural drawings as works of art, photograph the drawings and keep a record decorative objects, and financial invest- of all disposition decisions. ments. Prices have escalated as a result. The initial impetus to locate and preserve Christie's held the first American auc- architectural records in New England has Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 tion specializing in architectural drawings come from architects, librarians, preser- on 19 October 1983.21 Along with English vationists, architectural historians, and col- and French academic work from the nine- lectors—the people who needed the records teenth century, the auction featured the work and understood their content but lacked ar- of Massachusetts architects. Nine sets of chival expertise to organize collections. drawings of buildings in western Massa- Archivists, especially those in institutions chusetts were consigned for bid by the fam- or agencies generating architectural rec- ily of Holyoke architect George P. B. ords, have supported efforts such as CO- Alderman (1862-1942); these were sold for PAR and have included architecture in their $220-462 per lot, well beyond the budgets archival planning, but they have not reached of the local historical societies that might out beyond their own institutions. There has have received these drawings as donations been no meeting of representatives from the prior to the recent price escalation. various states to discuss a regional ap- This market for architectural drawings proach to documentation or even to assess creates potentially serious problems for re- what needs to be collected. Since the care- searchers as collections are split and dis- takers of architectural collections include persed. Particularly problematic is the museum curators, librarians, architects, and practice of selling drawings from the same archivists, no single professional group- building project as separate works of art: Society of American Archivists, Art Li- in the 1983 Christie's auction, for instance, braries Society, Society of Architectural each rendering of the Detroit Capitol Thea- Historians, American Institute of Archi- ter's interior decoration by Wm. Baumgar- tects—gathers together all those con- ten and Co. was offered as a separate lot. cerned. A further danger is that the exhibitable ren- Admittedly, the large format and con- derings or presentation drawings will be servation problems of the drawings com- skimmed off while the more technical bined with the technical complexity of the working drawings—elevations, plans, de- design/construction process have posed tails—are discarded, especially those that problems for archivists and curators. Until are worn or blueprint copies. The Society recently, there have been few guidelines of Architectural Historians has issued a for architectural records other than Ralph "Statement on the Dispersal of Architec- Ehrenberg's SAA manual and the proceed- tural Drawings"22 that addresses these is- ings of the Standards Conference spon- sues, opposes dispersals, and proposes sored by the AIA Foundation.23 The Avery guidelines for records decisions. Archivists Architecture Library at Columbia Univer- should publicly endorse the statement, fol- sity, however, is developing cataloging low its precepts, and urge architects to guidelines based upon the MARC format

21Christie's East (New York), Architectural, Decorative and Topographical Drawings and Watercolors, Wednesday, October 19, 1983. 22Society of Architectural Historians, "Statement on the Dispersal of Architectural Drawings" (Philadelphia, 1985). Also published as an appendix to Mass COPAR's Proceedings of the Symposium on the Appraisal of Architectural Records. 23Ralph Ehrenberg, Archives & Manuscripts: Maps and Architectural Drawings (Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1982). 488 American Archivist / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

Drawing of the side elevation of a triple decker, Jamaica Plain, Boston, by Jacob Luippold, ca. 1893-1912. Courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. and subject headings from the Art and Ar- overly influenced by persons interested in chitecture Thesaurus as part of its NEH the original appearance of buildings that project to preserve, catalog, and index its seemed worth restoring and preserving be- drawings archive on videodisc. The con- cause they were aesthetically attractive, servation problems are indeed enormous, historically significant, or represented sound but preliminary information about treat- financial investments. Historians of archi- ment procedures and reformatting options tecture and decorative arts have been ac- for research materials are appearing in the cused of elitism for studying high style and literature.24 The 1987 SAA annual meeting the finest works of a period, usually pro- included sessions on both landscape rec- duced for the wealthy and educated few in ords and architectural records; participants urban centers.25 People inevitably view their suggested annual meetings combining both immediate past through blinders: Victori- groups. ans hid their colonial furniture, their suc- cessors painted their houses and interiors Documentation Needed white, Modernists rejected all historical While focusing on the records of archi- styles, and many New Englanders assume tects and designers, many librarians, ar- that removing all traces of the 1950s and chivists, and COPAR itself have overlooked the poverty of the 1940s improves their en- records that document crucial areas of the vironment. The Old House Journal now built environment. They have perhaps been gives advice on restoring 1920s bunga-

24For a bibliography of articles on the conservation of architectural records, see the appendix of Mass COPAR's Proceedings of the Symposium on the Appraisal of Architectural Records. The Architectural Archives of the University of Nevada has developed a basic processing manual. "Scott Swank's introduction to Perspectives on Folk Art (Winterthur: Winterthur Museum, 1980), summarizes the conflict between the elitism of fine arts aesthetic and anthropological interpretations of crafts traditions. For an example of the recurring debate about what buildings should be preserved from the twentieth century, see Elise Vider, "Who Says It's Not a Landmark," Historic Preservation 39 (November/December 1987): 53-59. Images of New England 489

lows, but people continue to modify post- along with all the precut materials needed World War II tract housing, tear down 1950s to erect them. Most of these sources dis- neon signs, and erect pseudo-Victorian appeared during the Depression and were lighting in their town centers. Do prevail- ignored until recently, when historians be- ing views of good taste preclude noting re- gan to reassess post-Victorian vernacular gional trends in vinyl siding, mobile trailer architecture.27 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 parks, or fast-food chains? The patterns of residential building Several aspects of the built environment changed substantially after World War II.28 tend to be overlooked: non-architect de- To meet the demand for moderately priced signed buildings, primarily single-family housing during the years of postwar pros- housing; industrial development and engi- perity, developer-builders transformed large neering structures; commercial buildings tracts of farm land into developments of including "strips"; and changes in the single-family houses. Since 1964 nearly 80 landscape, especially in rural areas. Most percent of all housing nationally has been difficult of all to document are the changes produced by developers rather than own- that occur over time in response to pre- ers. Stock plan services, established in the vailing tastes, economic conditions, and 1950s, provide the designs. These services availability of new products or technology. are run by or advertised in "shelter mag- Single-family housing for middle and azines": Professional Builder and Housing lower income persons typically has relied for builders and Home, House and Garden, upon standard plans, modest interpretations Better Homes and Gardens, and others for of architect-designed estates that could be the general public. Bookstores and news- adapted by carpenters or builders to indi- stands also market compilations of plans vidual sites in towns and suburbs. Nearly from these journals. Some architects run one-half of all pre-1900 houses were built plan shops, where builders can purchase by owners, the remainder by "spec" build- sets of plans adapted to local codes. ers. Documenting standard plans means In addition to stock plans, developers in- identifying the printed sources available creasingly utilize prefabricated modules, during a given period. Ironically, this is which are preassembled as wall panels or easiest for the nineteenth century because modular sections, or precut and assembled pre-1895 patterns books included in Henry on site. Today manufacturers account for Russell Hitchcock's comprehensive bibli- 20-25 percent of total construction. Having ography are commercially available on mi- expanded from mobile home production, crofilm.26 Design sources became more they now produce factory-made units that varied in the early twentieth century. Stock can be shipped to any site. plans were available at lumber yards and How can these aspects of the environ- building supply stores, through newspaper ment be documented? Architectural firm columns run by the Architects' Small Home records remain significant because nearly Service Bureau, through catalogs, and in 45 percent of housing construction or re- Small Home, a plan magazine. Mail order modelling currently involves architects in firms such as Sears, Montgomery Ward, some way, as staff, consultants, or design- and the Aladdin Company provided plans ers. Especially important are records of the

^American Architectural Books: A Collection on Microfilm (New Haven: Research Publications, 1973). 27Alan Gowans, The Comfortable House: North American Suburban Architecture, 1870—1930 (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1986); Katherine Cole and H. Ward Jandl, Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses by Sears, Roebuck and Company (Washington, D.C.: Preservation Press, 1986). 28Background information and statistics for this section are taken from Robert Gutman, The Design of American Housing: A Reappraisal of the Architect's Role (New York: Publishing Center for Cultural Resources, 1985). 490 American Archivist / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

"Crow's Nest," Little Compton, Rhode Island, ca. 1969. Example of a house designed and manufactured by Acorn Structures of Acton, Massachusetts. Photograph by Samuel Robbins; pub- lished courtesy of Acorn Structures. small, one- or two-person firm that typi- chivists know little about the records of cally concentrates on housing. Town build- housing manufacturers, who produced ing departments record local developments. 44,000 units in New England in 1984.30 As Stock plan services and building manufac- with home builders, the New England man- turers, however, have not been included in ufacturers are small or moderately sized previous surveys of architectural records. companies. Many specialize in log homes, The Blue Book of Major Home Builders an outgrowth of the lumber industry in the for 1986 listed seventy-seven builders in northern states; others, such as Acorn and the New England states, but none was Deck in Massachusetts, offer wood com- among the nation's twenty largest firms, ponents for more expensive homes. New and only two were in the top one hundred.29 England's special contributions to mass- New England firms typically are moder- produced housing have not been docu- ately sized and produce both single-family mented. detached houses and multi-family housing, Other aspects of housing are more dif- an increasing percentage of the total market ficult to record, especially for rural areas (nearly one-half of total housing units in where codes are less stringent. "Handy- the Northeast). The extent of the records man" design has continued the eighteenth of such firms is not known. Similarly, ar- century tradition of the carpenter/builder who

29The Blue Book of Major Home Builders, 21st ed. (Crofton, Md.: L.S.I. Systems, 1986). 30The Red Book of Housing Manufacturers, 9th ed. (Crofton, Md.: C.M.R. Associates, 1985). For background information, see Arthur Bernhardt, Building Tomorrow: The Mobile/Manufactured Housing Industry (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1980). Images of New England 491

relied on know-how rather than plans. Ad- the few during the nineteenth century, Cape ditions to and modifications of existing Cod, Newport, the White Mountains, and buildings are done without stock plans. the Maine coast are now accessible by in- During the counterculture period of the late terstate highway to anyone with a car. The sixties and early seventies, people retreated popularity of skiing, water sports, sight- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 to the woods of northern New England for seeing, hiking, and fall foliage has spawned a simpler, agrarian life. Earth structures and its own architectural forms, from quaintly geodesic domes were built as alternatives restored inns and souvenir "shoppes" to to traditional forms. Solar technology re- its newest creations: time-sharing condo- ceived extensive federal funding during the miniums, water slides, and discount out- oil embargo, but the Northeast Solar En- lets. Postcards provide visual documentation ergy Center closed in 1983; its records were for the early and mid twentieth century; weeded stringently, and portions were given collections exist in historical societies and to the Boston Architectural Center Library. the archives of the Society for the Preser- Alternative building technologies, both the vation of New England Antiquities. The traditional handcrafts and applications of Boston Public Library has an extensive col- experimental systems, are often neglected. lection, including original glassplate neg- Common commercial structures—gas atives from a local firm. A national archive stations, restaurants, motels, diners, auto- of one million postcard images, 1889-1975, 32 mobile showrooms, shopping malls, and is maintained in Illinois, but pictures of main streets—are omnipresent yet often more recent developments are not readily undocumented. The buildings themselves available. have been championed by the Society for Industrial structures and engineering Commercial Archaeology, which actively projects have fared somewhat better than promotes an appreciation for New England roadside attractions, and the patterns of landmarks such as Boston's neon Citgo sign documentation resemble those of architec- in Kenmore Square, the Hood milk bottle ture. Sites include mills, factories, bridges, on Museum Wharf, and diners on Route 1. waterworks, generating plants, quarries, and Such structures are increasingly the subject mines. Vermont's wooden covered bridges, of serious study, most recently by Univer- New England's textile mills, canals, coastal sity of Vermont Professor Chester Liebs. wharfs, and shipbuilding yards are a vital He notes that records of roadside buildings part of the region's past. Some Greater are sparse in the archives of their corporate Boston engineering firms such as Ernest sponsors and also lacking in photographic Branch (1840- ), Stone & Webster archives; the latter tend to focus on historic (1889- ), and C. T. Main (1893- ), main- buildings and traditional main street views, tain records of nearly one hundred years of avoiding the more disreputable strips on the practice. Nineteenth century business rec- outskirts of towns.31 ords have been collected by institutional ar- Similar problems of documentation exist chives such as the Harvard Business for large scale commercial development in School's Manuscripts Division, the Mu- parts of the region economically dependent seum of American Textile History, and upon tourism. Once accessible by train to Special Collections at the University of

31Chester Liebs, Main Street to Miracle Mile: American Roadside Architecture (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1985). 32The Curt Teich Postcard Collection, Lake County Museum, Lakewood Forest Preserve, Wauconda, IL 60084. 492 American Archivist / Fall 1987

Lowell. Many engineering structures- Until the 1960s, landscape designers re- bridges, roads, lighthouses—were con- mained more involved in creating new plans structed under government auspices, and than in studying old ones. their records remain with the commission- Historical studies of the American land- ing agencies. scape have lagged far behind architectural Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 The federal government has also spon- history and historic preservation. There are sored Historic American Engineering Rec- fewer opportunities for graduate study, a ords (HAER) since 1960. Modeled after the less developed methodology, and fewer re- Historic American Building Survey (HABS) search tools. For example, landscapes have begun during the Depression, HAER con- been eligible for the National Register un- ducts surveys of engineering sites, explain- der the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, ing industrial processes as well as the but comprehensive guidelines for eligibility structures. Measured drawings, data sheets, are not available as they are for buildings. and photographs are deposited in the Ar- Efforts to lay the foundations for the study chitecture, Design and Engineering Collec- of the historic landscape have increased, tion, Prints and Photographs Division of however. The National Association for the Library of Congress, home of COPAR Olmsted Parks, a volunteer group dedi- files and HABS records. By 1985,110 New cated to preserving Olmsted parks and their England sites, 10 percent of the total sur- records, focused national attention on land- veyed, had been documented.33 Although scape records by lobbying successfully on mill buildings and factories are being saved behalf of the Frederick Law Olmsted site. and adapted for new uses, they are usually During 1979 to 1981 the National Park Ser- gutted to make way for high tech compa- vice purchased the grounds, buildings, and nies and fern-filled restaurants. The ma- archives of Olmsted, the country's first chinery and patterns of earlier industrial landscape architect. Based in Brookline, work disappear, making HAER photo- Massachusetts, Olmsted designed the Bos- graphs and drawings essential. Engineering ton park system as well as numerous other structures have other advocates in the So- projects in New England and across the ciety for Industrial Archaeology, with country. chapters in both northern and southern New In 1986 representatives from major in- England. stitutions and professional organizations devoted to botanical, horticultural, and Landscape Design landscape studies formed a national coun- Documentation for landscape design is terpart to COPAR for landscape design. less clearly defined than for architecture or Based at the American Garden and Land- engineering, reflecting the newness of the scape History Program, Wave Hill, in the field itself. Like architecture before Bul- Bronx (New York), project staff collect in- finch, landscape design was a gentleman's formation about the location and content of profession throughout the nineteenth cen- records that document American landscape tury. In 1899, only eleven landscape ar- and compile the Catalog of Landscape Rec- chitects were practicing in the United States, ords in the United States, a data base using most working on municipal parks. There the MARC AMC format. A network of was no formal training until Harvard Uni- volunteers will survey the field, focusing versity began its landscape program in 1901. first on designed and managed landscapes,

33John R. Bowie, "Documentation of America's Industrial Heritage: The Historic American Engineering Records," APT Bulletin 17 (1985): 55. See also the HAER Checklist, 1969-1985 (Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, 1985). Lists of holdings and essays on both HAER and HABS appear in Historic America: Buildings, Structures and Sites (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1983). Images of New England 493

but ultimately including rural and vernac- creates new patterns of use. Wilderness areas ular landscapes as well.34 Initial funding are transformed by trails for hikers, cross comes in part from the National Endow- country skiers, and snowmobilers. In 1840 ment for the Arts and the New York State three-quarters of New England's acreage had Council on the Arts. The American Society been cleared for farming; today two-thirds of Landscape Architects assists through its is covered with woods. Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 regional chapters. Within New England, plans for federal, The Changing View state, and municipal projects may be found Buildings, like landscapes, are not static. among the records of government agencies Office records, stock plans, and building concerned with land and water manage- department files document the original ap- ment, such as the Metropolitan District pearances of buildings, but none of these Commission in Massachusetts and local park can explain what happens after construc- departments. Plans by firms, especially for tion. Quincy Market in Boston has been private clients, are more difficult to locate. restored to its original design, but in the Records by the largest, most prominent, and process Victorian gables, twentieth century long-lived, such as Olmsted and his suc- alterations, and shop signs were destroyed. cessor firms (1858-1980), are the most likely Boutiques and specialty shops fill the to survive. The University of Lowell has a waterfronts of Salem and Newburyport, portion of the papers of Warren H. Man- where greengrocers and fishmongers once ning, a founder of the American Society of sold their wares. Portland has resisted con- Landscape Architects; and the Frances Loeb dominiums along its waterfront, but an- Library at Harvard holds the collections of tique shops and restaurants now line the landscape architects Charles Eliot, John C. streets several blocks inland. Sometimes Olmsted, and Arthur Shurcliff. Two major change is sudden and catastrophic, as when firms in Greater Boston, Sasaki Associates fire destroyed downtown Boston in 1872 (Watertown) and Carol R. Johnson and As- and Portland in 1866; more often it is a sociates (Cambridge), have librarians to gradual, evolutionary process. manage their archives. Again, most diffi- Visual documentation is essential to trace cult to find are the records of small firms the patterns of change over time, to place and single practitioners, or of nurseries and individual buildings within the context of arborists, whose design work, like that of their surroundings, to show interiors and builders and contractors, is not being doc- how structures were used. Postcards, ad- umented. While much of the work itself vertising art, and photographs in particular may be repetitive and derivative, samples provide this type of documentation and are of typical residential design would be valu- often collected by historical societies, which, able. however, tend to favor the "historical" and The landscape itself changes continually monumental. MIT professors Kevin Lynch with or without the intervention of design- and Gyorgy Kepes developed an appropri- ers, planners, and managers. Farms are left ate methodology when they systematically fallow, forests reclaim fields, hurricanes and recorded streetscapes in downtown Boston floods change coastlines, and forest fires in 1951-1953.35 The Rotch Library Visual destroy vegetation. The construction of Collections at MIT contains these photo- bridges and roads disrupts open land and graphs of Washington Street, Back Bay,

34For more information about the Catalog of Landscape Records in the United States, contact Wave Hill, 675 West 252 Street, Bronx, NY 10471. 35Kevin Lynch, What Time Is This Place! (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972). 494 American Archivist / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

'ceCTeam SANDWOES Sodas

Scene in Manomet, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, 1987. Photograph by Robert Bayard Severy; courtesy of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

and Scollay Square, as well as slides of vertising matter, and illustrated trade cat- Boston neighborhoods, which have been alogs; these span the period from 1850 until placed on videodisc and indexed by com- the 1930s.36 Coverage includes all of New puter. The Boston Athenaeum recently ac- England, from its rural towns to its major quired the photographs of George Cushing, cities, from intimate domestic settings to who documented the demolition of Boston public buildings. It has been difficult, how- buildings from 1940 to 1980 for his archi- ever, to acquire more recent photographs. tect-clients. These all enrich architectural Under present tax laws, photographers can- documentation. not claim a sufficient deduction for self- The archives of the Society for the Pres- created works to make a charitable dona- ervation of New England Antiquities tion of materials worthwhile; at the same (SPNEA) has taken a special interest in time, few acquisitions budgets are gener- preserving a record of New England's land- ous enough to reimburse photographers ad- scape and vernacular architecture, both in- equately. Fortunately some private teriors and exteriors. Its extensive holdings individuals have made significant contri- of visual material include photographs by butions without recompense. SPNEA, the amateur and professional photographers, Bostonian Society, and the Boston Public postcards, snapshots, albums, prints, ad- Library have benefited from the dedication

36Ellie Reichlin, An Annotated Checklist of the Special Collections in the Library of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (Boston: SPNEA, 1982). Images of New England 495

and generosity of Robert Severy, who do- influenced generations of designers. Simi- nates his photographs of streetscapes and larly, the records of professional organi- buildings. He has created collections of zations such as the Boston Society of photographs of Boston neighborhoods, the Architects are historically significant. In Harbor Islands, barns, garages, and most contrast, plans for single-family residences Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 recently "Mom and Pop" stores. are repetitive. Here it would be preferable to preserve the archives of manufacturers Meeting the Needs of prefabricated systems such as Acorn and Much more needs to be done to record Deck, suppliers of stock plans, and the New England's built environment. Archi- shelter magazines rather than collect plans vists need a documentation strategy that for every New England subdivision. Like- takes into consideration the records of ar- wise, company archives of franchises should chitects and engineers, the less formal de- be encouraged to save their design records sign sources for residences, and extensive so that it is not necessary to document every visual documentation. Many of the early local fast-food restaurant. efforts in the field emphasized records in Visual documentation requires more in- firms, institutions, and government agen- novative approaches because the records cies. These are indeed vital sources for the must be created as well as preserved. Local restoration of significant public buildings. historical societies can be encouraged to They do not, however, provide a complete document the contemporary scene as well picture of the built environment. To collect as the past—for instance, by photographing the necessary photographs and plans, ar- areas and buildings that are being razed for chivists will need to define and initiate ap- development. Typical streetscapes are as propriate documentary projects. Suitable important as "house portraits." Grant funds topics could be disappearing farm land and may be available for such projects. MIT coast, the rapid development of resort areas, and Rotch Library have received a grant the gentrification of blue collar neighbor- from the National Endowment for the Arts hoods, or the explosion of skyscrapers to create a videodisc of images of the Bos- downtown. ton suburbs. Some areas in a period of rapid Not all records warrant preservation, nor growth, such as North Conway at the en- do all buildings need to be documented. If trance to the White Mountains or Cape Cod, the anticipated use of the design records is warrant similar studies. later restoration and renovation, govern- In the 1980s, the extensive development ment files of as-built drawings and speci- of large cities, small towns, and rural areas fications such as those in the Massachusetts continues unabated. The growth and pros- Department of Public Safety will suffice. perity of high tech industries continue to When government records are secure, it is spawn office complexes in Connecticut, no longer necessary to preserve the records along Routes 128 and 495 in Massachu- of all firms. Attention can focus on the rec- setts, in southern New Hampshire, and ords of architects who are leaders in inno- around Burlington, Vermont. Stamford and vative design and building technology. In Danbury, Connecticut, for example, are no these cases, the full range of project doc- longer mere bedroom communities for New umentation would be desirable, including York City commuters but also business presentation drawings, sketches, design de- centers in their own right. Suburban traffic velopment, and correspondence. The rec- is a growing problem, as is the shortage of ords of the schools at MIT, Harvard, Yale, affordable housing in both cities and sub- and the Boston Architectural Center should urbs. Escalating real estate prices in Bos- be preserved because their approaches have ton, doubling between 1982 and 1986, have 496 American Archivist / Fall 1987 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021

Boylston Street, Boston, 1987. An example of "facadism," which preserves only the shell. Photograph by Nancy Carlson Schrock. Images of New England 497

caused developers to turn to Providence and prints, tracing paper, and other difficult southern New Hampshire. Business devel- media. SPNEA continues to add selected opment creates pressure for housing, res- architectural holdings such as the photo- taurants, and retail outlets in outlying open graphic records of the Boston Transit Com- land. Older downtown areas remain vul- mission and the Boston Elevated Railway, nerable as out-of-state developers seek to and plans for suburban triple deckers. The Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 replace earlier, smaller commercial build- guidance of a state body such as the Maine ings with large towers. Preservationists at- Historic Preservation Commission and the tempt to stop thoughtless expansion, but it leadership of private institutions such as the is impossible to save all older buildings in University of Vermont Special Collections the face of demands for profits and eco- or the Maine Historical Society offer alter- nomic growth, especially when federal cut- native approaches. backs restrict the activities of state historic These approaches have been applied suc- preservation offices. Compromise can re- cessfully to nineteenth and early twentieth sult in facadism, where the outer shell of century materials. The rate of change and an older building is saved as the front the complexity and extent of development dressing of a multistory complex. The rec- in the late twentieth century require a co- ords of ensuing court cases and of organi- ordinated regional approach, encompassing zations such as the Boston Preservation a wider range of formats, a broader scope, Alliance become part of the documentation and more aggressive collecting to docu- of the battle to change the built environ- ment the continuing transformation of New ment. Drawings and photographs become England's built environment. But devel- the sole remains of some buildings and oping a regional program poses major chal- landscapes. lenges. A few regional organizations already Changes are occurring within the archi- exist; they could contribute expertise rele- tectural and engineering professions with vant to architectural archives from their the advent of computer-aided design (CAD) specialized points of view. For example, systems. Design decisions are made online the Society of Architectural Historians rather than in sketchbooks, and their evo- (SAH)/New England regularly includes talks lution becomes difficult or impossible to about architectural records projects in its trace. Out-of-state firms are building some programs; it also raised funds to begin work of the larger New England projects. I. M. on the Peabody and Stearns preservation Pei, for example, has been responsible for project prior to receipt of the NEH grant. some of the major buildings in Boston and AIA chapters should be asked to contribute Cambridge, but his records remain in New to archival projects, especially since archi- York City. tects benefit from archives as a source for New England has no regional archive to older drawings needed during rehab work collect significant records of the built en- and as a source for advice for handling their vironment, provide information, coordi- own firms' archives. For example, the Bos- nate acquisitions, encourage photographic ton Society of Architects, an AIA chapter, documentary projects, and develop coop- contributes $500 annually to Mass CO- erative efforts. Yet it does have leaders in PAR. NEDCC might sponsor workshops the field of architectural archives. In con- specifically targeted at the conservation of servation, the Northeast Document Con- architectural drawings, expanding upon the servation Center (NEDCC) has developed introductory workshops of Mass COPAR. techniques for treating large format draw- New England Archivists could include top- ings; the conservator at the Olmsted Site is ics on architectural records more frequently researching treatment methods for blue- at its semiannual conferences, while the Art 498 American Archivist / Fall 1987

Libraries Society (ARLIS)/New England sharing information, and coordinating ac- might present more programs on architec- quisitions in the absence of a single re- tural topics for visual collections librarians. gional repository. Mass COPAR may Since SPNEA is the major institution col- provide the most effective model for a co- lecting architectural and visual materials for operative approach because its members all six states, it might be the appropriate span a range of disciplines, linking the cre- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/50/4/474/2747585/aarc_50_4_k61r617u31jx5704.pdf by guest on 23 September 2021 convenor of a discussion of regional col- ators of architectural records with the col- lections policy. lectors, managers, and the users of those Coordinating acquisitions policy is one records. Its volunteer network, though in- of the most crucial issues given the size and formal, has developed programs to meet quantity of architectural records. If the the demands of members for specialized in- University of Vermont Special Collections formation, modestly funded by sales of its has an extensive photographic collection of offset publications, and also serves as a re- roadside architecture, is it necessary to build source to the public and institutions need- comprehensive collections in other states? ing advice. A New England COPAR could If one institution collects material on post- link Mass COPAR with its counterparts in World War II industrialized housing, this the other five states and western Massa- may be sufficient for New England. Simi- chusetts. Initial grant funds might be nec- larly, resources in one state can provide essary to underwrite travel expenses for the crucial documentation for its neighbor. For first meetings to assure full participation. example, the Peabody and Stearns Collec- As with previous efforts in the field, its tion in Boston has extensive sets of draw- success would depend upon the initiative ings for Newport mansions. In some and persistence of individuals committed to instances, the solution is sharing material the ideal of preserving architectural records through microfilm or videodisc rather than and interested in tangible benefits from co- duplicating holdings. Appraisal decisions ordinated efforts. Just as building devel- for one state should not be made in a vac- opments multiply and ignore state uum. boundaries, so too must architectural doc- The problem is not finding the expertise umentation adopt a more aggressive and re- to tackle problems of architectural docu- gional approach if a record of the New mentation but rather developing a mecha- England environment during the twentieth nism for defining documentation needs, century is to exist for the future.