“The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Program at the NPS” webinar, presented by Catherine Lavoie
July 11, 12 p.m.–1 p.m.
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On Thursday, July 11, at noon Central Time (US and Canada), the State Historic Preservation Office will host a free webinar with Catherine Lavoie, Chief of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the National Park Service (NPS). She will talk about the program, how and why it was started, its mission, and its value, with a look at HABS’s work in Oklahoma.
HABS was established in 1933 as a unique public-private partnership between NPS, the Library of Congress (LOC), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) aimed at creating an archive of America’s architectural heritage, then perceived to be rapidly vanishing. Under NPS management, AIA “district officers” in various states across the nation heeded the call to action, selecting and recording sites they deemed worthy of recognition through measured drawings, historical reports, and photographs. The documentation was housed at the LOC and made available to the public. While times have changed, HABS still records historic architecture, engineering sites, and landscapes while field testing new technologies to determine best practices and training the next generation of preservationists through its summer student recording program. The collection now spans about 45,000 sites and can be viewed online through the LOC website.
East elevation – State Capitol Company Building, 301 West Harrison Avenue, Guthrie, Logan County, OK Drawings from Survey HABS OK-17 (HABS OKLA,42-GUTH,1G-, Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division).
