Historical
Places
Sources in the Blume Library and on the Web
Historical
Places
Sources in the Blume Library and on the Web
In the Library
Major Reference Sources
America Preserved; a checklist of historical buildings, structures and sites. (LC 1.2:H 62/7). 1994. Catalog of sites listed in the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record; includes some photographs and other illustrations.
Historic America; buildings, structures, sites. (LC 1.2:H 62/5). 1983. Contains essays on the work of the Historic American Buildings Survey and a comprehensive list of the sites recorded by the survey.
National Park Service Series
Many NPS publications are being digitized. Here is a list of these items by Park or Historical site.
Agencies
NOTE: Other agencies with missions unrelated to history may publish studies of historical sites of importance to the purview of the agency. For example: A Nation in Motion; Historical American Transportation Sites. (TD 1.2:N 21/6). Consult the Online Catalog for these kinds of publications.
Major Sites
Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record.This collection, part of the Library of Congress' American Memory project, "document achievements in architecture, engineering, and design in the United States and its territories through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering technologies." The website includes drawings, photographs, narrative descriptions, etc. You may search by keyword or browse by subject or location.
National Park Service. Choose their "Explore America's Past" link to access resources concerning historic places, as well as other examples of the country's cultural resources. Under "I'm looking for..." you can choose material by other categories, such as military history, architecture, cultural landscapes, etc.
National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is an official listing of cultural resources deemed worthy of preservation. It includes over 75,000 individual places, some of which are historic areas in the National Park system and National Historical Landmarks so designated by Secretaries of the Interior. Other listings are places nominated by governments, organizations and individuals.
The National Register Information System, a database containing all the resources in the Register, may be searched by name, location, agency, subject and documentation. Under each of these broad search types are many other options as well. The "Themes Studies" page identifies groups of Historic Landmarks that are associated with a particular subject, such as the Maritime Heritage, Underground Railroad, or World War II Homefront Theme Studies.
If you want to see changes to the Register over time, you can browse their weekly lists for 1996 to the present. There is also all sorts of information at the site regarding how to list a property, what this will mean for the property, etc.
Government Information on the Web Subject Index
In addition to the major government websites described above, headings listed below might lead you to useful information in these specific areas: