Historic Architecture
Historic
Architecture Documentation
Historic architectural and cultural landscape surveys consist of the inventory, identification, and preliminary field evaluations associated with buildings, structures, and landscape features, inclusive of their clustered groups (districts), within the boundaries of a specified physical area. Surveys also typically comprise the first stages of work for NRHP nominations, National Historic Landmark (NHL) nominations, compilation of historic properties by political jurisdiction (cities, states, agencies), and HABS/HAER documentation.
Mitigation may take many forms. HABS/HAER Level I or II documentation is frequently a primary means of mitigation; however, film documentation, oral histories, and the development of historic contexts may complement basic recordation. Adaptive reuse or rehabilitation of a historic resource should also be considered as an alternative to demolition. GMI has designed numerous mitigation plans that involve all of these alternatives.
GMI's staff includes architectural historians and a historic architect with extensive experience in inventorying and evaluating World War II and Cold War era military resources, as well as vernacular, industrial, and commercial buildings, and industrial buildings and structures. Over 5,500 Cold War buildings and structures were evaluated in a Cold War Historic Properties Survey for Air Combat Command in 2006-2007. Architectural inventory and evaluation experience include:
- Cold War evaluations
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation
- Reproduction of plan and elevation drawings on mylar
- National Register of Historic Places nominations
- Development of maintenance plans for historic buildings and structures
- Assessment of impacts of rehabilitation or new construction within a historic district
- Web-based databases
Related Projects
Cultural Resources Support to Access Gates Security Upgrades
GMI
conducted architectural, historical, and archaeological
investigations of the five access gates at the West Point U.S. Military
Academy. The historical investigation involved the production of a
historic context documenting the evolution of access gates at the
academy from its establishment in 1802 to the most recent gate in
1995. Architectural studies focused on documenting the appearance
and condition of each gate, conducting a National Register of
Historic Places evaluation on the main gate (Thayer Gate), and
completing Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Level I
documentation on the historic Washington Gate. The archaeological
investigation consisted of a Phase I survey. These cultural
resources investigations were performed in advance of security
upgrades to several access gates at the academy.
Landscape Survey and Evaluation Of Five Historic Resources
A
landscape survey and National Register of Historic Places evaluation
of five architectural resources were conducted at Ellsworth AFB. The
evaluated resources ranged from World War II to Cold War era and
included a warehouse, wastewater treatment facility, nuclear
ammunition storage facility, family housing unit, and bomber alert
facility. Level II HABS documentation was undertaken for the World
War II warehouse. The landscape inventory and assessment focused on
the significance of runways and associated features.
Cold War Historic Properties Survey for Air Combat Command
| Avon Park AFR, Florida Barksdale AFB, Louisiana Beale AFB, California Cannon AFB, New Mexico Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona Dyess AFB, Texas Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota Holloman AFB, New Mexico |
Minot AFB, North Dakota Mountain Home AFB, Idaho Nellis AFB, Nevada Offut AFB, Nebraska Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina Shaw AFB, South Carolina Whiteman AFB, Missouri |
Database
inventories and evaluations were conducted of buildings, structures,
sites, and objects built or used during the Cold War era (1946-1991)
which may be eligible for listing on the National Register of
Historic Places at 15 ACC bases across the country. Approximately
5,500 buildings were evaluated. Real property records and original
drawings were pulled and each building was photographed so that
their integrity could be assessed and a recommendation could be made
regarding NRHP eligibility. Databases were also assembled for each
installation.