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House histories and local history are inextricably linked. The location of homes, apartments, or built structures relate to the local community in numerous ways. Home styles, trends, builders, neighborhoods, and community development often reflect historical and cultural trends, as well as social and economic movements that have likely impacted the community or region. Often, individuals hope to gather information about the style, date, and builder or architect of their home, and are curious about previous owners, any alterations or additions that may have been made to the property, and how their home fits into the community, city, or region in which it is located.
The resources listed here may be able to help you determine the style and approximate date of your home, and whether additions or alterations have been made. Included in this section on Architectural Resources are collections from the Library of Congress, as well as recommendations of other resources available at the local, state, or national levels, found here under "More" and in other sections of this House History guide.
Library of Congress Digital Collections are free to view online. A selection of these resources is provided below with links to the home pages for each relevant archive. You can also explore the complete list of Digital Collections to find even more and see the latest additions.
The subscription resources marked with a padlock are restricted and only available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.
SAH Archipedia will grow in the coming years, as other published BUS books are digitized (including Delaware, Louisiana, and Hawaii), as current BUS volumes are completed (Texas: Central, South, and Gulf Coast Vermont Virginia: The Valley and Southwest North Dakota Wisconsin Missouri Mississippi New Hampshire Texas: East, North, and West and Arkansas among them), and as peer-reviewed, born-digital content is created. While the immediate goal is to have all fifty states represented in SAH Archipedia, U.S. content is only the beginning. The authors envision SAH Archipedia to become a comprehensive resource for information on buildings from across the globe.
The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available. Books about architecture and architects in specific locations, such as The Architecture of New York City, or Art Deco Chicago: Designing Modern America can be found in the Library of Congress collections; we suggest that you ask your local librarian for assistance in locating regional, statewide, or local guides to architecture in your community.
Library of Congress subject specialists have created research guides that provide background and resources for further study.
Resources listed here are likely available at locations near the structure being researched. The following types of records for house history research are addressed in other sections of this LibGuide. These include:
In most cases, original records are held by local and regional government offices and agencies. Other primary resources may include: manuscript or published histories, biographies or memoirs; letters or papers of individuals or families; maps and atlases; photographs, prints and illustrations; architectural drawings; builders' or architects' records; local or regional newspapers; town or city directories; newsletters or directories or other publications of local groups and institutions including schools, churches, or social or fraternal clubs. These are most likely held at repositories local to the structure being researched, or in the surrounding region. Types of local institutions with house history materials include:
Many resources are discussed in other sections of this Guide, including maps, newspapers, photographs, directories, printed local histories, genealogical resources, and digital collections. Here are some additional libraries, repositories and organizations that may be helpful in a search for architectural resources.
Libraries - public and academic - may have architectural resources; check for local programs, and collections.