The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) Program at the NPS

Catherine Lavoie, Chief of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) of the National Park Service (NPS), will talk about the program, how and why it was started, its mission, and its value, with a look at HABS 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. 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. The standards developed by the HABS program continue to be used to systematically record historic architecture while field testing new technologies to determine best practices and training the next generation of preservationists. HABS documentation is extremely valuable for rehabilitation and restoration of historic properties. The collection now spans about 45,000 sites and can be viewed online through the LOC website.