Environmental Design Library
Finding Information on Buildings and Places
This bibliographic guide focuses on how to research buildings and places with an emphasis on Bay Area and California. For more resources see Finding Local Information; San Francisco Bay Area Architects and Architecture Resources; California Landscape Architecture and Gardens; Vernacular Architecture and Landscape Architecture Resources; History of Landscape Architecture, and other guides available from the Environmental Design Library website: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/. Be sure to check the online Library catalogs, Pathfinder or Melvyl, for many additional resources, or contact the reference desk in the Environmental Design Library.
Compiled by Elizabeth Douthitt Byrne,
February, 2004; revised, Feb. 2006
| QUESTIONS TO ASK | INFORMATION RESOURCES TO USE |
| Who | |
| Built, designed, owned or commissioned it (client)? Owns, regulates, or manages it now? | Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; Periodical Articles; Newspaper Articles; Archives; City Directories |
| Lived in or used it or worked in it? In the present? | City and Neighborhood Histories (PDF); Company Histories; City Directories |
| Lived in the neighborhood when it was built?
Lives there now? |
City Directories; Interviews & Oral Histories |
| Were the important people associated with this place?
And now? |
Architecture Biographical Dictionaries; Landscape Architecture Biographical Dictionaries; California Biographical Sources |
| What | Information Resources to Use |
| Type of building or place is it?
Are the precedents for it? |
Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; Building Styles; Building Types; Building & Landscape Types |
| Was the original function or use of the place? | City Directories; City Histories; Neighbohood Histories (PDF) |
| Additional or changed functions has it had? | Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps |
| Style is it; how does its style fit in the history of design? | Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; Architectural Histories; Style Guides; American Architecture |
| Activities went on in the neighborhood when it was built?
Current activities take place there? |
Newpapers; City & Neighborhood Histories; General Plans |
| Was the political, regulatory, and economic environment in which it was built? | Newspapers; Zoning & Building Codes; Public Records; City Histories; General Plans |
| Are its features, materials or plants, and what do these choices signify? | Observation; Architecture Dictionaries; Landscape Architecture Dictionaries; Garden Plants; Archives |
| Is the (often invisible) structure under or behind the design? | Guidebooks; Archival Drawings; Plans, Photos |
| Important events happened here? | City Histories; Guidebooks; Newspapers |
| Condition is it in? | Observation; Public Records |
| Was there before it was built? | Maps; City Histories; Neighborhood Histories; Photos |
| Where | Information Resources to Use |
| Is it now? | Maps |
| Was it originally (as city grew & change)? | Historic Maps; Sanborn Maps |
| Did the construction materials originate? | Products & Trade Catalogs; Architectural & Neighborhood Histories; Archives; Newspapers |
| Does it fit technologically (typical or advanced for the time)? | Histories of Building Technology, Building Materials and Construction; Landscape Materials |
| Why | Information Resources to Use |
| Was it built or designed? | Newspaper & Periodical Articles; Archives; General Plans |
| Was it built or designed in this specific location? | Census Data; Sanborn Maps; Architectural Histories; General Plans |
| Was it built or designed to look the way it does; what was the designer's intention? | Interviews; Works on Architects; Works on the Landscape Architect; Architectural Style Guides; Archives |
| Is and was it important or significant? | Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; City Histories; Neighborhood Histories; Cultural Histories; General Plans |
| When | Information Resources to Use |
| Was it constructed? | Sanborn Maps; Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; Archives; Public Records |
| Was it altered? | Newspaper & Periodical Articles; Public records; Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks |
| Were buildings around it constructed; which were there when the place was new? | Photos; Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; City Histories; Neighborhood Histories; Early Films of San Francisco |
| How | Information Resources to Use |
| Did people respond to it originally? | Newspaper & Periodical Articles; Diaries; Oral Histories; Films, Videos |
| Do people respond to it now? | Interviews; City Histories; Neighborhood Histories |
| Did it affect the neighborhood or people in the community? | Sanborn Maps; Interviews; Public Records; Newspaper Articles |
| Did/do neighborhood people influence its design or use? | Newspaper & Periodical Articles; Observation; Public Records |
| Does it compare to similar places elsewhere? | Architectural Guidebooks; Landscape Guidebooks; Archives |
| Does it relate to its landscape or setting? | Newspaper & Periodical Articles; Observation; Archives |
| Was the topography altered to accommodate this place; how was it accomplished? | Topographic Maps; Photos; Neighborhood Histories |
| Much did it cost to build? Was it expensive? | Archives; Public Records; Newspapers |
| Does it fit in the designer's body of work (typical? a departure? have signature details?) | Works on the Landscape Architect; Works on the Architect |
| Does it look now compared to original appearance? | Archives; Photos; City Histories; Architectural Histories |
Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Document maintained on server: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ by: Elizabeth D. Byrne.
Last updated 5/5/06. Server manager: Contact.
Document maintained on server: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ by: Elizabeth D. Byrne.
Last updated 5/5/06. Server manager: Contact.