Environmental Design Archives: Other Archival Resources

(Print Resource) California Cooperative Preservation of Architectural Records, Waverly B. Lowell, project director. NY: Garland, 1988.

Municipal archives can be a fabulous source of primary research material. Many cities, counties, etc., maintain archives of historical municipal records, ranging from meeting and office records to maps, vital records, photographs, plans, parks and recreation planning, and much more. These archives are managed in diverse ways: as a separate department, as a function within an individual department, as part of the public library, etc. Search H-Urban discussion logs for "municipal archives" for a sampling of the type and quality of municipal archives available.

Univ. of Idaho Library. International list of over 5,000 web sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources.

There are many repositories for records documenting the built environment. The list below includes major archives across the United States that focus primarily on the collection and preservation of design records including architectural, engineering, landscape architecture, and construction records.

A noncirculating special research collection of books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, plans, and other materials, the Bancroft Library also houses the University Archives. Most holdings are listed in the library catalogs.

The California Historical Society, founded in 1871, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California's richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives. The CHS Collection comprises a diverse body of materials documenting the history of California.

Major collection on California, including 20,000 maps and architectural drawings, 250,000 photographs.

Provides primary source material for scholarly research, teaching support and preservation on the work of nearly 100 of the San Francisco Bay Region's historically significant architects, landscape architects and firms.

Federal archives site. Search catalog and limit to Cartographic and Architectural Records. Links to the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Maintains "retired records from Federal agencies and courts in Arizona, southern California, and Clark County, Nevada."

Holdings are "comprised of Federal records from northern and central California, Nevada (except Clark County), Hawaii, American Samoa and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands."

Historic Documents Department,

An online collections of videos of public events held at the Southern California Institute of Architecture from 1972-present.