Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland

Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland

The Historic American Buildings Survey in Maryland comprises measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories documenting Maryland sites surveyed by the Historic American Buildings Survey. Initiated during the New Deal era, HABS works in conjunction with the National Park Service, Library of Congress, and the American Institute of Architects to record architecture across Maryland counties, cities, and harbors.

Overview and History

HABS began in 1933 under the aegis of the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, and the American Institute of Architects, attracting figures such as Charles E. Peterson, Ansel Adams (who photographed HABS subjects nationally), Elliott B. Whitehouse, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, and photographers from the Farm Security Administration. Early Maryland projects were influenced by New Deal agencies including the Civil Works Administration, the Works Progress Administration, and architectural historians associated with the Historic American Engineering Record. HABS documentation in Maryland intersected with preservation movements led by organizations like the Maryland Historical Trust, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Peabody Institute, and municipal commissions in Baltimore, Annapolis, and communities along the Chesapeake Bay. Over decades, HABS cooperated with educational institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland, and Baltimore City College for research and fieldwork training.

Scope and Coverage in Maryland

HABS coverage in Maryland spans urban centers, rural estates, industrial complexes, and maritime structures from the Eastern Shore to the Allegany Plateau. Major geographic anchors include Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County, Prince George's County, Harford County, Carroll County, Queen Anne's County, Talbot County, Cecil County, Dorchester County, and Worcester County. Notable municipal and regional contexts encompass Baltimore, Annapolis, Frederick, Hagerstown, Salisbury, Rockville, Towson, Ellicott City, Bel Air, Chestertown, Easton, Cambridge, St. Michaels, and Ocean City. Industrial and transportation-related entries tie into places like the B&O Railroad Museum, Camden Yards, Fort McHenry, Fort Washington, Point Lookout State Park, Chesapeake Bay shipyards, and the Port of Baltimore. HABS records include plantation houses, urban rowhouses, churches, courthouses, lighthouses, mills, bridges, and docks associated with historic figures and institutions such as Calvert family, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Francis Scott Key, Thurgood Marshall, H.L. Mencken, and locations tied to events like the War of 1812, the American Revolutionary War, and the Civil War.

Notable Surveys and Documented Sites

Prominent Maryland HABS entries encompass a range of architecturally and historically significant sites. Representative documented subjects include the Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, Hampton National Historic Site, Montpelier–related Maryland estates, William Paca House, Charles Carroll House, Jessup's Landing, Upton Pub, Guilford, Peale Museum-era structures, and rural plantations such as Wye House, Sotterley Plantation, James Brice House, and Belmont Estate-associated properties. Commercial and civic surveys include Baltimore City Hall, Maryland State House, Annapolis State House, Camden Station, Bromo Seltzer Tower, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Headquarters, Union Mills and county courthouses in Calvert County, Talbot County Courthouse, and Queen Anne's County Courthouse. Maritime and industrial sites documented by HABS include Sandy Point State Park structures, Point Lookout Lighthouse, Lighthouse Service facilities, steamship and shipyard entries tied to Maryland Line, and corporate worksites associated with Bethlehem Steel, Western Maryland Railway, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Religious and educational structures include documentation for St. John's College (Annapolis), Sharpe House, Old St. Paul's Church (Baltimore), Mount Calvary Church, St. Thomas Church, and historic schoolhouses connected to St. John's College and Morgan State University.

Methodology and Documentation Standards

HABS in Maryland follows standards established by the Historic American Buildings Survey program under the National Park Service and the Library of Congress, implementing measured drawing conventions from the American Institute of Architects and photographic standards influenced by practitioners tied to the National Archives and Records Administration. Documentation typically includes large-format 4x5 or 8x10 photography formatted for the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, scaled measured drawings annotated per AIA standards, and historical reports citing deeds, maps like Sanborn maps, and archival collections from repositories such as the Maryland State Archives, the Baltimore City Archives, the Peabody Institute Library, and university special collections at Johns Hopkins University and University of Maryland, College Park. Fieldwork methods employ architectural historians, photographers, and conservators trained in recording fabric, masonry, joinery, and landscape features, referencing engineering records from entities like the American Society of Civil Engineers when bridges and industrial works are surveyed.

Preservation Impact and Use of HABS Records

HABS inventories for Maryland serve as primary sources for preservation planning, rehabilitation projects, and scholarly research supporting listings on the National Register of Historic Places and designations by the National Historic Landmarks Program. HABS documentation has informed restoration efforts at Fort McHenry, the Maryland State House, and vernacular preservation projects in Ellicott City and Annapolis Historic District, aiding architects, conservators, and planners from organizations including the Maryland Historical Trust, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and municipal historic districts. Researchers access HABS materials via the Library of Congress for studies related to architecture, landscape, and social history connected to figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Roger B. Taney, and Elias B. Caldwell. HABS records also support adaptive reuse projects, heritage tourism initiatives in places like St. Michaels and Chestertown, and disaster recovery planning coordinated with state and federal agencies following flood or fire events impacting documented structures.

Category:Historic American Buildings Survey