Historic American Landscapes Survey

Historic American Landscapes Survey
Name	Historic American Landscapes Survey
Formed	1969
Jurisdiction	United States
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Parent agency	National Park Service

Historic American Landscapes Survey

The Historic American Landscapes Survey is a federal program documenting historic designed landscapes across the United States through measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories. It operates alongside programs that document historic architecture and engineering, aiming to preserve evidence for sites ranging from public parks to private gardens and battlefield landscapes. The Survey's records inform preservation planning, scholarship, and public interpretation at national repositories and state preservation offices.

Overview

The Survey conducts systematic documentation for landscapes including urban parks, rural estates, botanical gardens, cemeteries, battlefield parks, and campus grounds. Projects often involve collaboration with entities such as the National Park Service, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, American Society of Landscape Architects, and state historic preservation offices like the National Register of Historic Places program. Notable landscape types documented include work by designers associated with Frederick Law Olmsted, Beatrix Farrand, Andrew Jackson Downing, Calvert Vaux, and J.C. Loudon, as well as sites linked to events like the American Revolutionary War, Battle of Gettysburg, and the Civil Rights Movement.

History and Development

Established in 1969 amid growing preservation efforts following passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the Survey was created to fill a gap in documenting designed and vernacular landscapes. Early impetus drew on precedents set by the Historic American Buildings Survey and the Historic American Engineering Record, which responded to federal infrastructure programs such as the New Deal and projects like the Interstate Highway System. The Survey expanded through partnerships with universities, for example Harvard University, Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, and professional organizations including the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Garden Club of America.

Documentation Methods and Standards

Documentation follows standards harmonized with the Library of Congress's archival practices, using large-format photography, measured drawings, and historical reports prepared by landscape historians and architects. Methodologies incorporate tools and references such as the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Architectural and Engineering Documentation, historic maps from the United States Geological Survey, and primary sources from repositories like the National Archives and the Library of Congress. Field teams often reference work by practitioners like Gilmore Clarke, Beatrix Farrand, O.C. Simonds, and Piet Oudolf when assessing design intent and plant materials.

Notable Projects and Collections

The Survey's holdings include extensive documentation of projects such as Central Park (New York City), sites linked to Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., campus landscapes at University of Virginia, plantation landscapes like Mount Vernon, the grounds of Monticello, historic cemeteries including Arlington National Cemetery and Green-Wood Cemetery, and battlefield landscapes at Gettysburg National Military Park and Antietam National Battlefield. Other documented places include the gardens of Theodore Roosevelt's Sagamore Hill, the Designed Landscape of Biltmore Estate, park systems designed by Olmsted Brothers, public spaces such as Millennium Park, and botanical collections at United States Botanic Garden. Collections also cover New Deal-era projects like the Civilian Conservation Corps camps and park work, as well as landscapes associated with the Harlem Renaissance, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Stonewall riots.

Administration and Partnerships

Administered by the National Park Service and coordinated with the Library of Congress for archival stewardship, the program partners with state historic preservation offices, university research centers, professional societies including the American Institute of Architects and American Society of Landscape Architects, nonprofit organizations like the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and local governments such as the City of Boston and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Funding and project support have come from federal initiatives, philanthropic foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and corporate partners including utilities and transportation agencies involved with projects such as the Federal Highway Administration.

Impact and Preservation Efforts

Survey documentation underpins nominations to the National Register of Historic Places and assists adaptive reuse projects, landscape restoration at sites like Monticello and Mount Vernon, and interpretive programming at National Mall and Memorial Parks. Records inform conservation of plant collections influenced by figures like John Bartram, guide rehabilitation under policies modeled on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, and support litigation and advocacy by organizations such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Survey's archive in the Library of Congress serves scholars studying landscape architecture, environmental history, and cultural heritage, and aids contemporary practitioners addressing climate resilience at coastal sites like Cape Hatteras National Seashore and urban waterfronts such as Boston Harbor.

Category:Historic preservation in the United States Category:Landscape architecture