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 and Literature 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, OskiCat or Melvyl, for many additional resources, or contact the reference desk in the Environmental Design Library.
Content reviewed: September 2008. Elizabeth Douthitt Byrne, Head, Environmental Design Library.
| 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; San Francisco Genealogy |
| 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? | Newspapers & 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 |
