Architectural and engineering documentation can provide future generations with information on structures long since vanished. Documentation can also serve as a form of insurance for a significant structure so that if there were to be a catastrophic loss, the structure could be rebuilt. Architectural and engineering documentation can be used to record historic structures that cannot be saved. Architectural and engineering documentation broadens our experience of American history.
Historic structures are frequently the only tangible evidence of history.
They can open new doors to understanding the past. Historic structures can be significant for their characteristics and features, as well as for their association with people and events. Historic structures are artifacts, they can provide insights into past cultures and activities, events and people.