Evening star., 1934-08-25
BUILDING SURVEY
TOBEPERMANENT
Park Service, Congressional
Library and A. |. A. to
Be in Charge.
Continued From First Page.)

tCOntlnueQ fTom flIsL FaSe.J
BY lightning and burned to the
ground. Unfortunately the Mary
landers had not yet measured 1t, so 1t
u lost without record"
It is the purpose of the survey to
study, measure and draw up the plans,
elevations and details Of the impor-
tant antique buildings of the United
States.
THE task of preserving records OF
the historic monuments of America
has become a work of vital necessity"
the agreement says. "The clearest
structures 1t has built.
Many Buildings Disappear.
"Unfortunately, many buildings that
would be highly priced today have al
ready disappeared. Large sums are
constantly being spent to rebuild such
landmarks as the vanished first cap
itol of Virginia at Williamsburg, the
first State house in Maryland at
st. Marys, and Wakefield, the birth
place OF Washington. In the absence
of complete records such reconstruc-
tions must all be, to some extent,
imaginary.
EVEN while we are preserving and
restoring some of the monuments Of
our history, many others are daily
disappearing. Through slow destruc-
ton by decay and swift loss by fire
and the exigencies Of civic and COM
mercial developments we are through
succeeding generations losing many of
the most perfect monuments Of our
past culture in history.
THE National Government cannot
be expected to arrest all Of these
local losses, but it can lend its au-
thority and aid to the making OF
records before all Of these historic
buildings are lost to posterity. 1t
should be the aim Of such govern
mental direction to make available
these records for future reference by
architects, students, and the public
In general.
Need for National Plan.
although disconnected efforts have
been made from time to time to record
local samples of our domestic arch
itecture, no national plans had been
launched until the inception of the
historic American buildings survey in
November. At that time civil
works appropriation made possible
q few months operation of the survey
under the direction of the National
Parks Service with the cooperation
of the American Institute of Archi-
tects and the Library of Congress.
During this brief period two facts
have become clearly apparent:
81. There Is vital need for
permanent national plan to co-ordin-
ate all work of this nature and to
make 1t available to the public for
research.
''2. The present standards of the
historic American buildings survey
form an excellent basis for q con-
tinuous and much more comprehen-
sive survey.
1.-THE scattered surveys that have
heretofore been made through efforts
Of local organizations and individual
enthusiasm have yielded hetero-
geneous results, with considerable
duplication, and have been Of little
practical value to the general public.
"a comprehensive and continuous
national survey Is the logical concern
of the Federal Government. The
National Parks Service In the De-
partment of the Interior seems the
proper place for such responsibility.
The local execution must depend on
some permanent non-governmental
body, Of national scope, functioning
by local organizations-the American
Institute Of Architects fulfills these
requirements perfectly. For the
guardianship of the records, the
Government again seems the proper
functionary, and for this purpose the
Library of Congress with its pictorial
lecture stands equipped and ready.
Offers Of Cooperation.
"Since the. historic American
buildings survey became generally
known numerous offers of cooper
alton on the part of individuals and
societies have been made to the off,
cials of the survey. It has been
demonstrated that many interested
persons throughout the country are
merely waiting for the opportunity
to cooperate with such national
plan. Societies, civic organizations
and even local governments often
times have a particular interest in
certain historic monuments.
Proposals which have already been
made to the officers of the historic
American buildings survey indicate
that If there is definite plan for
embracing such future activities
there will be number of monuments
recorded at the expense Of such or
ganizations. Here again, the assur-
ance that the records are to be part
Of the Nations collection Of recorded
American architecture, available to
the public for research purposes,
would give particular incentive to
the organization interested"
Provision Is to be made for the
establishment Of geographical dis
diction of one Of the present 81 chap
ters Of the institute. At the request
of the national officers of the in
stitute the members of each local
chapter will select a district oficer
from among the chapters member
ship, who will thereafter superintend
all future work of the historic Amer
lean buildings survey during his term
of ofice.
Responsible to Chief Architect.
District officers shall be advised
by the National Advisory Board and
by whatever special committees the
local chapter shall see fit to appoint,
as to the correct methods and solu-
tion Of particular problems. District
officers shall be directly responsible
to the chief architect of the park