Engineering, Building, and Architecture - Overview
Not many museums collect houses. The National Museum of American History has four, as well as two outbuildings, 11 rooms, an elevator, many building components, and some architectural elements from the White House. Drafting manuals are supplemented by many prints of buildings and other architectural subjects. The breadth of the museum's collections adds some surprising objects to these holdings, such as fans, purses, handkerchiefs, T-shirts, and other objects bearing images of buildings.
The engineering artifacts document the history of civil and mechanical engineering in the United States. So far, the Museum has declined to collect dams, skyscrapers, and bridges, but these and other important engineering achievements are preserved through blueprints, drawings, models, photographs, sketches, paintings, technical reports, and field notes.
"Engineering, Building, and Architecture - Overview" showing 23 items.
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- No Image Available
Holton Duncan Robinson Papers, 1889-1938
- Notes
- Bridge designer, consulting engineer, and authority on bridge cable construction
- Summary
- Papers documenting the career of bridge designer and engineer Holton Duncan Robinson. The collection includes photographs, including cyanotypes, of bridges under construction; five patents; correspondence; programs; articles; and an 1889 notebook containing calculations
- Cite as
- Holton Duncan Robinson Papers, 1889-1938, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of Ann Robinson Henshaw
- Date
- 1889
- 1889-1938
- 20th century
- 1900-1950
- creator
- Robinson, Holton Duncan 1863-1945
- donor
- Henshaw, Ann Robinson
- Local number
- 2007.3045 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
J. Parker Snow Collection, 1882-1933 (bulk 1930-1933)
- Notes
- Bridge engineer
- Summary
- Snow's engineering notebook, 1882; notes relating to his writings on the history of wooden bridges; drafts and manuscripts for articles he wrote on the development of wooden bridges; and correspondence, especially with engineering journals relating to efforts to get his manuscripts published
- Cite as
- J. Parker Snow Collection, 1882-1933 (bulk 1930-1933), Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1882
- 1882-1933
- bulk 1930-1933
- 20th century
- 1930-1940
- 1850-1900
- creator
- Snow, J. Parker
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 2007.3098 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Alexander Binder Company Records, 1910-1965 (bulk 1921-1955)
- Notes
- Clinton B. Alexander patented and sold loose-leaf binders, tape splicers and plummet adjustors for plumb bobs
- Summary
- The collection consists of samples of marketing and sales materials produced by other businesses in the 1920s and 1930s, correspondence between Alexander and his vendors and customers, sales records sorted by year, and artifacts such as binders and material samples related to the production of binders
- Cite as
- Alexander Binder Company Records, 1921-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1921
- 1921-1965
- 1910-1965 bulk 1921-1955
- 20th century
- creator
- Clinton B. Alexander Binder Company Washington, D.C
- Creator
- Alexander, Clinton B
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 2007.3162 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
North American Water and Power Alliance Records, 1964-1990
- Notes
- The North American Water and Power Alliance (NAWAPA) was a large-scale, transcontinental water transfer plan designed by the Ralph M. Parsons Corporation in 1964
- Summary
- The collection contains a promotional video, correspondence, reports, articles, and newsletters, among other materials, which describe NAWAPA and reveal efforts to gain federal government and private sector support for the project, in response to concerns about energy and water resources and the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer in the High Plains states
- Cite as
- North American Water and Power Alliance Records, 1964-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1964
- 1964-1990
- 20th century
- 1950-2000
- creator
- Ralph M. Parsons Corporation (Pasadena, Calif.)
- author
- North American Water and Power Alliance
- collector
- Work and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 2007.3124 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Division of Transportation: Railroads' Engineering Data, 1912-1949
- Summary
- Includes statistics on electric train operation, drawings, blueprints, technical papers, train classifications, research and development reports, business and financial correspondence (1933, 1939-48, 1940-41), installation and operation instructions, locomotive system test procedures, locomotive operations data and calculations, records of locomotive mileages and part failures, suggested locomotive improvements, locomotive specifications, plans for fire extinguishing systems, tonnage ratings, etc
- Railroads represented are the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, Piedmont and Northern Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Takata and Company Railroad, Philadelphia and Western Railroad, Sorocabana Railway, and Erie Railroad Company
- Cite as
- Division of Transportation: Railroads' Engineering Data, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1912
- 1912-1949
- 1930-1950
- collector
- Hamily, David
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Subject
- New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad
- Piedmont and Northern Railroad
- Pennsylvania Railroad
- Takata and Company Railroad
- Philadelphia and Western Railroad
- Sorocabana Railway
- Erie Railroad Company
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Charles Adler, Jr. Collection, ca. 1920-1980
- Notes
- Adler, professional engineer and inventor, resided in Baltimore, Md., all his life. At 14 he patented an electric automotive brake. After attending Johns Hopkins University and serving briefly in the Army, he joined the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, developing safety devices. In 1928 he developed the first sound-activated (by auto horn) traffic signal. Was granted over 60 U.S. patents (of which he donated 10 to the Government), was a licensed pilot and a member of numerous professional engineers' societies. Member, Maryland State Aviation Commission, 1953-1959; served on the Maryland Traffic Safety Commission from 1952 until his death
- Summary
- Contains much biographical information on Adler and his career. Newspaper clippings, photographs and other memorabilia detail his activities. Adler's published writings include articles in periodicals and newspapers. Numerous patent applications, related correspondence and royalty receipts relate to his inventions
- Cite as
- Charles Adler, Jr. Collection, ca. 1920-1980, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1920
- 1980
- ca 1920-1980
- 20th century
- 1920-1980
- author
- Adler, Charles Jr (engineer inventor) 1899-1980
- donor
- Ascher, Amalie Adler Mrs
- Local number
- 1990.3049 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Cass Gilbert Collection, 1897-1936
- Notes
- American architect of commercial and public buildings, b. Zanesville, Ohio; educated in St. Paul, Minnesota. Firmly supportive of the European tradition and the eastern academic league of architects. Among his many familiar public buildings are the Treasury Annex and the Supreme Court, Washington, D.C., the state capitol buildings of West Virginia, Arkansas, and Minnesota, and the public libraries of St. Louis and Detroit. His most famous building is the Woolworth Building in New York (1913); with its 55 stories and Gothic ornament, it is considered Gilbert's greatest achievement
- Summary
- Correspondence (1919-1932), contracts, statistical data, news clippings, booklets, miscellaneous Gilbert papers, three volumes of specification data of the Supreme Court Buildings, twenty pencil and pastel sketchbooks of Gilbert's periodic travels in Europe, 1897-1932, and a box of miscellaneous unbound sketches, including many for the Supreme Court. The bulk of the collection consists of bound volumes containing photoprints of forty-one Gilbert buildings under construction
- Photographers include Belden & Company (45 Clinton Street, Newark, N.J.) and P. O. Valentine (33 Homestead Park, Newark, N.J.). The photographs are mounted on linen, in cloth-covered loose-leaf binders bearing building or project names. Most photograph volumes each contain more than 100 prints, including duplicates. For example, Vol. 49, on the Seaside Sanatorium (Waterford, Conn.) contains 149 prints from approx. 75 different negatives
- Cite as
- Cass Gilbert Collection, 1897-1936, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1897
- 1897-1936
- 1890-1940
- 1900-1950
- 1880-1950
- artist.
- Gilbert, Cass 1859-1934
- collector
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of (NMAH, SI)
- photographer
- Belden & Company 45 Clinton Street, Newark, N.J.
- Valentine, P. O. 33 Homestead, Park, Newark
- Subject
- Woolworth Building New York (N.Y.)
- New York Life Insurance Building
- Supreme Court Building Washington (D.C.)
- Seaside Sanatorium Waterford, Conn
- Local number
- 239827 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Engineering (series), 1867-1963.
- Summary
- This portion of the Warshaw collection remains unprocessed. Contains advertising cards, billheads, books, business cards, catalogs, correspondence, labels, leaflets, and pamphlets
- Cite as
- Engineering series, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, box ##, folder ###, digital file number ####
- Date
- 1867
- 1963
- 1867-1963
- 19th century
- collector
- Warshaw, Isadore d. 1969
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Records of Wedge Innovations, 1985-1996
- Notes
- The SmartLevel was conceived in 1985 by Andrew G. Butler, who formed Wedge Innovations in 1986 in the basement of his home in order to develop and market this level. The company developed the sensor technology and software necessary to build the WedgeLevel. The heart of this tool was an electronic sensor circuit connected to a microprocessor capable of measuring the tool's orientation
- Summary
- Collection documents the invention and development of a new hand tool, the SmartLevel, an electronic builder's level, including company management and policies. It contains design notebooks, detailed technical drawings, financial statements, correspondence, operational records, advertisements, etc
- Series 1: Corporate Records, 1985-1993, address the overall management of Wedge Innovations and documents its policies
- Series 2: Engineering Records (1985-1994) document the design and development of the SmartLevel, including design notebooks and detailed technical drawings
- Series 3: Financial Records (1986-1992): Wedge's summary financial statements
- Series 4: Marketing Records (1986-1992) document customer and dealer relations through correspondence, operational records, advertisements, photographs, and videotapes
- Series 5: Operations Records (1990-1992) document the manufacturing process and the company's offshore operations
- Series 6: Product Development Records (1987-1992) document the company's intended development of an entire "Smart Tools" line
- Series 7: Corporate Culture series (1985-1996) contains employee photographs and oral history interviews with key Wedge personnel
- Cite as
- Records of Wedge Innovations, 1985-1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1985
- 1985-1996
- 1980-2000
- 1950-2000
- 1970-2000
- 1990-2000
- creator
- Wedge Innovations
- interviewer
- Shayt, David H
- donor
- Butler, Andrew G
- Bayley, Brian
- Reeder, Kevin
- Fetter, Rick
- Wisnig, Ronald
- Gunderson, Ken
- Local number
- 1996.3066 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1996.3065 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1995.3072 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1995.3067 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Matthew Mawhinney Industrial Furnace Collection, 1917-1978
- Notes
- Matthew Mawhinney, an engineer specializing in industrial furnace design and operation, collected this material during his career with Salem Engineering Co. and later as a consulting engineer
- Summary
- Several engineering textbooks authored by Mawhinney as well as correspondence relating to his articles in professional journals and presentations to meetings of engineers. His correspondence with industrial companies and photographs of furnaces and other equipment are also included
- Cite as
- Matthew Mawhinney Industrial Furnace Collection, 1917-1978, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1917
- 1917-1918
- 1917-1978
- 1930-1950
- Creator
- Mawhinney, Matthew engineer (collector)
- collector
- Engineering and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Salem Engineering Co
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
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