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 9 items.
- No Image Available
Cummings Structural Concrete Company Records, 1884-1952
- Notes
- Robert A. Cummings (1866-1937) was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania consulting civil engineer and an early advocate of reinforced concrete construction
- Summary
- Correspondence and business records documenting Cummings's firm, consulting work, and participation in professional associations, especially the American Society of Civil Engineers, 1892-1893, circa 1900-1939; technical data and publications on soils testing, 1900-1939; and drawings, blueprints, and photographs and glass negatives of construction projects
- Cite as
- Cummings Structural Concrete Company Records, 1884-1952, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1884
- 1884-1952
- 1900-1950
- Creator
- Cummings Structural Concrete Company
- author
- Cummings, Robert A. 1866-1962
- collector
- Engineering and Industry, Division of, NMAH, SI
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Subject
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- 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
Chicago Surface Lines Drawings, 1880-1948
- Notes
- The street railway system began in Chicago around 1858 with horse-powered cars. In 1880 cable cars began replacing this slow and expensive method, and in the late 1880s new companies sprang up using the new electric "trolleys". The older companies soon followed. The 1890s and early 1900s saw the consolidation and reorganization of the numerous companies until the Unification Ordinance of 1913, which stipulated that all would come under the management of a single company, the Chicago Surface Lines (CSL). The CSL became the largest street railway system in the world
- Summary
- Blueprints and tracings of the Chicago surface railway system,1886-1926. The 15 blueprints are from the Chicago City Railway Company and the West Chicago Street Railroad Company (1891). The 192 tracings include plans of cars for Chicago Railway (1904-1916), Lake Street Elevated Railroad (1895), and the Chicago City Railway (1908-9). Plans of switches, track layouts, power stations, and other railroad structures for a number of companies, most being for the West Chicago Street Railroad Company (1888-1892). Also a single drawing from the Pennsylvania & West Virginia Railway, 1948
- Cite as
- Chicago Surface Lines Drawings, 1880-1948, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1880
- 1880-1948
- creator
- Chicago Surface Lines
- collector
- Transportation, Division of, NMAH, SI
- creator
- West Chicago Street Railroad Company
- donor
- Chicago Transit Authority
- creator
- Chicago City Railway Company
- Pennsylvania & West Virginia Railway
- Subject
- Chicago Board of Traction Supervising Engineers
- Chicago Consolidated Traction Company
- Chicago Railways Company
- Chicago Union Traction Company
- D.T. Steelwork Company
- Garden City Construction Company
- Gilbert Car Manufacturing Company
- Lake Street Elevated Railroad (Chicago, Ill.)
- North Chicago Street Railroad Company
- United States Construction Company
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Lockwood-Greene Records, 1883-2004 (bulk 1915-1930)
- Notes
- Lockwood-Greene is one of the nation's oldest engineering firms, tracing its roots to 1832, when Rhode Island native David Whitman began a machinery repair service. In the years of the early industrial revolution in textile manufacturing, Whitman added mill design services, which began a flourishing consulting business. He traveled throughout New England advising industrialists on the placement, design and construction of factories and the layout of the complicated system of machinery they contained. Whitman died in 1858. Amos Lockwood took over the business which he relocated to Boston. Stephen Greene joined the business in 1882, and the firm's scope expanded to supplying all necessary architectural and engineering services. Greene became president upon Lockwood's death in 1884. Eventually the company designed and built the first factory operated electrically from a remote power plant, as an alternative to steam power. They continued expanding, and eventually were designing a wider variety of structures, including newspaper plants, automotive factories, convention halls and schools. In the 1960s, the company's headquarters relocated to Spartanburg, South Carolina. In 2003, CH2M Hill, a global provider of engineering, construction services, and operations services, acquired the company
- Summary
- The Lockwood-Greene Records are a comprehensive range of documents related to the appraisal, building, construction, design, evaluation, and engineering of facilities for a variety of clients. The material covers the entire period of industrialization of the United States, and, provides a thorough record of the textile industry, both in New England and the South. Some of the textile mills are documented with unusual completeness, showing water and steam power layouts, factory village plans, and landscaping schedules. A broad range of other building typologies is also covered, including projects with public or retail functions, such as early automobile showrooms, hospitals, apartments and private dwellings, churches, and schools
- Cite as
- Lockwood-Greene Records, 1883-2004 (bulk 1915-1930), Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1883
- 2004
- 1883-2004
- bulk 1915-1930
- 1890-1900
- 20th century
- 21st century
- creator
- Lockwood-Greene Company
- designer
- Lockwood, Amos
- Greene, Stephen
- creator
- Whitman, David
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Greene, Stephen
- Local number
- 1997.0021 (NMAH Acc.)
- 2008.3059 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
P.J. Bier Papers, 1915-1970
- Notes
- Engineer, Colorado, who worked for the Bureau of Reclamation from 1923 to 1954
- Summary
- The collection documents Bier's work with the Bureau of Reclamation on dams and power stations in Colorado and Mexico. It includes project files, reports, correspondence, notes, blueprints and technical drawings
- Cite as
- P.J. Bier Papers, 1915-1970, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1915
- 1915-1970
- 20th century
- creator
- Bier, P. J
- 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
- Subject
- Bureau of Reclamation
- Local number
- 2007.3087 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Roland C. Hawes Papers, 1908-1997
- Notes
- The career of Roland C. Hawes, born Oct. 4, 1908, Riverside, California, began in chemical analysis and led him into the scientific apparatus and instruments industry, where he worked in the field of spectrophotometry. B.S., chemistry, California Institute of Technology, 1930. He died in 1999
- Summary
- Correspondence, handwritten notes and sketches, memorandum reports, catalogs, printed material, patent documents, drawings, blueprints (original and diazo copies), and photographs document Hawes's work in the field of immunnassay, spectrophotometry, scientific apparatus and instruments industry, and administrative duties at Applied Physics Corporation/Cary Instruments
- The bulk of the papers consist of materials found in Series 2: Research files A-Z, 1913 (1927-1990) (4.5 cubic feet). Series 5: Cary Instruments 1937-1992 (4 cubic feet) and Series 6: Consulting, 1908-(1939-1992) (3.5 cubic feet)
- Cite as
- Roland C. Hawes Papers, 1908-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1908
- 1997
- 1908-1997
- 20th century
- 1930-1950
- 1890-1920
- creator
- Hawes, Roland C. 1908-1999
- author
- Applied Physics Corporation
- Cary Instruments
- Subject
- Cary, Howard
- Beckman, Arnold O
- George, Kenyon
- Duffield, Jack J
- National Technical Laboratories
- Beckman Instruments, Inc
- Applied Physics Corporation
- Cary Instruments
- Varian Associates
- Aviv & Associates, Inc
- Local number
- 1997.3139 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Records, 1826-1880s, 1951 (bulk 1860s-1940s)
- Notes
- The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the nation's first extensive steam powered railroad. It was founded by Baltimore merchants in 1827 as a means of promoting trade and making Baltimore competitive with other east coast ports. The original intent of the founders was to provide direct and fast access to the Ohio River, and the markets that the river reached. The railroad, however, went beyond the Ohio River and its lines went as far west as St. Louis and Chicago. The B&O was also known for its use of an electric locomotive in the mid 1890s. It also had a completely air conditioned train, and it was a forerunner in the use of diesel-electric locomotives. Company activities paralleled those of other American railroads and over the course of its life included expansion, near bankruptcy, innovations, regulations, and finally buyout. In February 1963, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) completed its purchase of the B&O. Today B&O is part of the CSX Transportation (CSX) network
- Summary
- The main collection consists of correspondence, invoices, drawings, photographs, and negatives and other printed literature documenting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from its inception in 1827 to its merger with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in the 1960s. It includes records dealing with the engineering, construction, and maintenance operations of the railroad: correspondence and other material on routes, land surveys, and construction, circa 1826-1861; specifications, cost statements, bids, drawings, tracings, and blueprints concerning construction, repair, and upkeep of bridges, trestles, shops, depots, and other structures, ca. 1858-1943; maps and profiles, 1850, 1853, 1890, 1899-1900, 1911; and negatives and prints of construction, buildings, structures, and track, 1913-1914, 1921-1930. Also, correspondence of John W. Garrett (1820-1884), president of B&O, 1858-1884, concerning Ohio River bridges, requests for employment, and bridges, trestles, and tunnels, 1858-1880; and correspondence of Benjamin H. Latrobe as president of the Pittsburgh and Connelsville Railroad, 1861-1865
- 1961 gift: Six railroad car drawings
- 1979 gift: An album of cyanotype photographs depicting all bridges, stations, and other structures along the B&O's Philadelphia Division, 1891
- Second 1979 gift: Letters, 1829, 1871, 1872, and 1874, mostly relating to bridges
- Cite as
- Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Records, 1826-1880s, 1951 (bulk 1860s-1940s), Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
- Date
- 1826
- 1880
- 1826-1880s, 1951 bulk 1860s-1940s
- 19th century
- 1860-1890
- 20th century
- donor
- Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
- O'Connell, Rosalie
- author
- Latrobe, Benj. H (Benjamin Henry) 1807-1878
- Garrett, John W (John Work) 1820-1884
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Local number
- 236163 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1979.0895 (NMAH Acc.)
- 1979.0912 (NMAH Acc.)
- 2007.3209 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
Robert F. Olds Collection, 1918-1948
- Notes
- Olds was a civil engineer of dams, hydroelectric plants, steam plants, water supply systems, and sewage systems
- Summary
- Material from fourteen dam construction projects (1918-1946), including notes, blueprints, reports, drawings, and correspondence, etc
- Cite as
- Robert F. Olds Collection, 1918-1948, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Date
- 1918
- 1918-1948
- 1900-1950
- collector
- Olds, Robert F (civil engineer) 1881-
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH
- No Image Available
The Foundation Company Records, circa 1887-1962
- Notes
- The Foundation Company was a New York subaqueous concrete construction firm
- Summary
- These records include sketches, drawings, blueprints, contracts, and reports relating to highway and railroad bridges, tunnels, subways, mine shafts, canals and waterways, dams, concrete buildings, concrete construction, derricks and derrick barges, cranes, caissons and caisson construction, air locks, pumps, jacks, engines, and turbines; also photographs, photograph albums, and newspaper clippings concerning projects for office building and power plant foundations, docks, dry docks, and piers, and work for the Ohio Edison Company, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Boston Common Underground Garage
- Date
- 1887
- 1962
- circa 1887-1962
- 20th century
- creator
- Foundation Company (The)
- collector
- History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Division of [former name], NMAH, SI
- Subject
- Chase Manhattan Bank
- Ohio Edison Company
- Local number
- 2007.3088 (NMAH Acc.)
- Data Source
- Archives Center - NMAH