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 936 items.
Page 5 of 94
Cladding Fragment from the World Trade Center
- Description
- This crumpled piece of exterior sheathing was recovered from the debris pile of the World Trade Center after the building collapsed following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. While the towers withstood the initial damage caused by the impact of the hijacked jet liners being crashed into the structures, the intense fire that then raged proved to be too much.
- The twin towers of the World Trade Center, a New York City landmark and the tallest buildings in the world when completed in 1973, were noted for their incredible 110-story height and their gleaming exterior. The towers were clad in an aluminum alloy sheathing that gave the buildings a golden sheen at sunrise and sunset. The material covered the closely-spaced exterior steel columns, enhancing their soaring appearance. Architect Minoru Yamasaki choose to use an aluminum alloy after first considering the more expensive alternative of stainless steel. The highly reflective sheathing of the twin towers added to the building's impact as a memorable landmark.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- late 1960s-early 1970s
- ID Number
- 2002.0205.05
- accession number
- 2002.0205
- catalog number
- 2002.0205.05
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lyman Protracting Trigonometer Signed Heller & Brightly
- Description
- This metal drawing instrument allows civil engineers to translate their measurements into drawings with a minimum of calculation. It consists of a flat steel base bar 81.5 cm (about 32 inches) long, a semicircular protractor with a flat plate along the diameter that slides along the base bar, a long steel arm clamped to the protractor at its center, a brass set square or sliding square that moves along the arm, and a tri-leaved scale (like an architect’s scale) that moves along the arm or along the set square. There are four metal springs, each with its own screw. The two smaller springs hold the protractor plate to the base bar and the two larger ones hold the tri-leaved scale or the set square to the arm. The entire instrument fits in a wooden case. A sheet of instructions is pasted inside the case.
- The protractor is divided by half-degrees and marked by tens from 0° to 90° to 0° and from 90° to 0° to 90°. An attached vernier permits angle readings to one minute of arc. The ratios on the architect's scales range from 1:10 to 1:60. Each scale is divided into tenths of a unit.
- This is a modified form of the protracting trigonometer patented by Josiah Lyman of Lenox, Mass., in 1858, with reissue of the patent in 1860, and extension in 1872 (for an example of the protracting trigonometer, see MA*328738; for an architect’s rule patented by Lyman, see MA*308914). The instrument was made by Heller & Brightly of Philadelphia. According to a Heller & Brightly circular, the instrument sold with either a tri-leaved scale that was 6 inches long or one that was 12 inches long. This instrument has the 12-inch scale, and would have sold in 1878 for $30.00.
- Hobart Cutler Dickinson (1875–1949), a 1900 graduate of Williams College who obtained a master’s degree there and did further graduate work at Clark University (Ph.D. 1910), owned this object. Dickinson worked at the U.S. National Bureau of Standards from 1903 until his retirement in 1945. Dickinson was the father of Anne D. Ross, one of the donors of the instrument.
- References: "Circular of Lyman’s Trigonometer and Universal Draughting Instrument" (Philadelphia: Heller & Brightly, 1878); P.A. Kidwell, “Josiah Lyman’s Protracting Trigonometer,” Rittenhouse, 3 (November 1988): 11–14; Robert C. Miller, “A Lyman Protracting Trigonometer Made by Heller & Brightly,” Rittenhouse 3 (August 1989): 129–131.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1880
- maker
- Heller & Brightly
- ID Number
- 2009.0244.01
- accession number
- 2009.0244
- catalog number
- 2009.0244.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lasico 2000-V Square Root Planimeter
- Description
- This analog instrument uses integration to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart. It was particularly useful for calculations of rates of flow and total flow of liquids. The planimeter has a 4" black plastic arm with an adjusting screw and tracer lens; a 6" curved metal arm with a mounting screw and a slotted follower that is inserted in the chart board; and a white metal recording unit with white plastic measuring wheel and vernier and a metal registering dial. The recording unit is marked: LASICO (/) USA. Underneath the curved metal arm is a serial number: 97661.
- A black plastic case is lined with black and red foam padding. A label inside the lid is marked: DESIGNED AND BUILT BY (/) MAXIMILIAN BERKTOLD, CALIFORNIA – USA. An extra tracing lens is inside the case. The bottom of the case is marked with the recycling symbol around the number 2 and above the letters HDPE. The instrument was received with instructions, 2011.0043.01.01.
- Georg Lory (1897–1968) worked for several German instrument manufacturers, including R. Reiss, before he immigrated to the United States in 1925 and worked for the Eugene Dietzgen Company in its San Francisco office. In 1929 he established the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company in Los Angeles. He repaired and made equipment including surveying instruments, planimeters, and pantographs. In 1944 he applied for a patent on the square root planimeter, receiving it in 1949. According to the donor, who joined the company in 1950, this example was made in 1990 as model 2000-V. It sold for $865.00 and was intended for use with Foxboro Chart 898418. For an earlier example, see 2011.0043.02. Lasico closed in 2008, although Absolute Accuracy, a successor firm in the same location, continues to distribute models 10, 20, and 30.
- References: Georg Lory, "Square Root Radial Averager" (U.S. Patent 2,458,009 issued January 4, 1949); accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1990
- maker
- Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
- ID Number
- 2011.0043.01
- accession number
- 2011.0043
- catalog number
- 2011.0043.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Instructions for Lasico Square Root Planimeter
- Description
- This four-page pamphlet shows model 125 of the Lasico square root planimeter, which sold in the 1940s for $135.00. It had a tracer point, unlike the later model 2000-V (2011.0043.01 and 2011.0043.02), which had a tracer lens. The pamphlet explains how to read the instrument and apply its readings to rate of flow calculations.
- Reference: Lasico Mathematical Engineering Instruments (Los Angeles: Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company, [1940–1945]), B-9.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1940s
- maker
- Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
- ID Number
- 2011.0043.01.01
- accession number
- 2011.0043
- catalog number
- 2011.0043.01.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lasico 2000-V Square Root Planimeter with Turntable
- Description
- This planimeter is designed to find the average of the square roots of all the radial distances from the zero circle to the record line on a circular chart that rests on a turntable underneath the instrument. The planimeter has a 4" green metal angled arm with an adjusting screw and tracer lens; a 6" curved metal arm with a mounting screw and a slotted follower that is inserted in the turntable; and a green metal recording unit with white plastic measuring wheel and vernier and a metal registering dial. The recording unit is marked: LASICO. Underneath the curved metal arm is a serial number: 66607.
- The circular white paper chart is marked: Taylor (/) ROCHESTER, N.Y., U.S.A. (/) CHART OP2750 (/) METER ORIFICE (/) TAYLOR INSTRUMENT COMPANIES. The square root symbol is in front of the word CHART. The hours of the day are printed around the outside of the chart. The turntable is black plastic. It is fastened to a white plastic rectangular base. Underneath the base is marked: TURNTABLE 1 06. It is also marked: MADE IN USA (/) MRC R 20 FF.
- According to the donor, who worked for the Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company from 1950 until it closed in 2008, this example was made in 1955 as model 2000-V. It replaced model 125, which had a tracer point instead of a tracer lens. Model 2000-V sold for $550.00 in 1955. For a later example and company history, see 2011.0043.01. The turntable was model 1006 and sold for $225.00.
- Taylor Instrument Companies copyrighted the OP2750 chart on June 13, 1933. The firm has a history of selling and making thermometers, barometers, and other instruments that dates back to 1851.
- References: Accession file; "The Taylor Story," http://www.taylorusa.com/taylor-about; Library of Congress, Catalog of Copyright Entries . . . for the Year 1933, part 4, n.s., vol. 28, no. 2 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1934).
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1955
- maker
- Los Angeles Scientific Instrument Company
- ID Number
- 2011.0043.02
- accession number
- 2011.0043
- catalog number
- 2011.0043.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hart House Architectual Elements from Ipswich, Mass.
- Description
- The largest artifact in the museum, this Georgian-style, 2 ½-story timber-framed house was built in the 1760s and stood at 16 Elm Street in the center of Ipswich, Massachusetts, until 1963 when efforts by Ipswich citizens saved it from the bulldozer. The house was carefully taken apart—the frame, chimney, and many other pieces were shipped to the Museum and reassembled.
- Today, the house is the centerpiece of the exhibition Within These Walls , and visitors are able to peer through its walls, windows, and doors to view settings played out against the backdrop of Colonial America, the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, the industrial era, and World War II. The exhibition tells the story of five ordinary families, selected from many, who lived in this house over 200 years and made history in their kitchens and parlors, through everyday choices and personal acts of courage and sacrifice.
- Date made
- ca. 1760s
- ca 1760
- resident
- Caldwell, Josiah
- Caldwell, Lucy
- Choate, Abraham
- Choate, Sarah
- Dodge, Abraham
- Dodge, Bethiah
- Lynch, Catherine
- Lynch, Mary
- owner
- Dodge, Abraham
- Caldwell, Josiah
- Choate, Sarah
- Dodge, Bethiah
- Caldwell, Lucy
- Lynch, Catherine
- Lynch, Mary
- resident
- Scott, Mary
- owner
- Choate, Abraham
- ID Number
- DL*64.545
- catalog number
- 64.545
- accession number
- 252318
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Instruction Card for Robertson-Amsler Polar Planimeter
- Description
- These salmon-colored card fragments were received with MA*333766. They give partial instructions for taking measurements with an "averaging planimeter." The reverse side of the card has a drawing of a connector for a steam engine indicator and several user testimonials.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1900
- maker
- James L. Robertson & Sons
- ID Number
- MA*302380.02
- accession number
- 302380
- catalog number
- 302380.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Amsler Type 2 Polar Planimeter Sold by Crosby Steam Gage & Valve
- Description
- This German silver instrument has a 4" arm with tracer point and 6" pole arm with short cylindrical weight. The arm lengths are fixed. The tracer arm and pole arm are connected by a hinge and form a circle around the measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial when the instrument is closed. The top of the pole arm is marked in script: Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co. Boston. The top of the weight is marked: 16378 (/) 10 [square] in. A serial number is marked underneath the tracer arm and the weight: 10259.
- A wooden case is covered with black leather and lined with purple velvet. The top of the case is marked: CROSBY STEAM GAGE & VALVE Co (/) BOSTON.
- To measure the areas of diagrams produced by its steam engine indicators, Crosby imported and sold Amsler polar planimeters of types 1, 2, and 3. The presence of a registering dial and the screw thread on the post extending from the measuring wheel indicates that this example is a type 2. Planimeter expert Joachim Fischer dated this object to about 1882. Charles W. Batchelor (1845–1910), the father of the donor, used it in his work as one of Thomas A. Edison's chief assistants. For instance, between 1884 and 1888, he managed the Edison Machine Works, where a planimeter may have been especially useful. From 1888 to at least 1907, Crosby sold the Amsler type 2 in a case for $25.00. For information on Amsler and his invention, see 1987.0107.10. Compare to 1989.0305.01.
- References: Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co. Catalogue (Boston, 1888), 104–109; Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co. Catalogue (Boston, 1900), 170–176; Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co. Catalogue (Boston, 1907), 203–210; Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company, Practical Instructions Relating to the Construction and Use of the Steam Engine Indicator (Boston, 1911), 43–46, 83–86; Craig Bliss, The Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Co., http://www.crosby-steam.com/index.htm.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1880s
- distributor
- Crosby Steam Gage & Valve Company
- maker
- Amsler, Jacob
- ID Number
- MA*318485
- catalog number
- 318485
- accession number
- 233749
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coradi Precision Disc Polar Planimeter
- Description
- This polar planimeter has a German silver tracer arm that is evenly divided to half-millimeters and numbered from 8 to 66. (One unit is equivalent to 5mm.) The tracer point is bronzed brass and steel and has a support. The length of the tracer arm may be adjusted by thumbscrews on a bronzed brass carriage. A hinged horizontal extension from the carriage holds a white plastic vernier, measuring wheel, and registering dial. The wheel rests on a black-coated aluminum disc faced with white paper. The wheel and disc both rotate when the tracer point is moved. The disc regulates the motion of the wheel, so that it is not affected by folds or other uneven points in the paper with the diagram to be traced.
- A bronzed brass holder for the disc is marked: G. Coradi. Zürich. Switzerland (/) No 4012. The holder rests in the middle of a round brass weight that is 6" in diameter. An oblong German silver testing rule is marked for 0", 1", 2", and 3". It is also marked: G. Coradi Zürich. An oblong brass testing rule is marked for inches and for 0, 50, and 100mm. It is also marked: G. Coradi Zürich.
- A wooden case covered with black morocco leather is lined with purple velvet. A printed paper chart is pasted inside the case. The chart has columns for Scales, Position of the vernier on the tracer bar, Value of the unit of the vernier on the measuring roller, and Constant. The values in the Position and Constant columns are handwritten in the same hand that indicates the Coradi firm manufactured this planimeter with serial number 4,012 on March 25, 1916.
- Gottlieb Coradi (1847–1929) began to make wheel and disc polar planimeters in the early 1880s. The Interstate Commerce Commission transferred this instrument to the Smithsonian in 1962. There is no record of where the ICC purchased the planimeter, but American firms such as Keuffel & Esser (1906–1936 as model 4251) and Dietzgen (by 1926, as model 1808) distributed Coradi's precision disc planimeter. K&E sold it for $95.00 in 1906, for $85.00 in 1909 and, by special order, for $215.00 in 1936. Dietzgen charged $127.00 in 1926. ID number 1977.0112.02 is an instruction manual.
- References: Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4251 Family of Precision Polar Disc Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4251family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 32nd ed. (New York, 1906), 336; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 324; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 343; Catalogue & Price List of Eugene Dietzgen Co., 12th ed. (Chicago, 1926), 183.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1916
- maker
- Coradi, Gottlieb
- ID Number
- MA*321745
- catalog number
- 321745
- accession number
- 246883
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Coradi Compensating Polar Planimeter Sold by Keuffel & Esser (Model 4240)
- Description
- This instrument has two arms. The first arm is 9" long. Made of German silver, it has a brass and steel tracer point. The arm is evenly divided into tenths and numbered from 5 to 38. It fits into a brass carriage, painted black, which also holds a white plastic measuring wheel, vernier, and registering dial. Screws on the carriage adjust the length of the tracer arm. The carriage is marked: No 22241.
- An 8" brass (painted black) pole arm fits into a hole in the carriage. A cylindrical brass weight is attached to the other end. The arm is marked: G. Coradi, Zürich Switzerland Keuffel & Esser Co New York. An oblong steel testing plate is marked for 0", 1", 2", and 3". It is also marked: G. Coradi Zürich.
- A wooden case covered with black leather is lined with purple velvet. A printed paper chart is pasted inside the case. The chart has columns for Scales, Position of the vernier on the tracer bar, Value of the unit of the vernier on the measuring roller, and Constant. The values in the Position and Constant columns are handwritten in the same hand that indicates the Coradi firm manufactured this planimeter with serial number 22,241 on July 15, 1914. Keuffel & Esser stamped the chart with its model number, 4240.
- Gottlieb Coradi (1847–1929) began to make wheel and disc polar planimeters in the early 1880s. In 1894 he made the pole arm higher than the tracer arm and connected the arms with a ball joint. This "compensating" planimeter could trace in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, preventing errors introduced by planimeters made in the Amsler style. In 1901 K&E began selling Coradi's compensating planimeter for $36.00. In 1936 the firm began offering the planimeter under the company's Paragon brand name and charged $49.00. K&E stopped selling the instrument in 1939. The Interstate Commerce Commission transferred this example to the Smithsonian in 1963. ID number 1977.0112.02 is an instruction manual.
- References: Peggy Aldrich Kidwell, "Planimeter," in Instruments of Science: An Historical Encyclopedia, ed. Robert Bud and Deborah Jean Warner (London: Garland Publishing, 1998), 467–469; "The Lang-Coradi Planimeter," in Olaus Henrici, "On Planimeters," in Report of the Sixty-fourth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (London, 1894), 496–523, on 515; Clark McCoy, "Collection of Pages from K&E Catalogs for the 4240 Family of Polar Planimeters," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/PlanimeterModels/ke4240family.htm; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 33rd ed. (New York, 1909), 323; Catalogue of Keuffel & Esser, 38th ed. (New York, 1936), 256.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1914
- distributor
- Keuffel & Esser Co.
- maker
- Coradi, Gottlieb
- ID Number
- MA*321777
- catalog number
- 321777
- accession number
- 246883
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center