Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey | The Library of Congress
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www.loc.govHere are the latest updates on the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) based on current public sources:
Direct answer
- As of May 2024–2026, HABS continues its nationwide program of documenting America's built heritage, with ongoing collaborations among the National Park Service, the Library of Congress, state and local partners, and preservation groups. The program emphasizes measured drawings, photographs, and historical reports, with archives housed in the Library of Congress.[2][4]
Key context and current themes
- Milestones: HABS marked its 90th anniversary in 2023–2024, highlighting a long-standing role in architectural documentation and the adoption of new technologies to record a broad spectrum of buildings, from grand monuments to vernacular structures.[3][2]
- Archive scope: The HABS/Historic American Landscapes Survey/HAER/HALS collections total tens of thousands of structures/sites documented, with more than 45,000 sites represented across the archives as of 2023, spanning 17th–20th century in the U.S. and territories.[4][2][3]
- Access to materials: The Library of Congress houses the primary archive, including measured drawings, photographs, and historical reports, and serves as a public access point for these materials.[8][4]
What this means for researchers and the public
- Public domain records: Materials created for HABS are in the public domain and widely accessible through LOC and NPS channels, making a broad range of documentation—including structural drawings and photographs—available for study.[2][4]
- Technology and outreach: HABS has integrated emerging technologies into its workflow to broaden the scope of documented sites, including mid-century modern designs and sites important to movements such as the Civil Rights Movement, while continuing traditional methods of documentation.[2]
Illustrative example
- The LOC and NPS sites describe typical HABS outputs: measured drawings, large-format photography, and descriptive data organized to support long-term preservation and research, with these outputs stored in public repositories for broad use.[4][8]
Notes
- If you’d like, I can pull specific HABS project examples or search for HABS records related to a particular region, building type, or year range and summarize their key findings and available media.
- Because HABS is large and ongoing, the most recent formal announcements often appear on the National Park Service HABS pages and the Library of Congress collection pages; I can focus on any subset you care about (e.g., Civil Rights-era sites, mid-century modern, or a specific state).