LibGuides: Art and Art History Research Guide: Historic Architecture

Architecture in Omaha and Nebraska

A Place in History: Researching Your Nebraska Property
Link to a PDF from the Nebraska State Historical Society. This PDF rounds up various links to websites, books, maps, government documents, and other historical records for architectural research.
Nebraska Historical Society Historic Preservation Survey
Contains a map of surveys of Nebraska counties and neighborhoods. Click on the map to access the survey. You can zoom in on Lincoln, Omaha, and a few other areas.
Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission
Contains public access to preservation material for Local Landmark properties and National Register properties located in Douglas County, NE.
Durham Museum photo archive
The Durham Museum’s Photo Archive contains over 800,000 images spanning from the 1860s to the 1990s.
Douglas County Assessor

Images and Building Plans Repositories

Historic American Buildings Survey / Historic American Engineering Record
The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Since 2000, documentation from the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) has been added to the holdings. The collections document achievements in architecture, engineering, and landscape design in the United States and its territories.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Conduct an advanced search and select "Architecture and City Planning" to find photographs and building plans.

Art Insitute of Chicago Digital Collections
Electronic scans of selected original archival materials from Ryerson & Burnham archival collections. Such materials may include photographs, slides, architectural drawings and prints, correspondence, printed papers and other materials.
GSA Historic Buildings
From the U.S. General Services Administration, users can search by state, timeline, and style.

HABS Example

"Mitchell House, Thirty-first & State Streets, Omaha, Douglas County, NE," Measured drawing, Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. From Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (HABS NEB,28-FLOR,1- (sheet 1 of 5); http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ne0025.sheet.00001a/ accessed February 20, 2015).

This plan for the Mitchell House in Omaha was found using the Historic American Buildings Survey through the Library of Congress. For information on how to cite items found in the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey Collection see http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html

Architecture in Special Collections & Rare Books

In addition to the selected collections listed here to get your research started, search Archives & Special Collections' database for additional material.

H. A. Raapke Architectural Drawings
The H. A. Raapke Architectural Drawings collection contains original architectural drawings and studies dating from 1899 to 1907. The collection includes one sketchbook (9.5" x 7.5") with detached pages, containing detailed, precise pencil sketches of architectural flourishes, initialled HAR and annotated with measurements, locations in Italy and Germany, and dates (1906-1907). The bulk of the collection comprises 48 loose sheets (most 18.5" x 24.5") with detailed architectural drawings in pencil, some with watercolor accents. Some are stamped "Altier Préparatoire D'Architecture, Godefroy & Freynet, 4, Rue du Dragon, 4 - Paris" or "Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Concours D'Emulation."

Omaha city architecture by Lynne Scott-Drennan
Call Number: NA735.O4 D73
Publication Date: 1977

Architectural Designs by H.D. Frankfurt (1918)
The designs shown in this book have been selected from work designed and planned by H. D. Frankfurt, Architect, of Omaha.
It was the publisher's aim to place before the public a high class book, showing modern and artistic buildings of various classes, which show the different styles of architecture, treated in different ways, and to suit various circumstances, as each individual location has its peculiarities and necessitates an entirely different class and design of building.
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With the sixteen years of practical experience and technical training Mr. Frankfurt has had, the Architectural Department of Hastings & Heyden hope to give its clients the very best possible service that can be obtained, and this Department is open at all times to give information or make sketches for our prospective clients, and give estimates on cost of buildings. Investment possibilities, rental value, etc., will also be cheerfully given without charge. We will be glad· to submit floor plans for any design shown in this book. We also have over two hundred stock plans of various designs of houses and buildings on file in our office, which you can select from, and if no changes are made can be sec~red for a very small amount.

Architecture in University Archives

In addition to the selected collections listed here to get your research started, search Archives & Special Collections' database for additional material.

UNO Physical Plant Records
The UNO Physical Plant records are concerned with the buildings of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and its predecessor the University of Omaha. The records include both current buildings and buildings which no longer exist or are no longer UNO property, and cover the period from approximately 1908 to the present, although the vast majority of records cover the period from the 1970s to the present. The records comprise plans and program statements, physical plant information by building, architectural blueprints, and miscellaneous information.
University Archives File Cabinet Collection (University of Nebraska at Omaha Records)
This collection includes organizational records from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and its predecessors, the Municipal University of Omaha and the University of Omaha, dating from the institution's founding in 1908 to the present. Records originated from many colleges, schools, departments, offices, committees, faculty and staff organizations, student organizations, and alumni. Materials include publications, event programs, conference materials, publicity material, meeting minutes, correspondence, budget information, internal reports, policies, architectural drawings, photographs, and miscellaneous records from various UNO and UNO-affiliated groups or relating to UNO people, buildings, events, and academic programs.
UNO Artifact Collection
The UNO Artifact Collection includes objects related to the University of Nebraska at Omaha and its predecessor the University of Omaha, from circa 1908 to the present. The collection includes a diverse array of OU and UNO branded items, t-shirts, hats, sweaters, blankets, scrapbooks, proclamations, trophies, award plaques, flags, pennants, pins, pens, seat cushions, coffee mugs, toys, ephemera, memorabilia, and other objects.
UNO Annual Reports
The UNO Annual Reports collection comprises the printed monthly and annual reports of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and its predecessor the Municipal University of Omaha, covering the period from 1929 through 1995.
Durham Science Center Building Records
The Durham Science Center Building Records cover the planning and construction of the Durham Science Center building on the University of Nebraska at Omaha Dodge Street campus. Construction began in 1985, and the building was open for classes in Fall, 1987. The building houses several departments, including Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, and Geology/Geography. The records include bond purchasing agreements, construction information, budget information, committee information, correspondence, planning documents, and other miscellaneous documentation, spanning the period from about 1980 until about 1987.
Peter Kiewit Conference Center Building Records
The Peter Kiewit Conference Center Building Records cover the planning and construction of the Peter Kiewit Conference Center, a University of Nebraska at Omaha off-campus facility located at 1313 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska. The project was authorized in 1976 by the Nebraska State Legislature Appropriations Committee with LB 1006. Construction began in 1977 and was completed in 1980.
UNO Criss Library Records
The UNO Criss Library Records are comprised of materials produced by or used by the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and its predecessors the University Library and the Eugene C. Eppley Library.