OFFICIAL SITE OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEYArchitectural survey
Introduction
Effective decision making begins with good architectural survey. These surveys provide vital data that identifies and describes resources. Surveying now, instead of waiting until an emergency, is key to any effective preservation program. If you do not know that a historic resource exists or where it is located, it is hard to protect it.
Benefits of survey
Surveys provide …
- Details about what makes historic resources special. This makes it easier to avoid approving destructive changes.
- Clarity about how these resources fit into the history and character of the community, state and nation.
- A foundation for local decision-making. The survey collects objective and comprehensive data.
- A basis for local designation.
- Public relations and public awareness. The survey project spreads public notices as widely as possible before the survey even begins. Governing body meetings and public input guide later stages.
More than buildings
Although referred to as “architectural,” a survey of historic properties should look beyond buildings to include all visible aspects of the built environment that combine to form our historic fabric, such as
- bridges
- dams
- wharves
- ships
- canals
- windmills
- silos
- cemeteries
- parks
- gardens
Architectural survey basics
Survey scope
Planning vs. regulatory
- Planning
- Survey conducted to inventory historic properties and inform planning decisions.
- Regulatory
- Survey conducted to satisfy state or federal preservation regulations (Section 106 or EO215).
Open vs. closed
- Open
- The population or scope of the survey is unknown at the outset.
- Closed
- The population or geographic scope is fixed.
Survey steps
- Establish the purpose for the survey. Plan and design the survey project, asking questions like: Why is the survey being undertaken? What information and analysis must result? How and from where will the necessary information be generated or retrieved to address this purpose?
- Conduct research. Research can relate to a broad overview of many properties, as in a published county history. Or it can relate to a single property, as in deed research. When appropriate, relate the property to statewide historic contexts.
- Undertake fieldwork. This entails the physical and visual identification, documentation and recordation of historic resources in the survey area.
- Prepare a written report. Finally, the research and fieldwork are synthesized into a written report that presents survey findings with illustrations and text. Summarize the methodology of the first three steps.
- Maintain or update the data as needed. HPO recommends updating at least every ten years due to the rapid pace of change in New Jersey.
Levels of architectural survey
The National Park Service (NPS) has defined two levels of survey activity:
Reconnaissance-level
For planning surveys only. If a survey is part of regulatory review, these initial steps become part of an intensive-level survey instead.
This is a broader initial look at the survey area. Surveyors review literature about a community and its history, then share this in a historic overview. Fieldwork identifies resources within the study area and, if applicable, recommends them for intensive-level survey.
Intensive-level
For both planning and regulatory surveys. Planning surveys may build upon an earlier reconnaissance-level survey, but they must summarize the methodology and results of that work.
This is an in-depth survey and evaluation of historic resources. Both background research and fieldwork are more focused and detailed. The final product must provide enough information to make regulatory decisions.
Architectural Style Guides
New Jersey’s Public Schools: A Brief Field Guide
Read our 2008 field guide on the evolution of public school buildings in New Jersey, now expanded with a selected properties index. For more information on the broader forces shaping public education in the state, read our statewide historic contexts.
Print/screen (PDF)
Download the PDF version for printing or desktop computer use.
eBook (EPUB)
Download an EPUB file for your phone, tablet or e-reader.
Guidelines for Architectural Survey
Introducing the Guidelines
HPO is pleased to offer the Guidelines for Architectural Survey (Guidelines) to complement our archaeological survey and reporting guidelines. With these Guidelines, New Jersey became one of many states to establish professional standards and guidelines for this area of survey.
Full guidelines and survey forms
The Guidelines include a system of survey forms designed to collect and organize data about historic properties. Our office needs this data to assess whether properties are eligible for listing in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The system of forms consists of:
- Base Form
- Attachments
- Historic District Overlay
- Eligibility Worksheet
The attachments are tailored to specific resource types. They include the following:
- Building
- Structure
- Object
- Bridge
- Landscape
- Industrial Building
Guidelines for Architectural Survey
Guidelines for New Jersey’s standards for reconnaissance- and intensive-level architectural surveys.
Architectural Survey Forms and Instructions
We now have versions of the survey forms in the newer docx (Word 2007+) format. Download them either as part of a zip archive or individually:
Survey report photography
Read our photography guidelines for archaeological and architectural cultural resource surveys.
Common pitfalls
- Blank and/or incorrectly filled name and address fields. Use the form instructions in the Guidelines as a reference.
- Inadequate descriptions of relationship and setting.
- Inadequate definition of the historic property. Is it greater than, equal to or less than a tax parcel? As proposed, would a boundary cut a building or other feature in half? Consider the future uses of those boundaries, especially for future regulation of historic districts. Is it more logical to use the street centerline, curb line or right-of-way line for a district’s boundaries?