House Histories

Do you need to learn more about a residence or commercial property’s past? We can provide you with everything from a photographic survey of your building, to a basic house history, to a complete contextual history of your property.

We are historic preservationists at heart and we love old buildings. We appreciate their eras, details, workmanship, and the stories that they tell about the people who designed, constructed, occupied, or otherwise used them. Old buildings give us a sense of place, and provide both a figurative and literal “concrete” sense of history. Yet, the irreplaceable materials, craftsmanship, and ornamentation of these great old buildings are fast disappearing from our landscape – we want to help stop that.

Our services include documenting historic structures, and acting as advocates for historic buildings facing demolition or other severe adverse effects. Our work has encompassed buildings ranging in age from less than fifty years to those spanning nearly two centuries, and has included everything from basic photo documentation to historic structure reports.

Often, our research is conducted for individual property owners interested in uncovering and documenting their building’s history. Whether you are the owner, a real estate agent, or even a potential buyer, we can prepare documentation that presents the history of the property and serves your needs. From the most basic research on the chain of ownership, to illustrated reports surveying important architectural details, to complete house histories – we can supply an end-product that recounts the unique history of the property – and, at the level your situation calls for.

Documentation typically includes a written report containing photographs, drawings, and maps. We can also arrange for the production of measured floor plans and elevations, if needed.

• Detailed account of early ownership before a building was erected
• A complete chronological list of owners and/or tenants
• Detailed history of the structure detailing ownership as far back as it can be traced and up to current owner
• Copies of documents discovered relating to the property such as deeds, photographs, and maps

What better way to market a period or historic property than capitalizing on its most obvious asset! We can produce brief histories of vintage properties which will form the basis of a great sales brochure or online listing.

Our work will include

• Photographing key interior and exterior features
• Accurate dating of architectural features
• Historic image search
• Overview of key owners and/or residents, if desired
• Development of the text “story” of the property for your clients

Don’t have a house? No problem…we can do vessel and aircraft histories, too!

• Individual Vessel Histories – we work with individual boat owners to trace vessel histories and locate vintage photographs.
• Cruise or Shipping Line Histories – we can recount the history of the entire line, the individual vessels that make/made up the line, and research important passengers that traveled aboard.
• Aircraft Histories – military or civilian, individual craft, or an entire airline – these are unique stories that often don’t get told. Let us help make a record of those stories for posterity.