Historic Resource Surveys
What is a historic resource survey?
At its simplest form, a historic resource survey identifies sites associated with values important to a particular community’s heritage and culture. These sites are the tangible resources that tie intangible notions of heritage and culture to a place. A historic resource survey identifies, records, and evaluates resources to aid in the preservation planning process. The level of documentation and extents of the survey vary depending on the intended use. A reconnaissance survey merely identifies trends and initial observations to establish a general picture of an area, while an intensive survey documents a number of specific attributes of each property. Documentation can include things as detailed as a Historic Resource Report or HABS Report to more broadly focused elements such as a neighborhood conditions report or analysis of setting. Ultimately, historic resource surveys are used to aid in informing preservation decisions and identifying resources eligible for local, state, and national historical registers. For the purposes of the Asian Americans in Maryland Historic Context Statement, the historic resource survey will initially help to inform the development of the contexts and identify the types of resources that are exemplary of the various contexts later on. This will largely require a broad reconnaissance survey of resources within Maryland and a few strategic intensive surveys in selected areas to identify properties exemplary of the established contexts. |
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The NPS provides guidance on conducting historic resource surveys [1], identification of resources [2], and evaluation of resources [3]. This section of the toolkit will expand on these elements in order to respond specifically to sites and heritages associated with Asian American communities in Maryland. MHT’s own Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Historical Investigations in Maryland [4] provides a strong basis for the survey of resources. Supplementing these existing practices with nontraditional engagement and archival methods will help to ensure the survey respects and responds to Maryland’s Asian American communities.
Conducting an initial historic resource survey for this context statement will be a unique challenge due to limitations of COVID-19 and need for nontraditional methods to research and identify sites associated with underrepresented groups. By using resources associated with Baltimore’s Chinese American community as a case study, this toolkit provides best practices for using both traditional and nontraditional methods of conducting historic resource surveys. Rather than use the resource survey as a means to map out known resources, the survey should be used as a tool of discovery, linking the tangible element of place to the stories gathered through community outreach and archival research. For the purposes of this context statement, the conductors of the historic resource survey will have to go beyond conventional methods to identify sites valuable to Maryland’s Asian American communities in order to properly recognize their heritages.
Why is it important to use innovative methods in the historic resource survey?
Using innovative methods to identify specific sites and resources important to the heritage of Asian American communities is necessary due to the undocumented and altered nature of sites associated with these communities. Many sites associated with underrepresented communities have experienced significant change over time and lack typical standards of integrity. The traditional methods of conducting windshield surveys and using secondary sources to identify properties will likely not work well for a context statement targeting Asian Americans in Maryland for these reasons. Looking at the specific context of Chinese Americans in Baltimore begins to shed light on these issues. While the Chinatown along the 300 block of Park Avenue shows physical remnants of its rich past, few other sites in Baltimore show any physical indication of the Chinese American community, even to the trained eye. If one were to conduct a windshield survey of Baltimore in order to identify resources associated with its Chinese American community, it is likely that most of the sites would be missed entirely.
Conducting an initial historic resource survey for this context statement will be a unique challenge due to limitations of COVID-19 and need for nontraditional methods to research and identify sites associated with underrepresented groups. By using resources associated with Baltimore’s Chinese American community as a case study, this toolkit provides best practices for using both traditional and nontraditional methods of conducting historic resource surveys. Rather than use the resource survey as a means to map out known resources, the survey should be used as a tool of discovery, linking the tangible element of place to the stories gathered through community outreach and archival research. For the purposes of this context statement, the conductors of the historic resource survey will have to go beyond conventional methods to identify sites valuable to Maryland’s Asian American communities in order to properly recognize their heritages.
Why is it important to use innovative methods in the historic resource survey?
Using innovative methods to identify specific sites and resources important to the heritage of Asian American communities is necessary due to the undocumented and altered nature of sites associated with these communities. Many sites associated with underrepresented communities have experienced significant change over time and lack typical standards of integrity. The traditional methods of conducting windshield surveys and using secondary sources to identify properties will likely not work well for a context statement targeting Asian Americans in Maryland for these reasons. Looking at the specific context of Chinese Americans in Baltimore begins to shed light on these issues. While the Chinatown along the 300 block of Park Avenue shows physical remnants of its rich past, few other sites in Baltimore show any physical indication of the Chinese American community, even to the trained eye. If one were to conduct a windshield survey of Baltimore in order to identify resources associated with its Chinese American community, it is likely that most of the sites would be missed entirely.
For example, the Grace and St. Peter's Episcopal Church has no physical indications of ties to the Chinese American community of Baltimore but was active in providing English lessons and support to the community.
Identifying other places of importance to Chinese Americans within Baltimore will rely on methods other than visual recognition. Looking to previous Asian American historic context statements for inspiration reveals that strategies such as community engagement and research of primary sources gathered from community organizations are vital to identifying these seemingly inconspicuous resources. It will be vital to focus on specificity of place when engaging with the community and performing archival research for this context statement. Because of this, the resource survey should be integrated into the community engagement and archival research approaches explained above. Identifying, recording, and evaluating sites associated with Asian Americans in Maryland will require a combination of civil knowledge from communities and expert knowledge from professionals. The traditional methods of windshield surveys, mapping, and categorization by character defining features will have to be supplemented by nontraditional methods including discovery based mapping, stories from oral histories, and crowdsourced data in order to identify sites without character defining features and integrity. Recorded information about sites should include traditional report types as well as stories from the community. Strategies to evaluate sites should consider broader definitions of integrity defined through dialogue with the community. It will also be important to reframe, recognize, and retell the narratives of the site relative to the Asian American perspective. It is important that the resource survey relies on community input and stories in order to be as comprehensive and considerate as possible. Sites associated with the heritage of underrepresented groups are in particular danger and need to be identified and preserved before the physical fabric and stories associated with it are lost to age, decay, or development. The section of Baltimore’s Chinatown that is slated for redevelopment is a reminder that preservationists need to remain vigilant in their efforts. [5] These sites are a vehicle for which the stories of the Asian American community can be gathered and told. Providing a process for these sites to be designated will allow Maryland’s Chinese American community to utilize preservation resources and funding to preserve their heritage. |
A map of the currently known buildings and sites associated with Chinese American history in Baltimore, based on preliminary research in the area surrounding Park Avenue.
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1. National Park Service, National Register Bulletin 24, (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1985), https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/NRB24-Complete_Part1.pdf.
2. National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Identification, (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1983), https://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/arch_stnds_2.htm.
3. National Park Service, Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Evaluation, (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1983), https://www.nps.gov/history/local-law/arch_stnds_3.htm.
4. Maryland Historical Trust, Standards and Guidelines for Architectural and Historical Investigations in Maryland, 2019, https://mht.maryland.gov/documents/PDF/research/Survey_standards_architecture_web.pdf.
5. Lauren Cohen, “What to Expect from the Revitalization of Baltimore's Historic Chinatown,” Baltimore (Rosebud Entertainment, LLC, February 13, 2019), https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/fooddrink/what-to-expect-from-the-revitalization-of-baltimores-historic-chinatown/.