[MassHistPres] Blueprints Long Term Storage / architectural archive

[Dennis De Witt]

Looking at the problem more broadly, it's unfortunate that MassCOPAR is no longer active.  Admittedly, it focused on identifying extant repositories of the records of architectural firms, not of localities, and it only tracked where they were located.

While MassCOPAR withered away in the pre-internet '80s, Philadelphia has created a model that ought to be provide inspiration here  See http://www.americanbuildings.org/pab/ 

The foundation funded American Architects & Buildings (formerly Philadelphia Architects & Buildings) is a partnership lead by the Philadelphia Athenaeum together with the U of Penn architectural archives, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, and the Penna Historical Commission.  While clearly locally focused it also is tied into some important national databases.

Boston, with five schools of architecture, two of which are in institutions that already support architectural archives, and with the BPL and the state also maintaining archives of architectural drawings — and I'm sure many others that I haven't thought of — such an collaborative institution should be possible here.

Dennis J De Witt, Vice-Chairman
Metropolitan Waterworks Museum, Inc.
2450 Beacon St.
Boston, Massachusetts 02467 

Overlooking the Chestnut Hill Reservoir

dennis.dewitt at waterworksmuseum.org
phone 617-566-3196
cell 617-620-9776



On Jun 4, 2013, at 10:14 AM, Penni Martorell <MartorellP at ci.holyoke.ma.us> wrote:

> Wondering what other city or state building/engineering departments do with old blueprints. 
> How do you store them, what is your records retention policy? How do you decide what to keep, what to discard? 
> We have over 3000 blueprints dating back to the early 1900s that are currently being scanned for long-term access and use. 
> Once they have been scanned we are trying to come up with a policy of which ones need to be retained. 
> The physical blue prints are in poor storage conditions now - rolled, not climate controlled, stacked up on each other, uncataloged. 
> 
> Any insights, advice, comments? 
> 
> Thanks 
> 
> Penni Martorell
> Curator & City Historian
> Hours: Mon., Tues., Thurs, Fri. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Wed. 10:30 to 5 p.m. 
> or by appointment
> 
> 
> <Mail Attachment.jpeg>Wistariahurst Museum
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> Holyoke, MA 01040
> 
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> martorellp at ci.holyoke.ma.us
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