Top of page

2. REAR FACADE AND GARAGE FACADE - Arthur L. Rule House, 11 South Rock Glen, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, IA. Photography by Robert Thall, 1977. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ia0104/photos.066309p. From HABS IOWA,17-MASCIT,8-.
2. REAR FACADE AND GARAGE FACADE - Arthur L. Rule House, 11 South Rock Glen, Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, IA. Photograph by Robert Thall, 1977. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ia0104/photos.066309p. From HABS IOWA,17-MASCIT,8-.

Women Architects and Designers in the HABS/HAER/HALS Collections

Share this post:

The following is a guest post by Ryan Brubacher, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division.

Preparation for an upcoming virtual orientation (details below) led me to explore the HABS/HAER/HALS (HHH) Collection with an eye towards finding women in the role of architect or designer. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS), form a repository of information on historic American structures and landscapes that are documented through photographs, drawings and written reports. Many women creators’ work is included in HHH and I have highlighted various ways you can find those contributions to this collection below, with the hope that it will inspire you to take the time to find them.

Women designers (by name)

Some famous women designers’ work can be found with simple searches of the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog because their names are listed in the “Creator” field in the catalog records. Examples include Julia Morgan, Lilian Rice, and Ray Eames. Always double check spelling because Julie Morgan and Lillian Rice are not going to get you useful results!

Original drawings by Julia Morgan for the Saratoga Foothill Club were used to create the measured drawings for the survey of the Saratoga Foothill Club in Santa Clara County, California.