Historic American Building Survey
1940: Historic American Building Survey (Photographs and Field Notes).
According to its website, the U.S. Department of Interior, through the National Park Service’s “Heritage Documentation Programs” administers HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey), the Federal Government's oldest preservation program, and companion programs HAER (Historic American Engineering Record), HALS (Historic American Landscapes Survey), and CRGIS (Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems). Documentation produced through the programs constitutes the nation's largest archive of historic architectural, engineering, and landscape documentation.
According to the Wikipedia entry for the Heritage Documentation Program, these programs were established for the purpose of documenting historic places in the United States. Records consist of measured drawings, archival photographs, and written reports, and are archived in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress.
In 1933, the National Park Service established the Historic American Buildings Survey as a make-work program for architects, draftsmen and photographers left jobless by the Great Depression. Guided by field instructions from its Washington, D. C. headquarters, the first HABS recorders were tasked with documenting a representative sampling of America's architectural heritage. By creating an archive of historic architecture, HABS provided a database of primary source material for the then fledgling historic preservation movement. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Documentation_Programs)
Heritage Documentation Programs
Heritage Documentation Programs administers HABS (Historic American Buildings Survey), the Federal Government's oldest preservation program, and companion programs HAER (Historic American Engineering Record), HALS (Historic American Landscapes Survey), and CRGIS (Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems). Documentation produced through the programs constitutes the nation's largest archive of historic architectural, engineering, and landscape documentation.