Because it appears there is no longer any such Federal department. I'm looking for a site survey which was conducted in 1969 for/by this now-defunct office.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: parabellum, April 22, 2021 10:39 AM

Perhaps absorbed by the National Archives?

National Park Service's Heritage Documentation Programs Division. https://www.nps.gov/hdp/about.htm

quote:

Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (OAHP) established in 1968, to administer National Park Service responsibilities under National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

OAHP split into Assistant Directorate for Archaeology and Historic Preservation and Assistant Directorate for Park Historic Preservation, 1973.

Consolidated as the National Architectural and Engineering Record (NAER), and transferred to Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS), 1978.

HCRS abolished 1981, with NAER Division returned to National Park Service and assigned to Associate Directorate for Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

Redesignated HABS/HAER Division and assigned to redesignated Associate Directorate for National Register Programs, 1982.

The survey you're wanting might be digitized and available online in the Library of Congress' HABS/HAER/HALS Survey collection here: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/

I think it is under the Dept. of the Interior, maybe?

Depends on what exactly you are looking for, but try this. May help, but not sure.

https://core.tdar.org/collecti...-archaeology-program

Thank you all. This has me pointed in the right direction. What I'm looking for is a site survey which took place on the grounds of the Edison National Historic site in 1969. This would be a combination of photographs and written findings of the chief surveyor, and I think it will be the last piece of the puzzle of what I'm after. I get the feeling though, that this obscure 50+ year old document is going to be near impossible to obtain, if it even still exists, because this particular survey dealt with one specific building on the site.

You got me going down the rabbit hole. I found this pdf that I thought was from the same photographer, but turns out last name is Borchers. May help narrow down where to keep digging.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/p.../data/nj0052data.pdf

Ok, look here. You may get lucky. I am getting out of your business now. Good luck.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/se...0site%20survey&co=hh

This is what I'm looking for:

George Svedja, The Black Maria Site Study (Washington, DC: Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, 1969)

You find me a copy of that and I swear to God, I'll get on a bus, show up at your door and kiss you right on the mouth.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
This is what I'm looking for:

George Svedja, The Black Maria Site Study (Washington, DC: Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, 1969)

You find me a copy of that and I swear to God, I'll get on a bus, show up at your door and kiss you right on the mouth.

https://www.nps.gov/parkhistor...edis/black_maria.pdf

No need for the kiss.

quote:

Originally posted by Sigmund:
No need for the kiss.

Ron, you're a spoilsport.

Is there anything you guys can't find?!

Nice job! Pucker up buttercup.

Holy shit

And I didn't even have to exchange emails with a passive-aggressive government functionary to get a copy.

I am vey grateful. Thank you

Oh, page 59. Bingo! That's more than I could hope for.

The original Black Maria was dismantled in 1903, Edison having moved his film studio from West Orange to a rooftop studio in Manhattan. Sunlight was how the first motion pictures were lit, and the rooftop studio had an iron lattice roof with glass panes- a sort of greenhouse.

In 1954, a replica of the Black Maria was built and installed on the grounds of the Edison lab in West Orange, but, the replica is located in a different spot on the grounds of the lab. From one of the only three photographs of the Black Maria known to still exist, you can see the southwest end of the main building and you can see the smokestack. All the Edison Historic people can tell you is that the original Black Maria was located about where the water tower is today (erected in 1922), but I believe it was a bit farther back than that. Page 59 will tell the tale.

The boundries of the Thomas Edison National Historic Park. Their used to be the Edison Phonograph Works adjacent to the lab buildings (had a railroad spur that went right up to the factory!). I believe the Black Maria was located in the space between the lab buildings and the Phonograph Works.

Oh, serendipity! I found the reference to this site survey in the most obscure old book on silent films. I was just flipping through it, not really expecting to find anything. Talk about lucking out

Fascinating article.
Snagged a photo from an appendix:

That is one odd building. Part of the Edison story I never knew.
The article below has a much better version of this photo:

This is very interesting reading. Found this other pdf on the same site as the other that Sigmund found. This was done in 1966 and seems to be source material for Svedja. Photos are very clear as well.

http://npshistory.com/publicat...r-black-maria-p1.pdf

Yeah, that's the Black Maria after they enlarged the stage.

I can't believe what I am seeing. Anyone who knows anything about the Black Maria will tell you that there are only three photographs of it known to exist, and yet, an page 40 of this obscure little document is a photograph- taken at distanced and poorly displayed in the photocopy of this report- of the Black Maria in situ! And yes, it sits between the lab buildings and the phonograph works.

My wife asks me why I spend hours searching the web to try to find essentally lost information on subjects no one else seems to care about. Well, THIS is why I do it!

To give you an idea- if you want to get bleary-eyed, spend a few hours looking through this stuff:

https://archive.org/search.php...22EdisonMicrofilm%22

quote:

Originally posted by sig226fan:
http://npshistory.com/publicat...r-black-maria-p1.pdf

Outstanding!

Yeah, they referred to the Black Maria (officially) as the "Revolving Photograph Building" (as mentioned in that document). Edison took to calling it "the doghouse" but that name didn't stick. W.K.L. Dickson and his assistant thought the tarpaper covered building with its odd dimensions somewhat resembled the horsedrawn police paddy wagons at the time, which, in some place were known as "Black Marias".

Holy cow, this second survey goes into detail about the original location of the Black Maria.

Well, this entire thread took place while I was working, so I'm just seeing it now.
Para - I doubt my google-fu would have helped, but the site in West Orange is in my patrol region. Actually drove past it twice tonight.
If you need help something chased down in situ nowadays, I'll be glad to assist. Email in profile will get me.