BUILDING AND HOUSE HISTORY
Books and Periodicals
Suggested resources to aid your research:
- Published histories of communities, neighborhoods, businesses, and families.
- Catalogs and plan books produced by architectural firms, building contractors, and materials suppliers.
- Periodicals such as Architect, Builder, and Decorator; Construction Bulletin; Improvement Bulletin; Northwestern Builder; and Decorator and Furnisher.
- City directories and social directories, such as the Dual City Blue Book contain information about owners and occupants; some feature listings by address.
- Newspapers. To locate articles on a specific building, you'll need dates for events like ground breaking, start or completion of construction, cornerstone laying, fires or demolition.
For additional information on researching the history of houses, check:
- The House Research Guide. Brownstone Biographies. 1978.
- Drafting a House History. Barbara Bezat and Alan K. Lathrop. 1979.
- A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota. David Gebhard and Tom Martinson. 1977.
- The Secret Life of Your House. David A. Wood. 1987.
