Published Records
1,258
Published articles currently available in the library.
Public Research Library
Research
Public research drawn from fieldwork, historical source trails, and place-based documentation across the Midwest and the United States.
Library Snapshot
A quick read on the scale and coverage of the public research library.
Mapped Points
1,345
Places and supporting points represented in the archive map.
Regions
287
Regional groupings currently populated across the library.
Themes
10
Research themes linking stories, subjects, and recurring patterns.
Location Types
10
Place categories used to sort buildings, districts, and landscapes.
Site Statuses
8
Status labels tracking condition, change, and preservation context.
1,258 records
Research Record
Updated 2026
Canal Street Yard: Amtrak’s Maintenance Plan and Its Bridgeport Setting
Chicago
Industrial Site
Active
Amtrak’s proposed Midwest Maintenance Facility brings federal rail investment, a changed industrial use, and neighborhood concerns into the same narrow corridor.
Research Record
Updated 2026
The Railyards: A White Sox Proposal on Working Railroad Land
Chicago
Industrial Site
Active
A September 2026 ballpark concept places baseball on Amtrak’s current riverfront yard, linking a possible move by the White Sox to a separate rail...
Research Record
Updated 2026
Braddock Carnegie Library: A Public Building Reopened for Everyday Life
Pennsylvania
Civic Building
Active
The first Carnegie library to open in the United States has returned as Carnegie One, with a renovation that reconnects reading, making, performance, and...
Research Record
Updated 2026
Phipps Conservatory: Preserving a Glasshouse and Rethinking Its Climate
Pennsylvania
Campus / Institutional
Active
Pittsburgh’s 1893 conservatory joins a changing historic glasshouse to a newer landscape designed around energy, water, and environmental education.
Research Record
Updated 2026
Allegheny Observatory: From Railroad Time to a Public View of the Stars
Pennsylvania
Campus / Institutional
Active
The observatory in Riverview Park carries forward an institution whose astronomical observations once helped organize industrial time.
Research Record
Updated 2026
Duquesne Incline: The Machinery Behind Pittsburgh’s Hillside View
Pennsylvania
Transportation Infrastructure
Active
The incline’s two stations preserve a working connection between the river level and Mount Washington, with a history of neighborhood transport and community rescue.
Research Record
Updated 2026
Heinz History Center: An Ice Warehouse Becomes a Home for Regional Memory
Pennsylvania
Campus / Institutional
Active
The museum’s Strip District building began in the commercial ice trade, linking today’s cultural institution to an earlier network of rail shipments, storage, and...
Research Record
Updated 2026
Eastern Market: Preserving the Work Behind Detroit’s Market Day
Detroit
Commercial Building
Active
Detroit’s market sheds belong to a larger food district whose preservation depends on room for trade, delivery, and small businesses as well as public...
Research Record
Updated 2026
Belle Isle Aquarium: The Systems Behind the Green Tile
Detroit
Civic Building
Active
The aquarium’s distinctive interior joins architectural preservation to the continuing work of caring for living collections.
Research Record
Updated 2026
Belle Isle Conservatory: Restoring a Building That Holds a Climate
Detroit
Civic Building
Active
The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory shows why preserving a glasshouse requires attention to plants, structure, and the work of maintenance together.
Research Record
Updated 2026
Pewabic Pottery: Detroit’s Architectural History at the Workbench
Detroit
Commercial Building
Active
Pewabic links the city’s decorated buildings to a surviving place of production, where craft knowledge is part of the heritage being kept alive.
Research Record
Updated 2026
The Scarab Club: A Building Made for Detroit’s Artistic Community
Detroit
Campus / Institutional
Active
The clubhouse on Farnsworth Street preserves spaces for making and exhibiting art, along with evidence of how an artistic community organized itself.