May is Historic Preservation Month, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Here are some reads to get you into the building preservation mood no matter where your interests lie.
Do you love architecture and want to stare at it all day long? Check out these beautiful guides to America’s historic buildings:
- Saving America's Treasures published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation with photographs by Ira Block
- Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape by Thomas E. Rinaldi and Thomas J. Yasinsac
- Seeking New York: The Stories Behind The Historic Architecture Of Manhattan—One Building at a Time by Tom Miller with illustrations by Jenny Seddon and photographs by Alice Lum
- Build-On: Converted Architecture and Transformed Buildings edited by Robert Klanten and Lukas Feireiss
- Ruin: Photographs of a Vanishing America by Brian Vanden Brink
Do you want to learn all you can about the history and future of preservation? Read on:
- Historic Preservation: An Introduction to Its History, Principles, And Practice by Norman Tyler
- The Once And Future New York: Historic Preservation and the Modern City by Randall Mason
- Of Houses & Time: Personal Histories of America's National Trust Properties by William Seale
- Keeping Time: The History and Theory of Preservation In America by William J. Murtagh
- Saving Monticello: The Levy Family's Epic Quest to Rescue the House That Jefferson Built by Marc Leepson
- Old Buildings, New Forms: New Directions in Architectural Transformations by Françoise Astorg Bollack; foreword by Kenneth Frampton
- Preserving South Street Seaport: The Dream And Reality of a New York Urban Renewal District by James M. Lindgren
Do you need inspiration or actual knowledge to start a restoration project of your own? Look no further:
- Detroit Hustle: A Memoir of Love, Life And Home by Amy Haimerl
- Caring for Your Historic House published by Heritage Preservation and National Park Service
- Preserving Historic Architecture: The Official Guidelines published by U.S. Department of the Interior
- Design Brooklyn: Renovation, Restoration, Innovation, Industry by Anne Hellman with photographs by Michael Arnaud
- The Vintage House: A Guide To Successful Renovations And Additions by Mark Alan Hewitt and Gordon Bock
- Restoring a House in the City by Ingrid Abramovitch photographs by Brian Park
Resources for more information:
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Heritage Preservation and National Park Service
- Preservation Directory
- U.S. General Services Administration
- New York State Historic Preservation Office
- Landmarks Preservation Commission
- New York Landmarks Conservancy