Duchscherer, Paul & Douglas Deister. The Bungalow. New York: Penguin Studio, 1995.
Text and photographs about this house form popular at the beginning of the twentieth century and beyond. Discusses the important design elements and the development of the style. Bibliography.
Favretti, Rudy J. & Joy Putman Favretti. Landscapes and Gardens for Historic Buildings. Sage Publications in conjunction with the American Association for State and Local History, 1997 ed.
A handbook for thinking about, planning, and creating historical landscape. Content is most relevant to central Illinois in the sections on the 1860-1900 Victorian era and the early part of the twentieth century (1900-1930.) Information is heavily weighted toward nineteenth century. Lists of plants.
Fisher, Charles E. & Hugh C. Miller, Eds. Caring for Your Historic House. New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1998.
Chapter contributions by professionals on such specific topics as roofs, paint, and landscapes. Approach is both technical and informal, therefore very understandable.
Jill Duchess of Hamilton, Penny Hart, & John Simmons. The Gardens of William Morris. New York: Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1999.
Morris, the British designer best known for inspiring the Arts & Crafts Movement, is only now being recognized for his extensive work in garden design. This book is part biography, part design notebook, part Arts & Crafts philosophy and part, a story of his interest in gardens, plants, and their use. Color photographs. Bibliography. Index.
McDaniel, Steve. Sarah's Garden. Bloomington, IL: David Davis Foundation, 2001.
Background on the ornamental flower garden Sarah Walker Davis began at the David Davis Mansion in 1871. Quotations from her correspondence add a personal note. List of plants taken from her correspondence, billing records, photographs, and maps. Available at the mansion gift shop.
Punch, Walter T. ed.Keeping Eden: A History of Gardening in America. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1992.
An American garden history; each chapter written by one of a group of historians and garden writers.
Kitchen, Judith L. Caring for Your Old House: A Guide for Owners and Residents. Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1991. Published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Excellent source of practical information about how to do things. Advice on where to go for help. Bibliography. Glossary.
Tice, Barbara M. Gardening in America: 1830-1910. Rochester, NY: The Strong Museum, 1984.
This book accompanied an exhibition. Read this short book first for a broad overview of gardening in this country during the late 19c and very first part of the 20c. Amount of information is not exhaustive but writing is reader friendly and gives a framework for fitting in additional material as you learn it. Illustrations are period photographs and illustrations. Bibliography, primary and secondary.
Watson, Daryl G. The Roots of Your Landscape: A Guide to Evaluating and Researching Vintage Landscapes Around Historic Properties. Rock Island, IL: Rock Island Preservation Commission, 1993.
Small booklet packed with concrete information. Though written for Rock Island (IL), much can apply to our own community.
Illinois Preservation Series
Set of single-topic booklets published by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The information parallels that of the (Federal) Preservation Briefs series developed by the National Park Service but, here, is focused especially on Illinois. A typical topic is "Stucco" (No. 15) or "Joliet-Lemont Limestone" (No. 2). Useful for context as well as for specific information. Available from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency or OHS reference library.
- Koos, Greg. "Researching Your Illinois House." Illinois Preservation Series No.7. Springfield, IL: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, n.d.
- Watson, Daryl G. "Dooryard Gardens in Early Illinois." Illinois Preservation Series, No. 5. Contextual and historical information on this popular nineteenth century type of garden in Illinois and suggestions for re-creating it with today's resources. Focus is on "What is it?" and "How do I do it?"
Historical Albums of Bloomington and Normal
A rich source of local photographs (available at the McLean County Museum of History library).
- Art Work of Bloomington (1904) * Bloomington-Normal Lost (1982)
- The Legacy: A Survey of the Historical Architecture of the Town of Normal (1990)
- Picturesque Bloomington (1907) (Reprinted by Old House Society in 2005.)
- Illustrated Bloomington (1916)
- Souvenir of Bloomington (c. 1912)
- Views of Normal (1912)
Preservation Briefs Series
National Park Service publications on specific topics related to preservation and rehabilitation. Also, applies to maintenance topics. Typical of the diverse topics: "Repairing Historic Flat Plaster -- Walls and Ceiling". All contain dependable information developed in conjunction with owners, public officials, designers, and craftspeople from their experience gained with more than 600,000 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The one hundred publications can be downloaded.
- McDonald, Travis C. Jr. "Understanding Old Buildings: The Process of Architectural Investigation," Preservation Brief No. 35, Washington, DC, National Park Service, n.d.
American Bungalow
123 S Baldwin Ave Sierra Madre, CA 91021 A quarterly periodical dedicated to Arts & Crafts, Mission and Prairie style bungalows. Articles on rehabilitation and reconstruction work. Color photos.
Old House Journal.
General circulation monthly covering design, preservation and maintenance with occasional articles about period gardens and landscaping. Old House Journal also publishes an annual sourcebook of suppliers, Old House Restoration Directory.
Historic Architectural/Archeological Resources Geographic Information System (HAARGIS)
A searchable internet database for information about Illinois's historic properties: text, photographs, and graphic information. Links to Illinois Historic Preservation Agency services and to similar sites, both state and national. A relatively new source that has a learning curve built in.
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
This survey is a Federally-held collection of precise, measured drawings; photographs; and detailed reports on historic structures. Its value to a property owner lies in its use as a reference tool. By looking at the features of one's own building, an owner can use this resource to help place it in context within the community, state, and nation. This collection covers all types of buildings from humble to elaborate, both private and commercial. For a more thorough description of this resource see "The Historic American Buildings Survey Turns 70" (Old House Journal, Sept-Oct 2003, pp.125-128). A catalogue is available at the Library of Congress and on the internet site.
Old House Gardens
Ann Arbor, MI 734/ 995-1486
Collects, grows, promotes, and sells vintage and heirloom bulbs. Free newsletter. Rock Island, Illinois Internet Site Virtual tour of the city's historic neighborhoods, historic districts, and landmarks. National Register sites.
Sanborn Insurance Maps.
Sanborn Perris Map Company, New York.
Maps of towns dating from 1867, including Bloomington and Normal. Designed for use by fire insurance agents and underwriters, they offer details not found elsewhere so are invaluable for that reason. Maps show buildings, streets, and neighborhood. They locate property boundaries, widths and names of streets, and house numbers. They usually indicate use of the building; size, shape and construction; windows and door locations; and type of roofs. Available at Illinois State University on microfilm for 1886-1930 (not a complete run) and McLean County Museum of History, bound atlas for 1896.
The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties
The Federal government through the Secretary of the Interior is responsible for and has established standards for all work on historic properties whose owners apply for financial aid through Federal income tax reduction programs, and other financial incentive programs for rehabilitation. State and local governments also use these as guidelines to review rehabilitation proposals. They are used as reference by both the Bloomington and the Normal historic preservation commissions in reviewing proposals for property change. See the internet site for detailed information.