After several years of experimentation and evaluation, the Preservation Alliance with the assistance of the Preservation Design Partnership and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia has established a methodology for conducting a citywide survey of historic resources.

The following reports are available:

Historic Context Statements and Survey Methodology, July 2009 (13.1MB PDF)
How to undertake a citywide survey using scanned atlases of historic maps and guided by historic context statements that describe the history of the physical development of the city by neighborhood clusters and key themes. The report includes a list of 1,100 historic atlas plates that are now available through the Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network, including 14 atlases covering the entire city.

Supporting Reports:

Historic Context Statements:

Overview: The City of Philadelphia (2.4MB PDF)
Neighborhoods:

Frankford / Bridesburg / Wissinoming / Tacony cluster (5.6MB PDF)

Roxborough / Manayunk cluster (362k PDF)

Moyamensing / Passyunk & Northern Liberties /  Spring Garden clusters (2.4MB PDF)

Thematic Context Statements:

Industrial Philadelphia (330k PDF)
Modernism in Philadelphia (514k PDF)

Survey Guide, July 2009, Preservation Design Partnership (6.9MB PDF)
A handbook to guide field surveys of historic resources, describing and illustrating architectural styles and building materials found in Philadelphia.

Neighborhoods Not Designated as Historic Districts:
In 2006 the Preservation Alliance began to explore a methodology for undertaking surveys of neighborhoods that were not necessarily historic districts. Using the Frankford neighborhood as a test case, the Preservation Alliance’s consultant, Preservation Design Partnership, working in collaboration with The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, explored a way to identify potential historic properties and sites by comparing historic atlases with current property base maps. By scanning historic atlases into a GIS (Graphic Information System) format, the historic atlases and current property base maps could be layered, showing the location of properties that existed at a certain date and still appear to exist today. Field surveys of a neighborhood could then focus on only these properties. The following reports are available:

Frankford Survey #1: Scattered Sites Historic Survey Methodology for Frankford, June 2007, Preservation Design Partnership and Judy Peters (3.2MB PDF)
Summarizes the first test of this methodology in Frankford.

The Frankford Survey, July 2009, Preservation Design Partnership and Judy Peters (15.4MB PDF)
Summarizes the second test of this methodology in Frankford, using many more historic atlases. The report includes illustrations of historic atlases and contemporary property maps, plus survey data forms for 100 residential properties in Frankford. Supplements Frankford Survey #1.

Philadelphia Historic Districts:

Historic Districts in Philadelphia: An Assessment of Existing Conditions and Recommendations for Future Action, January 2007, Cultural Resources Consulting Group (CRCG) (1MB PDF)
This report examines the survey data available in local district and National Register District nominations for neighborhoods in Philadelphia. CCRG identified 60 districts listed on the National Register, an additional 41 districts that had been found eligible for the National Register and 9 local districts. However, most National Register districts had inadequate or outdated survey data or no survey data at all. CCRG concluded that only 4 percent of the properties in Philadelphia had ever been surveyed for their historic significance.

Parkside Historic District Nomination (9.6MB PDF)
The first application of a new approach for historic district surveys using current technology. The Preservation Design Partnership, consultant to the Preservation Alliance, with graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed 175 properties in one weekend using digital cameras and hand-held PDA. This data was converted into the Parkside Historic District nomination.

Awbury Arboretum Historic District Nomination (11.2MB PDF)
A second application of the same survey methodology for historic districts was undertaken for the Awbury Arboretum Historic District, also by the Preservation Design Partnership.