History Detectives – Karen Quinn presents at SHPO

Much like the popular TV show, local experts have to dig – in often unconventional or unanticipated places – to find the facts that help preserve buildings on the National Register. At this year’s State Historic Preservation Office conference, BOUDREAUX Architect Karen Quinn, AIA, LEED AP and Historic Columbia Foundation Director of Research Katharine Allen demonstrate ways to discover those primary and secondary sources through community resources to help inform design decisions. Sources of research involve digital photo collections and libraries, Sanborn Fire Maps, diaries and family stories, historical GIS websites and geological photos, and existing building conditions. By looking at specific stories of three local renovation projects – The Modjeska Simkins Dependency, The Horry-Guignard House, and the Taylor House – they show how informative historic research can be to the future of a project.