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Search for information on architectural and historical resources around Iowa, including National Register of Historic Places properties, individual site inventory forms, and survey reports.

Iowa Site Inventory Form & Instructions

The Iowa Site Inventory form is for gathering information about features of a property. This data becomes part of the Statewide Inventory Program including its computerized database and can help in evaluating a property's potential eligibility to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The categories of information, though general and descriptive, are intended to help organize and present data about a property's location as well as the results of visual observation and documentary research.

Iowa Site Inventory Form Instructions

Iowa Site Inventory Form

Iowa SHPO Historical Architectural Survey Guidelines

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Fire insurance maps are distinctive because of the sophisticated set of symbols that allows complex information to be conveyed clearly. In working with insurance maps, it is important to remember that they were made for a very specific use, and that although they are now valuable for a variety of purposes, the insurance industry dictated the selection of information to be mapped and the way that information was portrayed. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps all share a number of common elements that are useful to understand when working with the collection. Becoming familiar with these elements will make working with the Sanborn maps easier for the researcher.

Sanborn Map Abbreviations Reference Sheet