Research Guides: City and Regional Planning: Special Collections at Architecture

Special Collections Room

Located on the mezzanine level, the Special Collections Room at the Architecture Library houses rare and fragile materials. Patrons interested in viewing materials can request access from 9 am - 4 pm Monday-Friday or by appointment. Professors and lecturers who wish to schedule class visits to the special collections room should contact Tina Franks or Clint Tomlinson to schedule.

Herrick OSU Campus Buildings

John H. Herrick Archives
The John Herrick collection is available online or in print at the Architecture Library. Please contact library staff to view print materials.

Albrecht Collection

Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture

The Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture was established and endowed in tribute to the career of Ohio architect Herman J. Albrecht. The original volumes in the library are those books that were housed in Herman's architectural office until the time of his death in 1961. The Albrecht Library will be greatly expanded by "aggressively acquiring as many more books as possible - rare books," on the traditional architecture of the entire world with a focus on books published between 1485-1950 and will include additional significant resources for the benefit of scholars, architects, and architecture students. The Albrecht Library is housed in Thompson library.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, OhioLINK This link opens in a new window
The Sanborn Maps are large scale street plans produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970. Sanborn Maps show the outline of each building including the location of windows and doors together with street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. These maps are used by a wide range of researchers including local historians to locate and identify buildings and neighborhoods, urban historians to study the growth of towns and cities, and environmentalist concerned aobut impact of new developments.