By Anna White
Faculty advisor: Dr. Michael Spencer
3:00-3:50pm, HCC 328
One of the best ways to learn about people from the past is to look at the everyday material culture that shaped people’s lives. The structures that comprise the built environment are an important part of the material culture used to study past society. For my capstone project I documented a historic building in downtown Fredericksburg, the Lewis Store, one of the oldest dated structures in Fredericksburg, so that it can be used to study the lives of past citizens. The documentation process consisted of conducting field work and utilizing the TachyCAD technology available from the Historic Preservation Department to take measurements of the building. I then used that data to create drawings of the main elevation and the floor plan using AutoCAD software. These two drawings are complemented by molding profiles and a brief history of the building. These drawings will be sent to a professional preservationist for review. Once they have been approved, I will submit them to the Library of Congress to be added to the HABS collection of historic buildings.
