11842 Rim Rock Trail, Austin, TX (HQ} | 512-329-0031 | info@amaterra.com
Expertise...
Historic Architectural Consultation
AmaTerra's historic resources program offers the in-house services of one of the only historic architects operating in the region. The in-house Registered Architect is TxDOT Precertified under Category 2.9.1. With such expertise AmaTerra can provide:
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Measured drawings
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Historic structure reports
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Preservation Plans
Field Survey
With thousands of miles of survey and thousands more historic-age sites documented, AmaTerra is ready for your project - large or small. Turn to AmaTerra for:
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Historic map interpretation
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Field survey and resource evaluation for National Register of Historic Places (NRHP)
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NRHP eligibility assessment
Resource Documentation
Historical Services
Historic Resources
AmaTerra has extensive experience with:
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NRHP nomination
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Large- and medium-format photography
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Preservation Plans
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Historic American Building Survey (HABS) / Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation
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Section 4(f) evaluation and coordination
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Cultural Resource Management Plans (CRMPs)
When people think about cultural resource impacts, they may focus on archaeological sites and forget about the built environment. Buildings, structures, objects, landscapes, and districts are also key components of our history and culture. Is that rustic out-building historically significant, or is it just an old shed? Rely on AmaTerra's discerning and respected historians, architectural historians, and one of the few historic architects practicing in the region to know the difference.
AmaTerra staff have completed numerous historical studies including:
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Complete deed and title research
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Detailed archival research
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Oral histories/interviews
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Expert witness testimony for cultural resources
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Interpretive materials (signs, brochures, interactive, etc.)
The AmaTerra Historic Structures Program specializes in the identification, evaluation, analysis, and recordation of historic buildings, structures, sites, districts, landscapes, and objects. Our team has helped State and Federal agencies meet their cultural resource compliance responsibilities under Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and Section 4(f) coordination under the U.S. Transportation Act.
With an award-winning staff working throughout the Continental United States (CONUS) including Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam, AmaTerra can assist with a broad array of historic resource needs from transportation to military to private industry.
What environmental consulting firm includes historical architecture services to complement their architectural history services (there is a BIG difference...)?
The answer is AmaTerra.
Results...
AmaTerra is proud that their historical staff has a successful history of excellence on projects that stretch nearly from coast to coast. This breadth of knowledge leads to superlative performance in any situation. Here are a few examples of our work...
Experience...
Aquarena Springs Sky Ride Pavilion Documentation Project
Client: Texas State University
Location: San Marcos, Hays County, Texas
Take Away: Detailed documentation of a one-of-a-kind historic and artistic resource from a bygone recreational era.
AmaTerra staff carried out architectural documentation of the Aquarena Sky Ride Pavilion prior to its relocation from San Marcos to nearby Wimberley, Texas. The Pavilion featured 15 unique sculptural pieces that were designed by the noted Texan artist James Buchanan (“Buck”) Winn, Jr. Winn designed the structures to resemble morning glories and fabricated them from steel reinforcing rod and fiberglass in 1963 at Aquarena Springs. Texas State University hired AmaTerra to document these unique structures before demolishing the pavillion as part of a site restoration project.
AmaTerra documented the pavilion site using large-format photography and measured drawings prepared to the standards of HABS. According to AmaTerra’s historical architect, Tom Eisenhour, the architectural character of the Sky Ride Pavilion is a fusion of “Space-Age Organic” and “Texas Hill Country Rustic.” In addition to the Morning Glory canopies and the dome, historical documentation included two large reflecting pools with underwater lighting and spray fountains associated with the pavilion.
The Sky Ride Pavilion served as the launch/loading area for the overhead wire gondolas that glided over Aquarena Springs from the 1960s through the early 1990s. Above is a home movie of a 1964 visit to the Sky Ride and Aquarena Springs. View the whole video or skip ahead to the 1:40 mark to see the Sky Ride in action.
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Historic Structure Report
Client: Weston Solutions, Inc. and the USPS
Location: New Bedford, Bristol County, MA
Take Away: Expert recording of a government building constructed in a turn-of-the-century-typifying architectural style.
Located in the historic whaling community of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the 1915 Main Post Office is an example of the style of architecture known as Beaux-Arts, a type of neo-classical architecture taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The Beaux-Arts style heavily influenced the architecture of the United States from 1880 to 1920.
The USPS is considering disposing of the building as surplus property. Because transfer, sale, or lease of government property is an adverse effect under Section 106 of the NHPA, USPS needed to know if the building is historically and/or architecturally significant and, if so, what character-defining features should be preserved by the future owner. AmaTerra historical architect, Tom Eisenhour, traveled to New Bedford, inspected and photographed the building, located and reviewed original architectural drawings, and prepared a report describing the appearance, history, and significance of the post office. AmaTerra determined that the post office was individually eligible for listing on the NRHP as a good example of the Beaux-Arts style in a government building. The study’s accompanying report provided useful guidance for the prospective new owner’s reference during rehabilitation planning for the building.
Beaumont Hospital Complex Historic Resource Survey, Fort Bliss U.S. Army Installation
Client: United States Army
Location: Fort Bliss, El Paso County, Texas
Take Away: National Register of Historic Places evaluation and nomination of Cold War-era hospital structures.
In 2011, the U.S. Army garrison at Fort Bliss, Texas hired AmaTerra to re-evaluate the William Beaumont General Hospital Historic District. In order to qualify it for the Army’s Enhanced Use Leasing (EUL) program, the district had been determined eligible for listing in the NRHP in 1997. Since that time, the contractor had defaulted on the agreement and several key buildings and landscaping features had been demolished or fallen into disrepair. Using historic records, photos, previous reports and documents, and a survey of the surviving buildings of the hospital, AmaTerra's architectural historians analyzed all extant buildings, structures, objects, and sites for individual eligibility, in addition to examining the integrity of the historic district as a whole. It was determined that the historic district no longer possessed the necessary integrity to convey its significance. Two buildings, one landscaping feature, and a small residential area, however, did retain sufficient integrity to be individually eligible for the NRHP. The Army and the Texas Historical Commission endorsed AmaTerra’s findings.