House and Building History Resources
Learn about National Register of Historic Places, the nation's official list of properties deemed worthy of preservation.
The Library of Congress
Minnesota Historical Society
Smithsonian Institution
A good overview of house and building history is available at the Northwest Architectural Archives
Their guide to building history research is available online and is a good introduction to building research. The Northwest Architectural Archives has many collections that are valuable for building research, including the papers of numerous architects and contractors, standard plan books, and the Minneapolis Plan Vault Collection, comprising plan sets deposited by builders with the Minneapolis Building Inspections Department from 1909 to 1990 as a prerequisite for obtaining building permits.
At the Minnesota Historical Society Library website is a list of resources available in the Library and on the web.
You can search for properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places on the National Register Information System. Some individual State Historic Preservation Offices offer access to databases about National Register listings in their state. For example, see the the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office searchable database.
The Ramsey County Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota, has a collection of building permits for St. Paul, the Ramsey County Historic Site Survey, and other sources for local research.
The [ http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/research_house.asp Minneapolis Public Library] has a variety of resources for building history research in Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County History Museum in Minneapolis has materials useful in researching Minneapolis buildings, especially the Confer Realty Company Photograph Collection.
