The HABS/HAER/HALS Collection at the Library of Congress is the nation's largest archive of historic architectural, engineering, and cultural landscape documentation. It is an active collection that grows each year. The collection includes measured and interpretive drawings, large-format black & white and color photographs, written historical and descriptive data, and original field notes. The collection is designed to permanently record the breadth of American places, and to make this documentation available as widely as possible. As of 2023, more than 45,000 sites are included in the collection. Materials created for HABS, HAER, or HALS are in the public domain.
Search the Collection
Search the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection at the Library of Congress. In addition to using the main search page, you can also browse the collection by Creator/Related Names, Subjects, and Geography.
Research Assistance
Depending on your question:
- Submit a research question using this Ask a Librarian form. Your question will be forwarded to a reference librarian in the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Division.
- For other questions, contact the HABS/HAER/HALS Collections Manager (National Park Service): e-mail us
In-Person Research
The Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Division holds the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection. The majority of the collection is available online. To view items that can only be accessed in person (such as field notes), researchers can schedule an appointment at the Prints & Photographs Reading Room in the Library's Madison Building in Washington, DC. Most of the HABS/HAER/HALS Collection is stored off-site, so library staff members will need advanced notice to retrieve items.
Program Records
Heritage Documentation Programs' program records are held at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as Record Group 515. The records are housed at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland.
Image Credits (Homepage)
Banner (top of page):
- Arlington Memorial Bridge (HAER DC-7) - Washington, DC, and Arlington, Virginia
Group of nine (middle of page):
- 535 Ramona Street (House) (HABS CA-2650) – Palo Alto, California
- Casa Carlos Armstrong (HABS PR-74) – Ponce, Puerto Rico
- George Nakashima Woodworker, Showroom (HABS PA-6783-C) – New Hope, Pennsylvania
- Milltown Dam, Powerhouse (HAER MT-43-A) – Milltown, Montana
- Rock Point Arch Bridge (HAER OR-29) – Gold Hill, Oregon
- 1964 Meyers Manx (HAER CA-2312) – Valley Center, California
- Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau (HALS HI-15) – Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, Honaunau, Hawaii
- Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park (HALS VT-1) – Woodstock, Vermont
- Horse Valley Ranch (HALS AZ-3-A) – Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Littlefield vicinity, Arizona
Group of four (bottom of page):
- Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (HABS AL-994) – Montgomery, Alabama
- Pear Valley (HABS VA-960) – Shadyside, Virginia
- U.S. Steel Duquesne Works, Blast Furnace Plant (HAER PA-115-A) – Duquesne, Pennsylvania
- Briarwood: The Caroline Dormon Nature Preserve (HALS LA-1) – Saline, Louisiana
Last updated: October 30, 2023