Urban History & Archaeology Hunt

Research your target area: Pull up historical maps from your city library's digital archive (most cities have 1880s-1950s Sanborn fire insurance maps online). Compare old street layouts to current ones—missing streets indicate landfill or demolished neighborhoods.

Scout your route the day before if possible: Morning light (7-9AM) hits east-facing walls perfectly for photographing brick details. Late afternoon (4-6PM) works for west-facing structures. Overcast days eliminate harsh shadows for documentation.

Start with sidewalk archaeology: Look down first. Concrete stamps show contractor names and pour dates (most common 1900-1960). Coal chute covers are cast iron circles or rectangles, usually near building foundations. Streetcar rail remnants sometimes show through worn asphalt at intersections.

Read building elevations systematically: Start at ground level, work upward. Bricked-up doors/windows at sidewalk level indicate street raising (common in flood-prone areas). Different brick colors show additions. Ghosting (faint building outlines on adjacent walls) marks demolished structures. Iron rings, brackets, or beam ends protruding from walls have specific functions—document their height and spacing.

Document like a field archaeologist: Photograph each feature from three angles: wide context shot, medium detail, extreme close-up. Include a scale reference (your hand, a coin) in close-ups. Note GPS coordinates on your phone. Sketch elevation profiles in your notebook—cameras miss vertical relationships.

Identify brick patterns and age: Running bond (staggered bricks) = post-1890s. Flemish bond (alternating headers/stretchers) = pre-1890 or revival style. Hand-molded bricks with irregular surfaces and size variation = pre-1900. Machine-pressed uniform bricks = post-1900. Mortar color matters too: lime mortar (cream/white) is pre-1900, Portland cement (gray) is post-1900.

Check basements and foundations where accessible: Basement window wells often expose original grade levels. Foundation stone (before concrete) tells construction era: fieldstone = pre-1870, cut stone blocks = 1870-1920, poured concrete = post-1920.

Cross-reference with historical records: Visit your city's historical society website or archives that evening. Match your documented sites to building permits, street directories, and old photographs. This transforms physical evidence into specific stories.

Map your finds: Plot documented sites on a custom Google Map. Color-code by era or feature type. Share coordinates with local historical societies—they track ephemeral urban archaeological features.

Return quarterly: Urban archaeology sites disappear to renovation. That 1920s ghost sign you photographed might be sandblasted next month. Seasonal vegetation changes also reveal features—bare winter trees expose building foundations; summer ivy hides them.