Data Base Fields

[elihurubin]

After filling out fields for 80 Elm Street, I found it helpful to write out the ideal Data Base Fields for each building. I shared a google doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rum1VRIo3vB_8howuvnkXHcJGwoIFNVFextOk-EyXKE/edit

There are some changes here, I realize, but it will be worth getting it right, even if it means "wiping" all of the existing meta-data and re-entering it from scratch in each case. (As long as we can reference the existing wordpress site.)

[duhaime]

Thanks @elihurubin. I just requested access from my gmail account.

Would it be alright if I were to add the content of the google doc to this issue to keep everything in one place?

[elihurubin]

Yes, sure, thanks.

[duhaime]

Here's the content from the Google Sheet:

NHBA:  Data Base Fields

_____________ = open field
_ = drop list item

General Information:

Building Name (common): ___________
Building Name (historic):  ___________
Street Address:   ___________
Lat: ______ Long: ___________
Owner:  ___________ 
+ drop list:  
_ public
_ private
_ non-profit
_ Yale

Accessibility to Public:  
Exterior visible from public road?   _ Yes / _No
Interior Accessible?             _ Yes / _No
If Yes, explain: ____________________________

Year Built: __________
Era:  
Drop List  
_ 1638 - 1860
_ 1860 - 1910
_ 1910 - 1950
_ 1950-1980
_ 1980 - today.
Style:
    Multiple-select Drop List (see https://docs.google.com/document/d/15NkuwbHn15paHZjfrm0znGpFAVKabSy72yWBpmmygaM/edit) with an “add selection” button.

Architect: ___________
Builder: ___________
Client: _____________

Present Use:  (See hierarchical chart)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12_4CcUcnwuWVgCiLG7CWLIJRUm6PxSZ1vUZ8tNvpjoU/edit

Historic Use: (See hierarchical chart)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12_4CcUcnwuWVgCiLG7CWLIJRUm6PxSZ1vUZ8tNvpjoU/edit

Tenants: ______________

Neighborhood:
    Drop list of neighborhoods 
    Add Selection ___________
Tour: 
    Drop List of tours 
Add Selection ____________
Researcher: _________________
Date: ________________

Narrative and Research

Overview / Lead:
Directions:  "A pithy description of what a visitor to the building sees or should look for.  Summarize basic physical features, say something about its current use, and suggest some narrative or significance of the building.  Tone is engaging and conversational.”
___________________
___________________
___________________

Physical Description:
Directions:  "Describe building form, materials, design, and style.  Provide clear description of notable architectural features.  Note alterations and additions to the building made over time, both exterior and interior, when relevant.  Highlight glossary terms."
___________________
___________________
___________________

Streetscape and Urban Setting
Directions:  "Describe the building’s broader urban context and the interrelationship of building and surroundings.”
___________________
___________________
___________________

Social History
Directions:  "Describe ownership and tenancy of the building over time.  Draw from city directories, atlases, Sanborn maps, etc.  Can you suggest the roles this building has played in the city’s broader social history?  What social groups or functions has it housed over time?  
___________________
___________________
___________________

Site History
Directions:  "More additional information on the history of this site, including ownership and land use prior to the current structure.”
___________________
___________________
___________________

Footnotes / Sources
Directions:  "Please note sources, including maps, documents, and secondary sources.”

___________________
___________________
___________________

Archive Documents:

Additional Property Information

Materials:  (click all that apply, indicate use or location when appropriate)
_ Clapboard
    _ Asbestos Siding
    _ Brick
    _ Wood Shingle
    _ Asphalt Siding
    _ Fieldstone
    _ Board & Batten
    _ Stucco
    _ Cobblestone
    _ Aluminum Siding
    _ Poured Concrete
    _ Precast Concrete
    _ Concrete block
    _ Cut stone

Structural System (click all that apply)
    _ Heavy Timbers
    _ Balloon Framing   
    _ Platform Framing
    _ Load-bearing masonry
    _ Poured or pre-cast concrete
    _ Structural iron or steel
    _ Add Selection ___________

Roof (Type) (click all that apply)
    _ Gable
    _ Flat
    _ Mansard
    _ Monitor
    _ Sawtooth
    _ Gambrel
    _ Shed
    _ Hip
    _ Round
    _ Add Selection ______________

Roof (Materials) (click all that apply) 
    _ Wood Shingle
    _ Roll Asphalt
    _ Tin
    _ Slate
    _ Asphalt shingle
    _ Tile
    _ Add Selection ________________

Number of Stories: ___________
Approximate Dimensions: ___________
Alterations: ______________
Related Outbuildings or Landscape Features
    _ Barn
    _ Shed
    _Garage
    _ Carriage House
    _ Shop
    _ Garden
    _ Add Selection: ____________

Threats to Building or Site: 
     _ None known
    _ Road-building
    _ Vandalism
    _ Development   
    _ Neglect / Deterioration
    _ Add Selection
    _ Explanation: _____________

[duhaime]

Excellent. I just requested access to the two other referenced spreadsheets for comprehensiveness.

[duhaime]

Contents of https://docs.google.com/document/d/12_4CcUcnwuWVgCiLG7CWLIJRUm6PxSZ1vUZ8tNvpjoU/edit

NHBA:  Building Use, Program

Entries are not mutually exclusive.  

_ Residential
    _ Detached House
    _ Two-Family, Twins, Triple Decker, Flats
        _ Rowhouse
        _ Multiple Unit Dwellings
        _ Outbuilding, Garage
        _ Vacant
        _ Add Selection: ____________

_ Commercial
    _ Retail Sales
    _ Services (ex. tax prep, travel agency)
        _ Hair Salon, Barber, Nails
    _ Bank
    _ Offices, Business Activities
    _ Grocery, Deli
    _ Bakery, Cafe
    _ Coffee, Tea, Ice Cream, Yogurt
    _ Restaurant, Diner
        _ Bar, Nightclub
    _ Theater, Cinema, Cabaret
    _ Automobile Service, Fuel, and Sales
    _ Furniture, Supplies, Wholesaling
    _ Medical, Healing, Eyecare, Dental
    _ Vacant

_ Industrial
    _ Manufacturing
    _ Warehouse, Storage
    _ Commercial Bakery
    _ Food Production
       _ Recycling, Waste
        _ Mining, Quarry
    _ Art Studio, Workshop, Printing
    _ Utilities, Water, Power
    _ Vacant

_ Institutional
    _ Government, Public Building
    _ University, College, School
    _ Firehouse
    _ Post Office
    _ Police Station
    _ Courthouse
    _ Hospital
    _ Church, Mosque, Synagogue, Place of Worship
        _ Non-Profit (ex. Planned Parenthood, Salvation Army)

_ Infrastructure
    _ Bridge
    _ Monument
    _ Park
    _ Street, Road, Intersection
    _ Public Art, Sculpture
    _ Railroad, Bus, Air Transport

_ Vacant

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

_ Ownership
    _ Public
    _ Private
    _ Yale
    _ Non-Profit Institution

[duhaime]

Contents of https://docs.google.com/document/d/15NkuwbHn15paHZjfrm0znGpFAVKabSy72yWBpmmygaM/edit:

NHBA:  Architectural Styles

Selections are not mutually exclusive

_ Colonial / Georgian
_ Federal
_ Greek Revival
_ Moorish / Egyptianate / Eclectic Revival
_ Gothic Revival
_ Italianate 
_ Second Empire
_ Stick Style
_ Queen Anne
_ Shingle Style
_ Chateauesque
_ Romanesque Revival
_ Beaux Arts Neoclassical
_ Italian Renaissance Revival
_ Colonial Revival
_ Dutch Colonial Revival
_ Tudor / English Vernacular Revival
_ Spanish / Mission / Mediterranean Revival
_ Prairie 
_ Arts and Crafts
_ Collegiate Gothic
_ Art Deco
_ Streamlined Moderne
_ Streamlined Neoclassical
_ Modernist
_ Miesian
_ Brutalist 
_ Postmodern
_ Shed Style
_ Mansard
_ Contemporary
_ Add Selection: _____________

[elihurubin]

My question on Building Use is if you think there should be a coarse value for "Vacant," as opposing to my placement of vacancy in the second order. I added "Vacant" to the first hierarchy because I can imagine first order searching for vacancies.

[pleonard212]

Hi Elihu! This revised database structure is good to have documented here; we're working with original schema in order have a testable product within the grant timeline (June 15). But the underlying system is flexible, and future development effort can extend the project in the necessary ways to make these changes (we can work with you to scope out how much time/money these would take):

1) Revise front-end UX for new fields 2) Revise back-end UX (Admin client) for new fields 3) Revise database to support new fields.

[elihurubin]

Peter, I'm not sure how much we can test the database with current structure. One of the first Users to test the site will be Admins who want to add a new building or edit an existing building. The current database will not allow for the accurate entry of new material. I am trying to log-in now as an Admin and I can test the process of adding a new building to confirm this.

[elihurubin]

I'm starting to test the site now as an admin, adding and editing building. But I'm not sure how much -- or in how much detail -- I should narrate my reactions and critiques on GitHub. Are we working on the site or wrapping it up for now? I realize now that many of my interventions are coming late in the game. My main goal is to provide the best framework for myself and student admins to edit and add content this summer.

[elihurubin]

On Data Base Fields:

"Historic Use" should be a multi-select dropdown menu, same as "Present Use" in the Overview section.