Ilene and Susan Wineberg have been documenting buildings since 2015 prior to their being demolished by the University of Michigan to make way for new development. Invited by the University to collect this information, each building warranted an objective conditions assessment and captured existing conditions in photographs, notated floor plans, and a brief history. Since they were not being compensated for their work, their surveys remain primarily in the form of photographs and field notes. The significant value has been in the University’s willingness to grant them access and to keep the preservation community informed of their plans.
Ilene created Guidelines for Documenting Historic Structures, describing methods for building inspections, conducting research, tips on collecting quality data for potential future use by others, and references used to create the guide.
1009 Cornwell Place prior to demolition.