Alma College

That's it. I'm moving to Kingston.

Exploring Old London

In my last post I was talking about a really interesting feature of the new City of London's website where you can search for heritage properties on an interactive city map. Now I've been thinking about neat ways to take advantage of this and luckily my digital history class has provided the answer.

This week one of the topics we're covering is the potential for Global Positioning Systems to be used in a historical manner (though I'm sure most of you are familiar with GPS technology there is an excellent guide for beginners which can be found here). Basically, a GPS receiver calculates the user's position using signals from four or more GPS satellites. So far the only experience I've had with a GPS is getting directions while driving but since they can be used to give information about local restaurants, gas stations etc, I can't see why they couldn't also be used for local history.

Picture it, you're walking around London and anytime you come to a historical building your GPS, in conjunction with the City of London website, tells you the important historical information about the property. Add to this my previous wish for an Address Archive website and I think you've really got a fascinating tool. Not only would you learn about heritage properties which are still standing, but you could see pictures and read antidotes about buildings which were at one time in your location. I've created an example of what the entry you could see on your GPS screen would look like:




I'm not 100% sure that such a tool would be possible though I don't see why it wouldn't be. I really do think that a tool like this would help to bring the work the City of London has done for their website to a new level.

Heritage Mashup

Ok, so a few weeks ago in Digital History we learned about mashups. Basically, these are web applications which combine data from more than one source into a single tool. There were a number of readings which discussed the potential uses for such applications in the humanities and I thought I had come up with one which would be really interesting. I was halfway through writing a blog on the topic when I realised it already existed.

London Ontario's website states that "London has one of the most diverse and extensive inventories of heritage structures in Ontario." Now as a historian, such a statement - which initially seemed to have no supporting evidence - tends to make my skin crawl. I decided I would propose a mashup to rectify this situation. Since most cities have a list of their heritage properties, I thought it could be combined with local digitized maps, or even google maps on a larger scale, in order to illustrate various geographical trends surrounding heritage properties. Unfortunately (for my purposes, not for the general public), this mashup already exists!

If you go to the city map section on the new and improved City of London's website, you can make one of your filters designated heritage properties. From there you can see the building's priority ranking, year built (if known), the predominant architectural style of building, and the by-law number showing the building's designation under the Ontario Heritage Act. This whole undertaking is called the Heritage Sites Inventory. Since I've now found out that this exists I think I need to decide what to do with it...stay tuned.


Image From:
City of London Website. "Interactive CityMap." http://webmap.london.ca/mapclient/main.asp?Script=Heritage&Browser=W3C&Width=1280&Referrer=http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Heritage/HeritageCityMap.htm&Provider=SVC&K10=0

Sketchin’Up Awareness

In digital history last term we were introduced to a program called Google SketchUp. Basically software which allows you to create and modify 3D models, the program's motto "SketchUp is 3D for everyone" certainly proves true. Not only is it a completely free program to download (in its basic form), but the tools are relatively intuitive. Within a few minutes of hesitant exploration, I was able to create some pretty cool models. Though I've already found a number of appropraite uses for the program, it is in a project for Public History that I believe I've reached my SketchUp potential.

The major project for the Public History class this year is the creation of teaching modules using SMART Board technology. These modules will be used in the interpretive centre at Eldon House and our class has been divided into three categories; Eldon House - an introduction, World Travels of the Harris Family, and Rebels and Redcoats. Without getting into all the details associated with the project - mostly because it's not even close to being completed - a portion of the introduction module will include an examination of the various architectural changes at the home over the nineteenth century. Needless to say, I have found another excellent opportunity to put my SketchUp skills to use, I have built Eldon House.

From a model of the property's first home, a log cabin (the foundation of which remains under the present library), right up to the Eldon House's present appearance, SketchUp has allowed me to combine two of my favourite things; history and architecture. Since the teaching modules we're creating will be used primarily with students from grades one to eight, perhaps these models can cause a moment's consideration of the physical home itself in a new generation. Though I still believe (as I argued in my last post) that computer models will always be a poor replacement for authentic historic homes, maybe they can help to reach a new audience. Just as genres of history which I previously ignored managed to hold my attention at the War Museum due to their innovative display methods, I hope that by utilizing interactive SMART Board technology in conjunction with a program like Google's SketchUp an appreciation and awareness can be created for London's architectural heritage.

Obsolete Architecture

One of my Christmas gifts this year was the book ‘How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They’re Built’ by Stewart Brand. Based on the belief that buildings need to be examined not only in terms of space but also time, Brand suggests that buildings have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances when appropriately reshaped by their occupants. Though I’ve only started reading what promises to be a very fascinating book, a paragraph in the opening chapter caught my attention.

Brand states that: “Almost no buildings adapt well. They’re designed not to adapt; also budgeted and financed not to, constructed not to, administered not to, maintained not to, regulated and taxed not to, even remodeled not to...”

The idea of un-adaptable houses reminded me of the much discussed phenomenon of technological obsolescence (A blog entry by Patrick Mueller further discusses how Brand's work, although not dealing directly with software or hardware, holds many interesting lessons for those interested in technological design). Much in the same way that 12 inch floppy disks and the original Nintendo entertainment system (NES) have become outdated, so too have dumbwaiters, servants' quarters, and carriage houses. It is perhaps in terms of technology that I can finally explain to a certain classmate how I feel about historic buildings.

Just as computer emulators fail to capture the full experience of an original Nintendo game, so too does a digital model of a historic home. Even the best emulators never require one to blow on a game cartridge, a behaviour familiar to all those who grew up with the original NES. In a similar vein, there is something in the home itself; the smell, the texture of the building materials, the lighting, and perhaps something even more intangible, that can never be fully replicated. Though it would be extremely reassuring to be able protect my favourite homes on a memory stick, it just wouldn't be the same...that and the memory stick would need to be upgraded constantly to remain viable.

Images From:
1 - Patrick Mueller's blog. "How Buildings Learn." http://pmuellr.blogspot.com/2007/11/how-buildings-learn.html
2 - Ontario Architecture. "Second Empire." http://www.ontarioarchitecture.com/Second.htm
3 - Businessweek. "Nintendo Entertainment System." http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/10/game_consoles/source/4.htm