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2024-05-11 22:58:22
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 josh_truant
 
Location: MA
Gender: Male
 |  |  | City archives?
< on 11/20/2008 8:55 PM >
|  | | | Do city halls/archives often have information on vacant, condemned, or abandoned buildings? I was thinking today that I could either coax someone I know who works with the city or dress real nice and pretend I'm a curious investor. I know there's a few buildings nearby that haven't been used in a long time, but I feel like getting a practical map of them would be invaluable, so as to avoid walking into an active warehouse and looking like a burglar.
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willskith
  
Location: Boston, MA
Gender: Male
| | |  | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 1 on 11/20/2008 9:17 PM >
| | | | I dont remember what site it was, but there is a website where you can search listings of registered abandoned property and even sort it by type (educational, historic, medical). I found a lot of places (including that hospital we took you to the other day) through it.
Also, the city of Boston website has a similar search on it.
grit your teeth in the face of fear. self repression is the true sign of a coward, toss your inhibitions to the wind. |
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vapula
  
Location: kitchener, ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 2 on 11/28/2008 3:49 AM >
| | | | do you know if there's anything like that for Canadian Provinces? was the one you used for anywhere in north america?
.....wah? |
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willskith
Location: Boston, MA
Gender: Male
| | | | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 3 on 11/28/2008 6:08 AM >
| | | | No, it was just the 48 continental states
grit your teeth in the face of fear. self repression is the true sign of a coward, toss your inhibitions to the wind. |
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Lord Nikon
Location: Columbia, SC
Gender: Male
| |  |  | | | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 4 on 11/28/2008 11:21 PM >
| | | | As for the United States, lots of county and city governments keep property information on the GIS portions of their web pages. These are great resources for finding out who owns property, as well as how old the site is.
Here's an example from my state:
http://www.richlan...assessorsearch.asp
Beyond that, visiting county government seats and city halls in person are great ways of getting information on sites. Dress up, call ahead of time, and set up an appointment. If you don't know who to talk to, be sure to call public relations agents or department secretaries, they should be able to point you in the right direction. Government workers should be able to get you building plans or historical info on most sites in your area.
If you're nervous about making city workers suspicious, just come up with a plausible cover story. Tell them you're an investor, or engineering student working on a project if you are in a college town. Journalist credentials also work. From my experience, though, most city employees will fetch records for you "no questions asked."
Edit: Grammar
[last edit 11/29/2008 5:52 PM by Lord Nikon - edited 1 times]
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vapula
Location: kitchener, ontario
Gender: Male
| | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 5 on 11/29/2008 1:00 AM >
| | | | sweet deal man  i'm going to try that out soon. thanks for the info!
.....wah? |
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Tetrodotoxin
Location: NNJ
| | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 6 on 11/30/2008 7:19 PM >
| | | | i have heard that getting records from public workers/municipality is supposed to be a "no questions asked" process, but that just seems so weird, with homeland security and all.
but getting them with ease can also be a matter of the socioeconomic state of the town/county. if the place is looking for investors, for ANYONE, to come in and help build the place up, they'll be more likely to grant you access to what they have. building plans, storm drains, deeds, and others docs.
it may be rare, but if an abandoned property is in a more affluent town/county, then they may want to know your intentions to the point of checking credentials.
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Lord Nikon
Location: Columbia, SC
Gender: Male
| | | | | | Re: City archives?
<Reply # 7 on 12/1/2008 9:56 PM >
| | | | | i have heard that getting records from public workers/municipality is supposed to be a "no questions asked" process, but that just seems so weird, with homeland security and all. |
That's why I always have a solid cover story prepared, if all else fails. But, on the whole, most of my contacts seem to be pretty happy to get plans/historical information on sites for me.
Whether that lasts in today's political environment, though, is another story. But, as of now, most files of this nature are a matter of public record, and should be open to the public.
Get it while it lasts, I suppose.
| it may be rare, but if an abandoned property is in a more affluent town/county, then they may want to know your intentions to the point of checking credentials. |
If I do get asked for credentials, I'll just flash my press pass and affiliation and say I'm researching a story. Works all the time...
But if I had no real credentials, I would go through a local historical society; either get chummy with some members or join it outright. If someone does ask about your intentions, your membership will give you a professional reason to be researching these places.
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