You and your research team have been hired by a local history organization to uncover information about your community's most notable buildings. Your community's buildings will surely have some stories to tell about the people who owned, lived, and worked in them. The Houston Heights Fire Station

• Location of your building in your community
• The building's architectural style and specific details of its construction
• The date of its construction
• Information about individuals associated with the building (occupants, owners, etc.)
• Details on the use of the building

John H. Reagan High School

Online Focus on Your Community  Resource Page Internet Search Engines Houston Public Library Home Page HyperHistory Online's Searchable Timeline Bedford St. Martin's Citation Guidelines 169 Years of Historic Houston Off-line Your Local Library Interviews My Neighborhood Inventory Workbook

Step A: Let's Get Started

1. Break into groups of three students.
2. Read the descriptions of the following group roles and divide them among your group:
   • Chief Historian
   • Technology Specialist
   • Project Producer
3. Discuss a building to study from the Heights' Historic Buildings list with your group members and teacher.

1. Carefully record the following basic information about your building in Section A. of your My Neighborhood Inventory Workbook:
   
   • Date and time of your visit (possibly virtual)
   • Name of the building
   • Address of the building
   • Date of the original construction (you may need to research this later)
   • Architectural style (you may need to research this later)
   • Photograph or drawing of your building
2. Note your first impressions of the building using these questions:
   • Who lives or works there?
   • Are there any visible clues about the buildings original use?
   • How is it used today?
   • What did you first notice? Its usefulness? Its beauty? Its size?
   All Saint's Roman Catholic Church
3. Look for the details of you building's construction using Section C. of the My Neighborhood Inventory Workbook.
4. Examine the building's surroundings and carefully note the property's boundaries.
5. In Section B. of your workbook create a map of the property featuring your building and the things around it. Take care to lable surrounding roads, railroads, and bodies of water. Include any other feature that is unique or interesting.

The Houston Heights Shopping District

Step C: Uncover Your Building's History Conduct an Internet search for newspapers, magazine articles, or other web resources that mention your building or any of its owners. Check the Focus on Your Community website for old photographs of your building or people associated with it. Be sure to note the date and content of each picture your think may be helpful. Brainstorm questions for an interview. Contact and interview a reliable source associated with the building (i.e. an owner or tenant of the building).  Be sure to get permission to record your meeting and photograph the person interviewed.

1. Organize and assemble your research by completing Section D. in the My Neighborhood Inventory Workbook
2. Create a timeline of your building's history featuring the following:
   • Changes in ownership of the building
   • Original and new construction
   • Changes in use and purpose of the building
   • Important local and national events that correspond with events in the building's history
3. Using Power Point, prepare a presentation of your building's history (check out this example). Include the basic information found in Section D. as well as the timeline you created. Try to incorporate any photographs or other materials of interest in your presentation.

Where is your building located within the community? In what architectural style is your building constructed? When was your building built?

Houston Heights Branch of the Houston Public Library

What are some important names or events in your building's history? What has your building been used for in the past? What is it used for at present?