Building Foundation Data
In continuing our efforts to obtain a better understanding of these wood pile cut-off elevations the Boston Groundwater Trust reviews individual building permit jackets at How To Find Historical Permits. Here the user can simply enter their street number, street name, ward, and select the appropriate document type from a drop-down list. Additional building foundation information is added as we continue our research and work with the appropriate parties on obtaining this critical information.
In addition, the Trust reviewed multiple Building Inspection Reports (BIR’s), located in the Fine Arts Department of the Boston Public Library. These reports contained such useful information as construction dates, architect’s and builder’s names, building descriptions, and, most importantly, woodpile cutoff elevations. The BIR’s are organized in bound volumes and, along with the reports, often contain original drawing and blueprints (usually floor plans). The Trust researched a total of 145 BIR’s that were produced between 1879-1903. Although 181 volumes originally existed, 36 volumes are missing.
The Great Boston Fire of 1872 destroyed the majority of Boston’s commercial district. In that fire, many official and private building documents were destroyed. Therefore, no reports, plans, or permits exist in these records from before 1873.
When accessing our information center the following page building parcels with foundation information are shaded. Zoom into close to near block/street level. Simply click on the shaded parcel and the foundation we collected will appear with information in the bottom right-hand corner. The information listed will include the address, foundation type (wood, concrete, or steel), cut-off elevation (if available), and whether or not the building has been underpinned. When viewing this data, it is important to remember that the lower the cut-off elevation number, the better.