Colin WAGNER / Rachel YOUNG
(Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA)

Abstract:

This poster will explain and illustrate the process of producing historically accurate 3D digital models of Colonial and Federalist era American window, door and molding types used in Philadelphia house and building construction.  The models were produced from architectural artifacts in the collection of the Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, USA.  The 3D digital models were produced in association with Karie Diethorn, Chief Curator and Charles Tonetti, Chief Historical Architect of the National Park Service. Chris Redmann and Glen Muschio served as project advisers.   The project was conducted under the auspices of “3D Colonial Philadelphia” a long range project, which seeks to create a 3D virtual environment for studying and exploring matters of cultural heritage and by Drexel University’s Students Tracking Advanced Research (STAR) Program.

The locations of many Colonial and Federalists period buildings in Philadelphia are well documented in historical insurance and tax records and on city maps. Starting in the mid 19th century, some structures have been photographed before being razed.  Furthermore, foundations of a few structures have been documented and studied during various archaeological excavations.  Based on these historical records, “3D Colonial Philadelphia” intends to model entire Colonial and Federalist period street scenes.  The idea behind our project is to create a library of historically accurate architectural features, which will be used to reduce the time needed to model and render street scenes. While we may not know the window and door types for any specific house our models will be historically accurate for the period and house type. The 3D digital models will also be made available to other researchers and the general public through the Independence National Historical Park Archive. We

anticipate that the virtual collection will greatly facilitate access to this valuable architectural information.

Keywords:

Colonial American 3D Virtual Architectural