Master of Science in Historic Preservation: Thesis Abstracts

Historic preservation builds continuity between the past and the present to strengthen our society and its economy. The Master of Science in Historic Preservation program prepares students for a career in revitalizing our built environment. This meaningful life work involves the preservation and recycling of historic buildings, landscapes, and interiors, from the grand architectural masterpieces to the humble worker's cottage. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago offers a dynamic and diverse Master of Science degree program that provides expertise in architectural design, physical conservation, architectural history, and preservation planning. All of these disciplines are essential for historic preservation, and all are taught by practicing professionals who combine a strong theoretical background with practical field experience.

The thesis tutorial in the historic preservation program is a two-semester class in which each student has the opportunity to investigate an area of personal and professional concern in great depth, and then has to communicate his or her findings to a larger audience. These abstracts show the diversity of interests that are fostered in the program, as well as showcasing the interdisciplinary nature of historic preservation, a pursuit that requires science, history, creative arts, political acumen, and technical mastery.

Each year, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago celebrates the culmination and closure of students' studies at the master's level. In studio areas, the celebration takes place in the form of the thesis exhibitions, while the academic areas complement this with the thesis abstracts publication. This thesis abstract collection gathers and showcases thesis research undertaken in six programs: Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy; Master of Arts in Art Education; Master of Arts in Modern Art History, Theory, and Criticism; Master of Arts in Art Therapy; Master of Arts in Teaching; and Master of Science in Historic Preservation.

2010 Thesis Abstracts

Christine A. Bernick
Preservation of Keck & Keck's Passive-Solar Subdivisions of the 1940s and 1950s

Tianyi Jiang
Deconstructing Chicago's Chinatown : architecture and people

Emily D. Spreng
An adaptive reuse design proposal for the Recycled Paper Greetings building at 3636 N. Broadway St. Chicago, IL 60613

2009 Thesis Abstracts

Amy Van Aalst
Multiple property nomination: sites significant to immigrant history in Chicago, 1871-1930

Katy Gallagher
Tapping in to a neglected craft : an examination of the saloon fixture industry in Chicago, 1870-1934

Jennifer Anne Harrman
Devon Avenue : survey of an historic commercial streetscape

Katherine McManus
Archiving architectural collections : John Vinci papers

Mary E. Ottoson
The revival of a master architect : Joseph C. Llewellyn

Amy Lynn Porter
...and then there were six. Preserving the remaining stations designed by William Gibb

Andrea Trickey
Bluer skies for brownfields through the preservation of industrial heritage

2008 Thesis Abstracts

Rebecca J. Young
Active architecture : using living history programming to interpret architectural resources for the public

Katharine H. Keleman
Blank expressions : family privacy and the street elevation in 20th-century American homes

Nicole Seguin
The building blocks of preservation : materials and methods for introducing historic preservation to children

Miriam Wells
"Shelburne, Vermont

Lauren A. Oswalt
The downtown shopping mall and its effects on historic preservation

Jennifer Reep
Feasibility study : Saxonia House Brewery reconstruction

Elizabeth Blasius
Inland interiors : Chicago decorative arts of the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s

Weston Davey
Julia C. Lathrop Homes : history, significance, and contemporary preservation challenges

Catherine Handelsman
Lincoln Avenue Motels : a shred of the fifties and sixties

Kelly Little
Main Street modern : the preservation of recent past architecture on Main Street

Nicola Justine Spasoff
Making the most of what we have, historic preservation and sustainability as a matter of policy

Maura Lindsey Rose Pilcher
New Bohemia rising : design guidelines for the new Bohemia historic district Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Benjamin Roberts
The photographic archive and the growth of digital technology

Jessamyn Leigh Miller
Prefabricated homes in America : the early 20th century mail-order house

Mira Patel
The revitalization of community : a redevelopment plan for the Marktown Historic District East Chicago, Indiana

Ryan Greene
Rise & run : the evolution and preservation of staircase design in architecture

Ann Halbrook
Roscoe Harold Zook, a biography and catalogue

Carla Bruni
Taming the green giant : a guide to greening your historic home from the inside out

Greg Rainka
Telling trees : the preservation of landmarks that live(d)

2007 Thesis Abstracts

Joanna Hofmann Dowling
Rest for the weary : safety rest areas as cultural landscapes : an analysis of history, architecture and preservation

Theodore James Dunn
Buying stock on Main Street : improvement trusts and the preservation of the historic storefront

Faith Foley
Historic pavements : their life, death, and preservation

Jennifer Fritz-Williams
Waukegan : a historic resource survey preliminary findings

Colleen R. Rogers
Detroit's Michigan Central Station : its reuse and role in the city's revitalization

Yolanda Escoto Unna
Making the world heritage global

Elizabeth Weaver
An introduction to the history of historic preservation in Atlanta, Georgia

Rachel L. Will
Restructuring historic structures : the integration of modern structural building codes and historic preservation

2006 Thesis Abstracts

Ted Dunn
The Wealth of Main Street

Saleh Van Erem
Pabst Brewery : an adaptive reuse study - Milwaukee, WI

Ann Halbrook
Roscoe Harold Zook, a biography and catalogue

Beth Ann Johnson
The pedagogy of Booker T. Washington embodied in architecture

Benjamin Leech
The utility beautiful : preserving Chicago's historic electric substations

Trisha Logan
Campus Heritage: A Grant Proposal for Northwestern University

Elisabeth Logman
The role of aggregates in lime-based mortars

Amanda Norcross
Preserving Petoskey's character : a plan for downtown

Lauren Oswalt
The downtown shopping mall and its effects on historic preservation

Hema Pandya
The historic Chicago bungalows : ordinary architects + ordinary residents = extraordinary designs

Maura Pilcher
New Bohemia rising : design guidelines for the new Bohemia historic district Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Nelson White
Preserving coastal California : a model for regional preservation planning

See also: 2004–05 MS in Historic Preservation thesis abstracts