The National Park Service offers this website on the exterior skin of a house, which is defined as a "weather envelope" that "typically includes all the surfaces of its functional and decorative features --roof, chimney, exterior walls, woodwork, windows, porches, doors, and the above-ground portion of the foundation." The site provides some basic pointers on taking care of a historic house....

In the aftermath of the Great Depression, the federal government developed a host of programs designed to alleviate unemployment and put people back to work. Out of these efforts came the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and a host of programs that utilized the talents of those persons who were still unemployed. These included the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal...

While the name Shangri-La may conjure up an image of the mythical place from the book (and popular 1937 film) _Lost Horizon_ by James Hilton, this particular Shangri-La is the Honolulu home of Doris Duke. The home is widely considered one of Hawaii's most architecturally significant homes, and overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head. Duke was the heir to the fortune of James Buchanan Duke...