Series IV. Project Soho

This series consists of the records of Project Soho, an architectural and cultural study commissioned by Pennsylvania State University and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The records date from 1970, the year of the grant application, through 1973. The initial purpose of the project, as put forward by Dr. Weisman, was to provide the necessary research to create an historical account of what was formerly a fine urban commercial district that had since deteriorated, but was capable of being restored to its original condition. He wanted to preserve a part of unique American architectural history that had no counterpart anywhere. Weisman's students wrote the reports and took the photos. Credit for individual work is arranged within the work in the reports.

Dr. Weisman and his students looked at the primary and secondary sources of art historians, sociologists, cultural geographers, economists, architectural engineers, and urban historians to discover the factors which shaped the character of the Soho district. A number of these student reports and some primary sources used by these students exist as reports within this series. All of the original grant funding proposals are also available giving detailed information concerning all the participants in this project and their aims.

Detailed building information sheets covering the entire Soho district form the bulk of this series. Information available for each building includes alterations made since the date of construction. Much of this information was derived from the original building application filed at the time of construction. It covers both financial and architectural information. Most of these data sheets have an accompanying photograph of the building. The data forms, with accompanying print, are the most unique aspect of this series.

The remainder of this series is made up of photos that document the entire area of Soho. 5 x 8 inch copy prints are filed by street address and span all of this cast iron district covering the area bordered by West Broadway, West Houston, Crosby and Canal Streets. Also available are the prints and negatives of the rolls of film as taken by the students. There are cross-indexed indices to guide the way through these prints. These include the originals of the 5 x 8 prints, as well as difficult to read prints of original architects' drawings and various specific details of the buildings, including windows, doors, and ornaments. Many of these prints are available in the series of mounted copy prints.

This project was, in a great part, responsible for the designation of Soho as the SoHo Cast Iron Historic District. The Soho Cast Iron Historic District has 139 iron fronted buildings, all of which are represented in this series.

This series is divided into three subseries: information forms, reports, and copy prints.