Many people know a barn from its exterior aspects, but few know the interior traits and features of these fascinating old structures and how they were conceived and constructed. While some barns have disappeared from the American landscape, many have been captured in the collections of the Historic American Building Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), preserving their architectural history through photographs and architectural drawings.

As part of the Built in America series,Barns: A Close-Up Looktakes an in-depth tour of fourteen historic barns, authoritatively documenting these structures with more than 90 scale drawings, detailed elevations, architectural plans, and 70 photographs in crisp black and white photography. Among others, you’ll discover the remarkable round George Hall Barn, the famous Culp Farm Barn, which played a critical role in the Battle of Gettysburg, and the fascinating John Black Jr. Barn.

To provide an even more intimate tour, architectural drawings reveal the historic nineteenth-century wood frame joinery techniques that make barn interiors such architectural marvels. And, to set the tone of your tour, barn and house historian Gregory D. Huber provides a foreword that emphasizes just how special barns are to the history and fabric of our country.