Our first project with photographer Jeff Bates occurred way back in 1994 for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documentation of the J.O. Cole House near Smithfield in Jefferson County, Ohio. The property had been continuously occupied by the Smith family from 1845 to 1967, when the property was conveyed to a coal mining company.
The 2-story wood frame house was constructed in 1881 and features fine Italianate detailing in the eave brackets. The 4-story barn bears the name “J.O. Cole” on the gable end.
Jeff also travelled with us as we documented buildings for the Air Force and Navy in the 1990s. In the 2000s, Jeff photographed many large and small historic bridges for our Ohio Department of Transportation projects, as well as ongoing work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
A “demountable” hangar at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, and Jeff on a forklift to get a good overall interior shot in 1996.
In 2000, Jeff shot the Grant Suspension Bridge from a helicopter for ODOT.
In the 2010s, Jeff helped HDC prepare HABS documentation for projects in the City of Columbus at the request of the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, as well as documentation of buildings at The Ohio State University prior to their partial or total demolition.
Left: The main stair of Brown Hall, built in 1903, that was demolished in 2009 along with Lord Hall to create more green space. Right: The ceiling of the WWI Memorial rotunda in Sullivant Hall that had to be removed for the building renovation in 2011.
Jeff also flew to Fairbanks, Alaska, to document a hangar at Eielson Air Force Base for the Alaska Air National Guard in 2016, and most recently, Jeff shot the high-resolution TIFF files for HDC’s National Register nomination for the Baker Brothers Wholesale Grocery in Zanesville and the Downtown Zanesville historic district nomination.
