Surveyor's Office and City Engineer
Surveyor's Office
The City Surveyor was the official with responsibility for building matters (along with many other aspects of the municipality’s physical appearance) during most of the nineteenth century. He drafted many maps and surveys for both public and private properties, he either drew up or approved plans for public edifices, and he oversaw compliance with local construction rules and regulations. A good many of his record books, plans, and maps have survived in the City Archives. Some of these may be of interest in researching a specific site or even an entire section of the city.
From 1836-1852 the City was divided into three separate municipalities each with their own Surveyor’s Office. The records of the First and Second Municipality’s Surveyor’s Offices are available on microfilm.
In 1852, the three municipalities, along with the separate city of Lafayette, were consolidated into a new government for the city of New Orleans, with a single Surveyor’s Office. The Surveyor’s Office records are available to view on microfilm in the City Archives.
City Engineer
The Office of the City Engineer absorbed that of the Surveyor in 1890 and continued the work of that predecessor agency. This office now operates as the Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works.
The greater part of the surviving documents from the Office of the City Engineer (in addition to the building permits and blueprints) is made up of correspondence, both incoming and outgoing. Outgoing correspondence is fairly well indexed and includes letters relating to projects of both the public and private sectors. Incoming correspondence includes communications from architects and contractors relative to building projects, as well as from other public officials and citizens complaining about substandard building conditions and the like.