For MBTA’s assessment of the Cryptoporticus and North Terrace, important features of William Hamilton’s 1789 Federal style expansion of his estate at the Woodlands, MBTA created a rectified photographic reflected ceiling plan of the 90-foot long vault. The plan has provided the team with a baseline document to map and record masonry conditions, sample locations, and deficiencies in the structure.
To create the continuous photograph (image at top), Mark designed and fabricated a track with camera mount that he and Beth incrementally moved along the length of the vault, positioning the camera relative to known points temporarily marked on the structure. High-resolution photographs were taken using a 17mm wide angle lens. Distortion was removed with computer software, and then assembled in AutoCAD using a measured grid of points rectified to the known points in the photographs.