In the summer of 2012, students, scholars and affiliates of Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures, worked with residents and community organizations from the Thurston Woods neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in order to explore, document and examine historic buildings and cultural landscapes of this area. They created site reports that became part of the historical record of Wisconsin. Students received an immersive experience in the field recording the built environment. They received training in site documentation including photography, measured drawings, digital documentation, audio-visual production, historic interpretation of buildings and landscapes, focusing on how to "read" buildings within their material, political, social, cultural and economic contexts, and primary source research including oral history, archival research, architectural analysis.