The David C. Fischetti Papers, 1962-2011, document the professional career of David Fischetti and the work of his professional engineering firm, DCF Engineering, Inc. This collection is arranged in three series: drawings, project files, and professional files. The collection consists primarily of architectural drawings and paperwork associated with client projects and Fischetti’s professional development. The projects include covered bridges, historic structures, parks, university campuses, churches, civic facilities, and a few residences. Also included are book and presentation drafts, conference ephemera, photographs, and testimony given by Fischetti in several lawsuits. Geographically, the project files represent projects located primarily, though not exclusively, throughout the eastern seaboard.
David Carmichael Fischetti (1946-2011) was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Clemson University in 1969. In 1975, Fischetti opened his own firm, DCF Engineering, Inc., in Cary, North Carolina, which he operated until his death. He was registered as a Professional Engineer in nineteen states. Fischetti’s engineering projects often focused on historic structures, including covered bridges, churches, and historic properties. His best known project in North Carolina was the twenty-year-long effort to relocate the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, for which he was the engineer of record. For his preservation work, Fischetti was lauded with scores of awards from various state preservation societies and national professional associations.
Fischetti was an active member of state- and national- level professional engineering and historic preservation associations. He gave numerous conference presentations, published scholarly papers, and taught several courses. He was a Professional Fellow of the Historic Resources Imaging Laboratory, School of Architecture at Texas A&M University and received the Orthogonal Medal from the faculty of Graphic Communications at North Carolina State University in 2000. In 2009, Fischetti published a textbook, “Structural Investigation of Historic Buildings.” Fischetti died in March of 2011.
David Carmichael Fischetti (1946-2011) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in a car on the corner of Albany Avenue and Glenwood Roadd. His interest in civil engineering began in high school, when he took art courses at the Pratt Institute and structural courses at Brooklyn Technical High School. He earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Clemson University in 1969. That same year, he took a job with Koppers Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he designed laminated timber structures. He transferred to the company’s Morrisville, North Carolina, location a year later. From 1973 to 1975, he worked for Lassiter Hopkins Engineers of Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1975, Fischetti opened his own firm, DCF Engineering, Inc., in Cary, North Carolina, and was registered as a Professional Engineer in nineteen states. He operated the firm until his death.
Fischetti’s engineering projects often focused on historic structures, including covered bridges and churches. Notably, he engineered the restoration of the Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge on the Vermont-New Hampshire state line and the modern pedestrian footbridge in Old Salem, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Of historic churches, Fischetti worked on St. Philip’s Moravian and St. Paul’s Episcopal, both in Winston-Salem, and St. Helena’s Episcopal in Beaufort, South Carolina, among many others.
Fischetti also worked extensively on historic properties throughout North Carolina and the eastern seaboard. Projects of note include Charleston’s Market Hall and Clemson University’s Fort Hill (John C. Calhoun Mansion), both in South Carolina; James Madison’s Montpelier in Virginia; Shelburne Farms in Vermont; and the Eagle Block Hotel in New Hampshire. In North Carolina, Fischetti worked at length on Yates Mills (Raleigh), Page-Walker Hotel (Cary), the Single Sisters House (Salem College), and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial (Asheville). His best known project in North Carolina was the twenty-year-long effort to relocate the historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, for which he was the engineer of record. For his preservation work, Fischetti was lauded with scores of awards from various state preservation societies and national professional associations.
Fischetti was an active member of state- and national- level professional engineering and historic preservation associations. He gave numerous conference presentations, published scholarly papers, and taught several courses. He was a Professional Fellow of the Historic Resources Imaging Laboratory, School of Architecture at Texas A&M University and received the Orthogonal Medal from the faculty of Graphic Communications at North Carolina State University in 2000. In 2009, Fischetti published a textbook,
The David C. Fischetti Papers, 1962-2011, document the professional career of David Fischetti and the work of his professional engineering firm, DCF Engineering, Inc. This collection is arranged in three series: drawings, project files, and professional files. The collection consists primarily of architectural drawings and paperwork associated with client projects and Fischetti’s professional development. The projects include covered bridges, historic structures, parks, university campuses, churches, civic facilities, and a few residences. Also included are book and presentation drafts, conference ephemera, photographs, and testimony given by Fischetti in several lawsuits. Geographically, the project files represent projects located primarily, though not exclusively, throughout the eastern seaboard.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.
[Identification of item], David C. Fischetti Papers, MC 00423, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Donated by Joyce Fischetti. Accession records 2011.0155 and 2011.0184.
Processed by: Amanda Allen, Aaron Cusick, Lizzie Missey, and Matisha Wiggs; machine-readable finding aid created by: Matisha Wiggs. January 2012; finding aid updated by Shima Hosseininasab, 2021 September & October.
This collection was processed with support from the Council on Library and Information Resources Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives program.
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[Identification of item], David C. Fischetti Papers, MC 00423, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The nature of the NC State University Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NC State University Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.
This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which North Carolina State University assumes no responsibility.
