A blogger who writes about the town I'm researching posted a list of named apartment buildings, taken from a 1950 City Directory.
So -- just like a residence event for a person -- this establishes those buildings as still standing as of the time that information was collected, and gives me a list of addresses to cross-check with the residences I have in my database. On the principle of 'start with what you know' I could work backwards in time to see what other directories they are listed in, and see if other Named Buildings 'appear' in the list in the City Directories as I work backwards in time.
These buildings could also be searched for by name in newspapers, directories, and other published material. If they have been torn down to make way for other buildings since 1950, articles about them are likely to mention them by name.
A research plan might be:
- choose a building from the list of named buildings
- check the street name changes list
- check the locality's property tax records and note the type of building and date of construction
- work forwards or backwards as needed in the City Directories to see when the building appears and disappears in the Named Lists (always keeping in mind, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence") to narrow the window
- search for newspaper articles for events mentioning the building by name
One advantage of tracking the 'life' of buildings vs. that of people: most of the time they stay in the same place. Unless the boundaries of the municipality change, you have a much better idea of where they are 'born' and 'die'. There are exceptions -- one large house in my own community was moved several blocks away from its original location -- but on the whole, buildings are much less mobile than their occupants, and when they move, it's far more likely to make the local news.
See also How to Research the History of Your House at This Old House.