By Nathalie Belkin, Lead Processor; Gabriella Carl-Johnson, Kay Menick, Sara Fetherolf, Erin Allsop, Jessica Mack, and Katie Alleman, Interns
Title: Architectural Drawings and Blueprints, c. 1880s-1990s
Predominant Dates:1910-1930s
Extent: 0.0
Subjects: A. Faranda and Son, Acea family, Agoglia family, Altar to Liberty: Minerva, Architectural Drawings, Architecture, Arnold, K.F., Arnold, N.B., Arnold family, Art nouveau (Architecture), Bahrenburg, John H., Bahrenburg family, Barclay family, Barrow, ME James T., Barrow family, Barthman family, Beaux-Arts architecture, Benisch Bros. Monumental Works, Blueprints, Bourne family, Bromell family, Brown, John W., Brown family, Buildings--Design and construction, C.E. Tayntor & Co., Cemeteries--New York (State)--New York--History, Cinerary urns, Colyer family, Cushman, Eugene, Cutting, James D.W., Cutting family, Daly, Margaret, Daly family, Davis Granite Co, Architects and Contractors, de Aldama family, DeLaCour and Ferrara, Delafield, Major Rich D., Delafield family, Dewey family, Doerschuck family, Dunne family, Egyptian revival (Architecture), Euler family, Farrington, Gould and Hoagland, Feitner, John, Felzmann family, Flagg, Ernest, Gilbert family, Goodnough family, Gothic revival (Architecture), Gould, J. R, Gould, James S., Gould family, Green-Wood Cemetery--New York, N.Y., Greve family, Griswold family, Hapgood family, Harder family, Harrison Granite Co., Havemeyer family, Heins and La Farge Architects, Higgins, Charles, Higgins family, Hillside architecture, Hoffman & Prochazka, Designers, Sculptors, and Builders, Horn, Alfred E., Horn family, Howland family, John Thatcher & Son, Kampfe family, Kenneth, W.D., Lawrence family, Lingard family, Ludlum, Emma R., Ludlum family, Martin, Robert, Martin family, Mausoleums, McAlpin family, Murdock family, Obelisks, Parish family, Parsons family, Penn Brass and Bronze Works, Pitbladdo Monumental Works, Polak family, Presbrey-Coykendall Company, Presbrey-Leland Monument Company, Renwick, Aspinwall, and Tucker, Reynolds family, Riley family, Ritzheimer family, Robinson, F. Delancey, Romanesque architecture, Rosanelli family, Ruckstull, F. W. (Fred Wellington), 1853-1942, Sands family, Sarcophagi, Sculpture and architecture, Sepulchral chapels, Sepulchral monuments, Victorian, Sepulchral monuments--New York (State)--New York, Sepulchral monuments--United States, Sepulchral monuments industry, Smallman, Thomas F., Smallman family, Somers family, Stephens, Annie W., Stephens, Benjamin F., Stephens family, Stevenson family, Stone, Gould, & Co, Designers and Builders, Sullivan, John W., Sullivan family, Texter family, Tiefel family, Tombs & sepulchral monuments, Torrio, Johnny, Torrio Family, Umberto Innocenti and Richard K. Webel, Landscape Architects, Underground architecture, Upjohn, Hobart, VanRensselaer family, Vaults (Sepulchral), W.F. Benedict & Son, W.W. Leland Co. Inc., Walsh, James F., Warren & Wetmore, Wesselman family, Wood family, Woolley family
Languages: English
The Architectural Drawings and Blueprints collection contains over 150 separate series of designs, each of which has one to around 20 individual drawings. Each series represents designs for a mausoleum or other architectural feature at Green-Wood Cemetery.
Most of the designs are for private family mausoleums, although the collection also includes blueprint materials for the historic Green-Wood chapel designed by Warren & Wetmore, alterations made to the Fifth Avenue gate, and plans for the mid-twentieth-century Columbarium. Other notable features in the collection include the Higgins mausoleum series, which contains photographs and early designs of the famous Battle Hill monument Altar to Liberty: Minerva by sculptor F. Wellington Ruxell. Many additional series may include more famous names in New York City history, such as those for the Cooper-Hewitt family and the Torrio family.
The majority of these drawings are printed on large blueprint paper, although there are a significant number of series that contain original drawings on tracing paper or drafting linen, as well as prints on Mylar, photocopy paper, or other reproduction materials. Many series also contain specifications documents—legal agreements between the architectural firm and the cemetery, which outline the plans, materials, and workman regulations for construction. In some cases, there is additional material, such as correspondence with lot owners and alternate mausoleum designs.
The collection’s dates range from the 1880s to the 1990s; the majority of the mausoleum designs were created between 1910 and 1930, at a time when it was widely popular among upper-class families to have a mausoleum or vault in which to inter their deceased relatives. Many architects of the time specialized in mausoleum design. Architectural firms that produced a large number of mausoleum designs in this collection include the Presbrey-Leland Monument Company, John Feitner Architects, and the Harrison Granite Company.
Researchers may wish to consult a specific series, which can give an interesting insight into the family in question, or they may wish to look at multiple series in the collection, in order to gain an example of the way construction and design aesthetics changed over time. The collection is a particularly valuable example of the way cemetery architecture developed in its golden years, particularly because many of the wealthiest and most prestigious New York families chose to be interred at Green-Wood.
The collection is currently stored in two locations—some material is in the Green-Wood archives, while many other blueprints are kept in the surveyor’s office of the administrative building. The container list has additional information on each item in this significant and highly variable collection, including notes on the date of designs, the architectural firm that created the drawings, and information on the size, condition, markings, and design features of each piece. All blueprint materials have been scanned and are digitally available; a preview of the image file is attached to each item. High-resolution images of each scan are available upon request.
The material is in varying condition, and embrittled drawings have been encapsulated in Mylar to ensure preservation.
The Green-Wood archives hold additional records acquired from the Presbrey-Leland Monument Company relating to Green-Wood Cemetery, and researchers may find it useful to consult this collection in conjunction with the Architectural Drawings and Blueprints.
A. Faranda and Son
Acea family
Agoglia family
Altar to Liberty: Minerva
Architectural Drawings
Architecture
Arnold, K.F.
Arnold, N.B.
Arnold family
Art nouveau (Architecture)
Bahrenburg, John H.
Bahrenburg family
Barclay family
Barrow, ME James T.
Barrow family
Barthman family
Beaux-Arts architecture
Benisch Bros. Monumental Works
Blueprints
Bourne family
Bromell family
Brown, John W.
Brown family
Buildings--Design and construction
C.E. Tayntor & Co.
Cemeteries--New York (State)--New York--History
Cinerary urns
Colyer family
Cushman, Eugene
Cutting, James D.W.
Cutting family
Daly, Margaret
Daly family
Davis Granite Co, Architects and Contractors
de Aldama family
DeLaCour and Ferrara
Delafield, Major Rich D.
Delafield family
Dewey family
Doerschuck family
Dunne family
Egyptian revival (Architecture)
Euler family
Farrington, Gould and Hoagland
Feitner, John
Felzmann family
Flagg, Ernest
Gilbert family
Goodnough family
Gothic revival (Architecture)
Gould, J. R
Gould, James S.
Gould family
Green-Wood Cemetery--New York, N.Y.
Greve family
Griswold family
Hapgood family
Harder family
Harrison Granite Co.
Havemeyer family
Heins and La Farge Architects
Higgins, Charles
Higgins family
Hillside architecture
Hoffman & Prochazka, Designers, Sculptors, and Builders
Horn, Alfred E.
Horn family
Howland family
John Thatcher & Son
Kampfe family
Kenneth, W.D.
Lawrence family
Lingard family
Ludlum, Emma R.
Ludlum family
Martin, Robert
Martin family
Mausoleums
McAlpin family
Murdock family
Obelisks
Parish family
Parsons family
Penn Brass and Bronze Works
Pitbladdo Monumental Works
Polak family
Presbrey-Coykendall Company
Presbrey-Leland Monument Company
Renwick, Aspinwall, and Tucker
Reynolds family
Riley family
Ritzheimer family
Robinson, F. Delancey
Romanesque architecture
Rosanelli family
Ruckstull, F. W. (Fred Wellington), 1853-1942
Sands family
Sarcophagi
Sculpture and architecture
Sepulchral chapels
Sepulchral monuments, Victorian
Sepulchral monuments--New York (State)--New York
Sepulchral monuments--United States
Sepulchral monuments industry
Smallman, Thomas F.
Smallman family
Somers family
Stephens, Annie W.
Stephens, Benjamin F.
Stephens family
Stevenson family
Stone, Gould, & Co, Designers and Builders
Sullivan, John W.
Sullivan family
Texter family
Tiefel family
Tombs & sepulchral monuments
Torrio, Johnny
Torrio Family
Umberto Innocenti and Richard K. Webel, Landscape Architects
Underground architecture
Upjohn, Hobart
VanRensselaer family
Vaults (Sepulchral)
W.F. Benedict & Son
W.W. Leland Co. Inc.
Walsh, James F.
Warren & Wetmore
Wesselman family
Wood family
Woolley family
Scale: ½” = 1'
Details: No title block. Supplemental to composite drawing. Noted as “Design D”.
Size: 12” x 17”
Drawing Materials: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: Several notes made in black wax pencil at lower edge of drawing. “Note: See A Drawing for Names on Curved Walls and on Pylons.” On reverse in pencil is noted: “25/28”.
Condition: Several fold lines across document. Small holes in corners from binding. Some wrinkling near top edge.
Style/Design Details: Neoclassical/Egyptian revival with some Baroque/gothic detailing. Four pylons in front elevation; two flanking entrance and two at ends of curved wall. Pylons at entrance are larger, with coat-of-arms on front face. Pylons are set atop neoclassical bases. Semi-circular, curved roofline with cavetto cornice, which also carries across curved walls to end pylons. Large Romanesque cross carved above arched doorway.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: Noted near title block: “The block was built under the superintendence and engineering of Major Richd Delafield, United States Corps of Engineers during year 1853.” Title block states: “F. Delancey Robinson – Architect – 1933 Changes –New York City”.
Size: 26” x 22”
Drawing Materials: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: Several notes made in pencil on elevation drawing, regarding pylons and coat of arms. On reverse in pencil, “25/28” is noted in three places.
Condition: Missing section at center of top edge, repaired tape. Numerous tears along edges and along fold lines. Folds and tears at lower edge. Encapsulated in Mylar.
Style/Design Details: Neoclassical with Baroque and Egyptian revival touches. Four pylons in front elevation—two flanking entrance, and one at either end of curved wall. Each pylon is stacked on a neoclassical base; entrance pylons are roughly twice the size of end pylons. Cavetto cornice on roofline, extending across curved wall, to corniceline of end pylons.
Scale: ¾” = 1’ in sections; 1/8” = 1’ in plan.
Details: “No. 4873 B” noted at lower right corner.
Size: 31” x 14”
Drawing Materials: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: Granite, old white marble, brownstone, slate, bronze expansion bolts with rosettes, brick arch and stone wall.
Notes/Markings: At upper left is noted “Plan for new interior work/ F. Delancy Robinson/ Architect/ 121 East 37th St. New York”.
Condition: Deep fold line vertically at center. Several small tears along lower edge.
Style/Design Details: Three vaults high; five vaults wide.
Scale: Noted as ¾” scale—copies are not to scale.
Details: “Side-Hill Vault Lot No. 25-28 Sec 36”. Drawing notes future capacity of vault.
Size: Five copies total. Three copies are 8 ½” x 11”; one copy is 8 ½” x 14”; one copy is 11” x 17”.
Drawing Materials: Black and white photocopy on standard copier paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: None supplemental.
Style/Design Details: Cemetery engineer’s drawing to indicate future capacity of vault.
Scale: ¾” = 1'
Details: “Side-Hill Vault Lot No. 25-28 Sec. 36”. Drawing notes future capacities of vaults.
Size: 12” x 17”
Drawing Materials: Black ink on drafting vellum.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: None supplemental.
Condition: Good.
Style/Design Details: Cemetery engineer’s drawing to indicate future capacity of vault.
Scale: No scale noted—approximately 1” = 1’
Details: “Side-Hill Vault Lot Nos. 25-28 Sec 36”.
Size: 12” x 14”
Drawing Materials: Black ink on drafting linen.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: None supplemental.
Condition: Slight wrinkling throughout. Fold lines across document.
Style/Design Details: Straightforward technical drawing indicating interred—total of four vaults as of this drawing.
Scale: No scale noted—approximately 1” = 1’
Details: “Side-Hill Vault Lot No. 25-28 Sec. 36”.
Size: 12” x 14”
Drawing Materials: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: None supplemental.
Condition: Slight fold lines along lower edge.
Style/Design Details: Straightforward technical drawing indicating interred—total of four vaults as of this drawing.
Scale: No scale noted—approximately 1” = 1’
Details: “Side-Hill Vault Lot No. 25-28 Sec. 36”. Drawing notes future capacities of vaults.
Size: 12” x 14”
Drawing Materials: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: On reverse in brown pencil is noted “25/28”.
Condition: Left edge slightly wrinkled and discolored. Small tear at lower edge.
Style/Design Details: Straightforward technical drawing indicating interred—total of four vaults as of this drawing.
Scale: 1/8” = 1’
Details: Shows an aerial view of the mausoleum and its surrounding plot.
Size:
Drawing Material: Black ink on drafting vellum.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: The title block specifies that this drawing is for “Lot Nos. 25-6-7-8 & 3977-78-79-80 Section 36”. A compass is included in the lower right of the plan. “Drawn by J.L.M.” On the reverse, noted in red pencil, is “25/28 & 3977/80”.
Condition: Good.
Scale: 1/8” = 1'
Details: Shows an aerial view of the mausoleum and its surrounding plot.
Size:
Drawing Material: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: The title block specifies that this drawing is for “Lot Nos. 25-6-7-8 & 3977-78-79-80 Section 36”. A compass is included in the lower right of the plan. “Drawn by J.L.M.”
Condition: Good.
Scale: 1/8” = 1’
Details: Shows an aerial view of the mausoleum and its surrounding plot.
Size:
Drawing Material: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: The title block specifies that this drawing is for “Lot Nos. 25-6-7-8 & 3977-78-79-80 Section 36”. No compass is included in the plan. “Drawn by J.L.M.”
Condition: Good.
Scale: 1/8” = 1’
Details: Similar to Items I, J, and K, this plan shows the mausoleum and its circular plot, but this drawing also shows the surrounding lots (12238-41, 3529, and 10744) as well as the neighboring roads (Acacia Path and Ravine Path). Letters A-Q denote specific elevations of the Parish vault and surrounding plots, and a legend in the upper right corner provides the elevations for the corresponding letters.
Size:
Drawing Material: Black ink on drafting paper; penciled notations added later.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: “Drawn by J.L.M.” Penciled notes added later. On the reverse is written “25/28 3977/80” in pencil.
Condition: Good. Slight crease marks throughout.
Scale: Not stated.
Details: “Underground Vault Lot Nos. 3977-3980 Sec. 36.” Names and death dates are provided for 30 crypts.
Size:
Drawing Material: Black ink on drafting linen.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: “Drawn by J.L.M.”
Condition: Good. Slight creases in the lower corners.
Scale: Not stated.
Details: “Underground Vault Lot Nos. 3977-3980 Sec. 36.” Names and death dates are provided for 30 crypts.
Size:
Drawing Material: Blueprint reproduction on paper.
Materials Noted: None specified.
Notes/Markings: “Drawn by J.L.M.”
Condition: Good. Two copies have tears along the bottom where the fold crease is. One copy is stained on the back and contains a pencil drawing. Another copy also has a pencil drawing on the back – a detailed plan – as well as a drawing in blue pen showing 11 crypts.
Details: The first photograph shows the front of the mausoleum; the second photograph shows the right side of the mausoleum; and the third photograph shows the right side and part of the front.
Notes/Markings: Each photograph is marked with a red marker. The backs of the first two photographs have the following notes written in black ink: "25/28 3977/80 Sec 36 Parish/Delafield." The back of the third photograph has a similar note: "27-30 3977-80 Sec 36 Parish/Delafied."
Condition: Good.
