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
Date: August 1, 1939
Details: This letter looks to be a standard request form from John Feitner to the Cemetery. Feitner is asking for the Miner mausoleum foundation to be built in the way that the plans were filed.
Size: 8.5” x 5.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. The paper is slightly yellowed and crumpled with age, but readable and clear.
Details:
Front Elevation: four steps lead up to the entrance way of the mausoleum; Greek Doric fluted columns flank either side of the doorway (two on either side). Four far smaller columns sit above the entrance lintel and blow the peaked roof. The family name “MINER” is written in a rustic slab serif. Small ornate design on either side of the name is drawn in, but hard to make out exactly what it is. The peaked roof is made up of three slabs.
Rear Elevation/Half-Section Transverse: split down the middle with the left side showing the rear of the mausoleum. A column, half the peaked roof is shown and half of a rear stained-glass window is noted. The right side is the transverse half-section which shows the inner mausoleum and a raised area which is likely a sarcophagus. A rod between the ceiling and the roof is also visible.
Size: 30” x 18”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Glass
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges. A fold in the center of the paper to halve the blueprint is clear. There are very small holes along the bottom left of the plan.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft
Details: Drawn as if looking from the side through the wall, the stairs leading up to the entrance way are visible, as is one Greek Doric fluted column. Going through the doorway to the inner mausoleum a large, ornately designed sarcophagus is in the center. The back wall has the outline for the stained glass window. The ceiling of the mausoleum, leading to the base of the roof has three bronze hangers drawn in. The building height is 16’.4” with columns 9’-0.”
Size: 27” x 18”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze, marble, granite
Notes/Markings: The inside of the mausoleum has notes for areas of the floor that say, “Balfour Granite” and “Tennessee Marble.” Where the hangers join the ceiling and roof it says, “Bronze Ceiling Hangers.”
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges. An off-kilter fold line is visible with small holes along the bottom of the plan.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft
Details: This side view notes the outer side view of the mausoleum with steps leading up to the entrance way, a fluted Greek Doric column followed by three non-fluted more columns along the side. There are visible smaller columns from the ceiling to the roof. The grade line is also present.
Size: 27” x 18”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: The bottom left of the plan below the full grade line is a short grade line with a note that says, “Present Grade.” Above that, where the full grade line is, it says “Finished Grade.”
Condition: Very Good. There is a fold line down the middle of the page. there are staple holes along the bottom of the plan.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft.
Details: This blueprint gives the general outline and layout of the mausoleum itself, from the stairs at the front to the inner mausoleum and the back wall with stained glass window. The tops of four columns are noted, as well as two large rectangles on either side of the inner mausoleum. The floor is noted as granite.
Size: 18” x 27”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Granite
Condition: Very Good. There is a horizontal fold along the center of the blueprint. Very minor wear and tear is visible on the edges of the plan. Small staple holes are visible along the top left side of the plan.
Scale: ¾” - 1ft.
Details: Here the entire foundational layout of the mausoleum is shown. The floor level is 6” above the rear grade. There is concrete through the center of the mausoleum. The plan is split into various squares and rectangles with one area to the upper left of the plan that is unexcavated.
Size: 27.3” x 18.4”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Concrete & stone
Notes/Markings: “NOT EXCAVATED” at top left corner; “concrete level through center” down the center line of the mausoleum.
Condition: Good. The plan is readable but very faint with a fold line down the center of the plan.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft.
Details: See Item F in this series
Size: 27.5” x 18”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: In red pencil across the entire blueprint it says, “SEE REVISED PLAN”
Condition: Very good. The plan is clear, with slight fading, but readable. Very minor wear and tear around the edges of the paper and staple holes along the top right corner.