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
Details: This document gives the regular preamble of all specifications documents and includes the materials to be used, measurement, working conditions and ventilation of the mausoleum.
Size: 13.5” x 9”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Granite, cement, slate, marble, bronze and glass
Condition: Good. This document is no longer held together by a staple and the front pages and backing are dirty. However, the specifications are very clear and readable.
Details: This document is very similar to “A” above. However, there are minor differences in layout - not content. This document is made up of a lighter type and has the headings on the left side of the page instead of centered.
Size: 13.5” x 9”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: SEE “A” ABOVE
Condition: Very Good. This document is clean and exhibits only minor wear and tear around the edges.
Scale: ¼” = 1ft.
Details: This blueprint outlines the entire lot for the mausoleum from the street through to the grounds and the building itself.
Size: 10.2” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: In pencil, there is a handwritten note that is partially unreadable, but for the most part, says: “in _______ grade of platform.”
Condition: Good. There is a ripped away piece of the blueprint at the top left side and small staple holes along the top.
Details: See Item C in this series
Size: 10.5” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good. There is slight wear and tear around the edges.
Details: See Item C in this series.
Size: 10.5” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Two staple holes along the top of the plan.
Details: See item C in this series.
Size: 10.5” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Two staple holes along the top of the plan.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft.
Details: The blueprint outlines the entranceway to the mausoleum. There are steps leading up to the doorway. Two ornamental bronze doors are surrounded by a decorative frame with the family name on the lintel above the front door in block letters. The flat base of the ceiling is made up of a decorative stone with slabs above it and another flat base. The entire mausoleum is a rectangular shape.
Size: 25” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze
Notes/Markings: On the steps a note reads: “steps housed 2”” below this note reads another on the steps that says: “cut solid.” A note on the left side of the door says: “False Joints Cut on Jambs.” Another note above the family name says: “One PIece With False Joints.”
Condition: Very Good. There is visible wear and tear around the edges, most particularly the right side which is torn. There are staple holes along the left side.
Details: See item G in this series.
Size: 25.2” x 23.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges with staple holes along the top.
Details: See Item G in this series.
Size: 25.2” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges with staple holes along the left side.
Details: This blueprint outlines the foundation and steps leading up to the mausoleum. The side of the entrance way is noted as are five catacombs each with two bronze rosettes on them. An outline of a window on the back wall of the mausoleum is shown. There is a hanger from the ceiling vent to the roof also noted.
Size: 25.2” x 24”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze
Condition: Very Good. Very minor wear and tear around the edges with staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: See Item J in this series.
Size: 25.5” x 23.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges with staple holes.
Size: 13.5” x 24”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Fair. A lot of wear and tear around the edges with rips and tears. The blueprint is also dirty and there are visible fold lines throughout.
Details: The left side of the plan shows the catacombs (5 of them). The art glass window is also outlined as is the swing frame. The ceiling is visible as is the bronze hanger from the ceiling to the roof.
Size: 25.5” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Glass
Notes/Markings: in orange pencil there are various notes on the blueprint: the walls are 1 ½”; the ceiling is 2”; and a last note reads: 1 ¼” front.”
Condition: Good. There are tears around the edges of the paper with staple holes, but the plan is still very clear and readable.
Details: See Item M in this series
Size: 26.4” x 24”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Concrete
Condition: Good. The edges of the plan are not in good condition, but the plan is clear and readable.
Details: See Item M in this series.
Size: 25.2” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is only minor wear and tear around the edges with small staple holes along the left side.
Details: Here the rear, foundation, wall and ceiling are outlined. The wall has two vents along the bottom with a window in the center. There is a decorative border between the main wall and the ceiling, which also has two vents in it. There is another decorative border and a flat roof.
Size: 26.5” x 23.2”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: The bottom right says: “raised joint.”
Condition: Very Good. The plan itself is in very good condition, but the paper is torn and very worn along the right side, with minor wear and tear along the other edges.
Details: See Item P in this series.
Size: 25.5” x 23.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Very minor wear and tear around the edges. Staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: See Item P in this series.
Size: 25” x 23.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Minor wear and tear around the edges with staples holes along the left side.
Details: This blueprint view shows the side of the mausoleum from the foundation upwards. The platform and steps leading up to the building itself are shown with the side wall drawn. There are four vents on the side - two at the top and two on the floor. The roof is flat.
Size: 25.8” x 23.4”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good. There is minor wear and tear around the edges with staple holes along the top of the plan.
Details: See Item S in this series.
Size: 25.2” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is minor wear and tear around the edges, with staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: See Item S in this series.
Size: 26.2” x 23.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is minimal wear and tear around the edges of the plan, with staple holes along the left side.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft.
Details: This blueprint lays out the entire mausoleum from the outside steps to the entranceway and inner mausoleum building. Measurements are given for each area of the plan.
Size: 25.1” x 23.4”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is minor wear and tear around the edges but the plan is clear and readable.
Details: See Item V in this series.
Size: 25.4” x 23.2”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. Small staple holes along the left side of the plan. There is tape along the back bottom of the plan.
Details: See Item V in this series.
Size: 25.4” x 23”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Good. The blueprint itself is clear and readable, but the edges of the paper are torn away.
Scale: ¾” = 1ft.
Details: This plan outlines the foundation for the entire lot of the mausoleum and the land it sits on.
Size: 26” x 31.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Poor. The blueprint is very faded and hard to read. The edges are torn and deep folds mark the paper.
Details: Duplicate of Item Y in this series.
Size: 26: x 31”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: Measurements written in pencil dot the page.
Condition: Poor. This blueprint is very faded with torn edges. It is readable but faint.
Details: See Item Y in this series.
Size: 26 x 31.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Poor. This duplicate is the best of the three. The plan is faint but readable. The edges are all torn and ripped.
