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 contains all the general conditions, dimensions, and materials needed for construction and completion of the mausoleum.
Size: 8.5” x 13”
Drawing Material: Letter
Materials Noted: Granite, stone, bronze, glass, and marble.
Condition: Good. The paper is brittle and folded along the bottom. The document has been folded into thirds.
Details: This letter, written by the architectural firm to Green-Wood, is confirmation of a telephone conversation regarding a change in the foundation material from rubble masonry to concrete above the grade line. Handwritten measurements and notes regarding the change were at one point stapled to the letter; they are no longer attached, but are included in the file.
Size: 8.4” x 11”
Drawing Material: Thick, cream-colored letterhead paper, with black pen ink.
Materials Noted: Concrete, rubble
Condition: The ink and pencil writing and measurements are clearly visible and in very good condition. The letter, however, is folded and creased. Staple holes are visible.
Details: This blueprint shows the front doors, front side walls, roof of the mausoleum, and a bronze window above the doors. The family name is written in block, raised letters. The two ornamental doors each have a square on the bottom, a handle above, and rectangular decorative windows. The roof is made up of three large stone slabs coming together in a peak.
Size: 24” x 18”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze, granite, marble, cement.
Notes/Markings: The right side of the plan has a handwritten note in black ink which reads, “Note: All granite and marble to be set in La Farge Cement.”
Condition: Excellent. There are a few staple holes along the left side of the plan. The back of the blueprint has some water damage.
Details: This is the general foundation plan for the mausoleum. The front of the mausoleum is shown on the right side of the drawing, illustrating the entranceway foundation through the interior of the mausoleum to the back wall. The interior is divided into three long rectangles from the entrance to the back wall. There are two intermediate walls between them that are 3’ below grade. The outer wall measures 1’6” thick to the interior of the mausoleum. The main walls are 4’ deep.
Size: 24.2” x 17”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good. The left side of the plan has some creases, but they do not adversely affect the readability of the plan. The back of the blueprint is very dirty and yellowed with age.
Details: See Item D in this series.
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good, the same as Item D apart from the lack of creasing on the left side.
Details: This general plan is similar to Items “D” and “E” in this series. However, the flooring is laid out differently. This plan shows marble flooring and lines running horizontally (if viewed from the front of the mausoleum) down the center of the floor. Slate is noted as the material for the intermediate wall that divides the floor.
Size: 24” x 18.7”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Slate, marble
Notes/Markings: A couple of pencil and pen notations are on the plan along the bottom half of the blueprint.
Condition: Very good. Some wear and tear along the bottom right side. Visible staple holes along the left side. The back of the plan has some water damage, which does not impact legibility.
Details: The side elevation shows the mausoleum from the foundation upwards. Each portion measured with the level line noted.
Size: 22.7” x 16.4”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Rubble, concrete
Notes/Markings: In the center of the plan is written, “Note, Concrete Side Walls 1’-2” thick above level line. Rear 1’-4” thick.” Along the level line a note says, “LEVEL LINE - grade at front of Step.”
Condition: Very good. There is mild creasing and a fold long in the center of the plan.
Details: The side elevation shows the mausoleum from the foundation upwards. Each portion measured with the level line noted.
Size: 23.2” x 16.5’
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good. The paper is faded, but the blueprint diagram is still readable.
Details: This side elevation shows the entire side of the mausoleum, not just the foundation. The grade line is marked through the plan from the foundation of rubble masonry to the top of the roof. The side cement slabs are also shown.
Size: 24” x 18.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Rubble masonry
Condition: Very good. There is some minor wear and tear around the edges of the plan and there are slight tears along the top of the plan. Staple holes are visible along the left side of the plan.
Details: Here the blueprint outlines bronze handles in each square of the interior of the mausoleum (24 bronze handles in total). The outer walls surround the squares and bronze handles. The three stone slab peaked roof is also shown.
Size: 24” x 18.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze
Condition: Very good. There are a few staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: The blueprint outlines the brass grille on the left side of the plan (the front entrance of the mausoleum) and the bronze hanger on the roof. The flat platform of the roof is visible.
Size: 24” x 18.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Glass, bronze.
Condition: Very good. There is very minor wear and tear along the bottom of the plan. Two sets of staple holes are visible along the left side of the plan.
