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: From the builder John McKeefrey, this document outlines all the specifications, materials and work to be done in the construction of the mausoleum.
Size: 9” x 13.5”
Drawing Material: document
Materials Noted: concrete, granite, cement, marble, slate, glass and bronze.
Notes/Markings: The last page of this document, under the section titled, “MARBLE - INTERIOR FINISH” handwritten words have been added, “SHALL BE 4” THICK AND…”
Condition: Very good. The first page is curled at the bottom and there is a staple hole along the top left side of the plan.
Details: Written to Green-Wood Cemetery, Mr. Lavery states that enclosed with the letter are foundation blueprints.
Size: 8.5” x 11”
Drawing Material: Cream colored letterhead paper with engraved name and address.
Condition: Good. The paper is curled along the bottom and the top of the paper is dirty from age. The address portion is smudged. There is a staple hole on the top left side.
Details: Written to Green-Wood Cemetery by the builder, the letter discusses the position of the mausoleum and requests that the cemetery begin the installation of the foundation. Mr. McKeefrey states that he will pay for the foundation costs.
Size: 8.5” x 11”
Drawing Material: cream colored letterhead paper with the engraved name, address and telephone number of the builder.
Notes/Markings: The back of the letter is stamped with the date, April 27, 8:29AM, 1918 in blue ink.
Condition: Good. The letter has minor fold lines visible and a staple hole on the top left side.
Details: This view shows the entrance and front of the mausoleum. There is a peaked roof made of three slabs, with a thick lintel bearing the family name in deeply incised letters, which rests upon two thick Roman Tuscan-style columns. The columns are on either side of the front door. There is a bronze grille on the front door.
Size: 15.3” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze
Condition: Very good. There is some visible wear and tear and the blueprint is fairly faint, but still legible.
Details: SEE “D” ABOVE
Size: 15.3” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Good. Much of this blueprint is very faded due to age and exposure to light. There are staple holes along the left side of the blueprint.
Date: December 10, 1917
Details: This back view shows the construction of the mausoleum as large slabs with a window in the center which has a grille over it. The back of the peaked roof is also shown.
Size: 15.3” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very good. There are staple holes along the left side of the blueprint.
Details: The only difference between this blueprint and “F” is that this blueprint has not been approved by Green-Wood and its condition is not as great.
Size: 15.3” x 12.6”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Good. There is visible wear and tear around the edges with rips along the top of the plan.
Details: Here we see a side view of the mausoleum building. One of the Tuscan-style columns is shown leading up to the base of the roof, and a large slab of the lower part of the roof is shown. Four air vents are illustrated on the blueprint, with two on the bottom and two at the lower roof level. The side wall is made up of large slabs.
Size: 15.5” x 12.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Good. The blueprint is faded, but readable. There are staple holes along the left side of the drawing and a very small curl in the paper at the bottom right-hand side.
Details: SEE “H” IN THIS SERIES
Size: 15” x 12.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Good. The blueprint is very faded, but still readable. There are staple holes along the left-side of the plan
Scale: ¾” = 1ft
Date: December 10, 1917
Details: This plan is the layout of the mausoleum floor. It shows the entranceway and the doorway leading into the mausoleum. The inside is divided into three rectangles with the center one being the largest of the three. The outer wall is also outlined.
Size: 15.4” x 14.1”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Marble
Notes/Markings: There are some orange pencil notes in the center and right side of the plan. The center note reads: “is this 1 piece.” The right-side note reads: “4” thick floor.”
Condition: Very good. There is visible wear and tear around the edges, but nothing that detracts from reading the plan. There are staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: SEE “J” IN THIS SERIES
Size: 15” x 14.1”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Fair. While still legible, the plan has thick paper-colored lines over portions that cover the blueprint making it harder to read than the duplicate in this series.
Details: This view shows the outer wall of the mausoleum and the inner marble floor. The outer wall is also shown below the grade line to show depth of foundation. The window at the back of the mausoleum is outlined, with a large arch around it. A brass bar extends from the ceiling of the mausoleum to the top slab of the peaked roof. Four vents are outlined on the sides of the mausoleum.
Size: 14.8” x 13.4”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Marble
Notes/Markings: There are orange pencil markings of measurements on the inner portion of the mausoleum and the top right side of the roof. The bottom of the plan has a note that reads: “NOTE: FOOTINGS AS REQUIRED BY THE GREENWOOD CEMETERY.”
Condition: Very Good. There is visible wear and tear along the edges of the plan and staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: SEE “L” IN THIS SERIES
Size: 13.7” x 13.6”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Fair. There are thick lines over the blueprint making it harder to read, but not unreadable. Some of these marks look like arrows or notes to be read, but it is unclear.
Details: This view shows one of the columns and the bronze door leading into the mausoleum. Three catacombs are shown, each with two rosettes on their sides. There is a ceiling hanger that extends from the ceiling inside the mausoleum to the roof. The marble floor of the inner mausoleum is also shown.
Size: 13.3” x 13.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: marble, bronze
Notes/Markings: The bottom of the blueprint reads: “NOTE: FOOTINGS AS REQUIRED BY THE GREENWOOD CEMETERY.”
Condition: Very good. The blueprint is faded from age but readable. There are staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Details: SEE “N” IN THIS SERIES
Size: 13.5” x 13”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: Along the bottom of the plan there are thick circles and a line that seems to be highlighting the circles, denoting stone at the foundation level of the plan.
Condition: Very good. There is minor wear and tear around the edges of the plan, and staple holes along the left side of the plan.
Scale: 1”= 1ft.
Details: This plan lays out the entire mausoleum with all measurements and materials to be used. The bronze doors that are the entranceway to the inner mausoleum open outwards. Marble flooring lines the inside of the mausoleum floor, with a slate around the edges. The back window is also shown.
Size: 16.8” x 20”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze, marble and slate.
Notes/Markings: There are numerous notes about the plan. By the doorway, it reads: “BRONZE DOOR OPENS OUT.” At the very bottom on the right side, it reads: “STEP CHECKED.” The center of the plan has a note that reads: “MARBLE FLOOR 2 PIECES 4” THICK.”
Condition: Good. The plan is legible but quite faded and not very clear. There is visible wear and tear around the edges with the bottom left and right corners missing.
Scale: 1”=1ft
Details: For more detailed explanation of this plan SEE “N” AND “O” IN THIS SERIES. The only difference in this blueprint is that this blueprint is larger, and contains additional notes (see below).
Size: 18.3” x 19.7”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Marble
Notes/Markings: On one of the catacombs it reads: “ALL EXPOSED SURFACES POLISHED.” On the ceiling below the rod, a note reads: “1 ½” CEILING IN 2 PIECES.” On another catacomb at the bottom of the plan , a note reads: “⅛” SQUARE HOLE TO RECEIVE BRONZE ROSETTES.” On the left side of the plan at the door entrance a note reads: “OPENING 6’-3” DOOR.” The floor of the plan reads: “4” MARBLE FLOOR.”
Condition: Good. The plan is in-tact and readable, but very faded with age. There are visible fold lines and staple holes along the bottom of the plan.
Details: This plan outlines the foundation of the mausoleum. On the inside of the plan it says that there is sotted concrete under the marble. The foundation is made out of concrete and there are at least two walls.
Size: 18.5” x 19.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Concrete and marble.
Condition: Fair. The blueprint is very faded with age and has visible fold lines. There is also a large piece missing from the top right side of the plan.
