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: The cover letter to the cemetery which accompanied the permit to create the mausoleum. The specifications document contains the general preamble for all specs of the general working conditions the contractor will undertake and the integrity of the workers. The specs also contain information as to the foundation work and materials to be used.
Drawing Material: Letterhead and thin tracing paper for typing.
Materials Noted: Granite, stone, cement, marble, brass and glass.
Condition: Good. Very readable and clear. There are a lot of folds along the bottom right corners and small tears around the edges.
Scale: 1” = 1ft
Details: The mausoleum is constructed in the Egyptian Revival style with two Greek urns flanking the three entrance steps. Two columns with horizontal banding and decorative palm leaves frame the recessed entrance. The exterior walls are slanted inwards. There is an ornamental relief above the double front, bronze doors. The doors themselves have an ornamental decoration on them split into three parts each: two small squares with a larger rectangle in the center. The lintel above the entrance has a relief carving of a winged solar disc -- this is an icon that Egyptians believe offered protection to the dead. Above the lintel is a flat roof made up of one large granite slab.
Size: 23.4” x 26.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole at the top left hand corner and smaller staple holes running along the top. The bottom left corner is torn. However, the blueprint itself is in excellent condition.
Date: March 22, 1909
Details: Three Egyptian revival style columns, each with decorative palm leaves at the top line the side of the mausoleum. A large Greek urn sits atop the entrance way to the mausoleum. The slanted walls and mausoleum base are also noted. The flat roof is shown too.
Size: 23” x 26.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole at the top left corner and small staple holes along the top. There is minor wear and tear along the left edge.
Details: A stained glass window with a bronze grille over it is in the back center of the plan. It is flanked by two columns of the same style as the others in this series. The window is outlined by a large frame in the same slanted style as the mausoleum itself.
Size: 23.3” x 26.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole at the top left corner and smaller staple holes along the top. The blueprint has a small folded corner at the top right.
Details: The foundation and base of mausoleum are noted. To the left the Greek urn sits upon the floor base at the entranceway. One Egyptian style column is visible. The inner mausoleum notes four catacombs, each with two decorative rosettes on either end. The back wall shows the outline of the window and another column is visible. A rod extends from the ceiling to the roof.
Size: 23.4” x 26.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Marble
Notes/Markings: Inside the top catacomb is the note: “All exposed interior marble work to be highly polished.” At the bottom on the floor a note reads: “Floor Rubbed.”
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole at the top left with smaller staple holes along the top. There is very minor wear and tear around the edges.
Details: Each side of the blueprint shows an Egyptian revival style column. The inner mausoleum has four catacombs on each side with the window in the center. All this rests upon the floor and foundation of the mausoleum. There is a hanger going from the ceiling to the roof.
Size: 26.6” x 23.3”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: A note in the bottom center of the plan reads: “All wainscotting to be not less than 1 ¼” thick.”
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole at the top left with smaller staple holes along the top of the plan.
Details: Outlined here is a view of the mausoleum and layout from above. There are 2 circles for the urns at the entrance with 10 column top outlines around the entire structure. Two are at the entrance, two are at the back and three on each side of the mausoleum. The inner mausoleum is divided into three parts with the far left and right sides for the catacombs and the center being the floor.
Size: 23.2” x 26.8”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Notes/Markings: The bottom left of the inside of the structure notes: “Rabbit” and the top left notes: “Stock.”
Condition: Very Good. There is a hole in the center of the plan with smaller staple holes either side.
Scale: 1” = 1ft.
Details: The foundation depth and materials used for the mausoleum are noted here. the inner mausoleum and catacombs are outlined.
Size: 25.5” x 27.8” (at longest and widest edges)
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Rubble, Masonry
Notes/Markings: On the right side: “Top of rubble masonery foundation 2” below sod or grade line.”
Condition: Fair. Ripped edges all around the blueprint and holes along the top. There is a rip in the bottom center going upwards.
Scale: 1” = 1ft.
Details:See Item H
Size: 27” x 29.5” (at longest and widest edges)
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Condition: Fair. Similar to “H” in this series, this plan has not fared well over time. It is ripped with pieces missing and fold lines.
