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 includes detailed plans for the mausoleum, and covers the general working conditions and construction methods. The materials to be used are noted, as well as the types of cement and concrete needed for construction. Each part of the mausoleum is outlined with which material to be used and how it is to be set into the design and construction. At the back of the document is a letter from Benisch Bros. Monumental Works dated October 7, 1908 which discusses the excavation noted in the plans of Mr. Sudlow. There is a diagram of “Vine Avenue” and in pencil under the typed part of the letter is written, “Start digging Monday, October 12.”
Size: 8” x 13”
Drawing Material: Typing paper
Materials Noted: Concrete, cement, brick, cinder, granite, stone, brass, marble, bronze, glass, and slate.
Notes/Markings: On page 12 of document written in pencil along each section in the margin is the word, “thickness.” Underneath that word, along the bottom is written in pencil, “2”.
Condition: Very good. The only damage is along the bottom right of the document which is curled throughout the 15-pages.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: This plan shows an aerial view of the mausoleum from the bottom up. There are four columns at the bottom (entrance to the mausoleum), two on each side of the door. A step is shown leading up to a bronze saddle, door, and frame. Inside the door a circular bronze inlay is shown in a marble floor, which is made up of three pieces. The top of the plan shows a window at the rear of the mausoleum. In addition to the perimeter of the mausoleum, the foundation line and line of stylobate are also shown.
Size: 16” x 17.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Bronze, slate, and marble.
Notes/Markings: At the top center of the plan is written “drawing of the sarcophagus given after.”
Condition: Very good. A couple small tears/holes at the top of the drawing.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: This plan shows the foundation of the mausoleum. The bases of the internal and external walls are shown and marked with the material they will be made of.
Size: 15.5” x 17”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Slate, cinder fill, brick, and concrete.
Condition: Very good. There are a few small tears/holes at the top of the drawing.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: Front Elevation: this plan, on the left side of the blueprint, is a detailed diagram of the front of the mausoleum. The line of footing under the stylobate is noted underneath the foundation. Above the foundation are steps leading to the doorway and entrance. There are two fluted columns on either side of the front door. The ornate front doors feature rectangular grilles and smaller cross designs. The top of the peaked roof has an ornate floral design, and either side of the roof also has decorative ornamentation.
Side Elevation: this plan, on the right side of the blueprint, shows the mausoleum from the side. It illustrates one front column, the side wall, roof, and decorative ornamentation at the roof’s front and rear. The grade of the slate and two side vents are also shown.
A small drawing illustrating the “Elevation of Door” is also on this blueprint, between the two larger drawings.
Size: 28.5” x 17.3”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Slate
Condition: Very good. Some small holes/tears along the edges.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: This plan features three drawings: a full foundation plan, “Section Thro. Line B-B”, and “Section Thro. Line A-A”. The full foundation plan illustrates the outer walls, interior mausoleum, and spots for “cinder fill”. The two smaller drawings illustrate specific sections of the full plan, which are marked by lines “A” and “B” on the large drawing.
Size: 27.8” x 15.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Cinder fill
Condition: Good. There is a crease down the middle and light wear and tear.
Scale: ½” = 1’
Details: This plan shows a cross-section of the mausoleum from the rear. The external walls, roof, and foundation are illustrated, some marked with measurements or materials to be used. A window with decorative bronze grille, featuring the Masonic insignia, is shown at the center of the mausoleum’s rear wall.
Size: 14.5” x 18.5”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Iron, bronze, glass, cinder fill, slate, marble, and stone (marked as ashlar).
Notes/Markings: Notes throughout the plan indicate building materials and measurements, including a note under the window calling for bronze frame, sash and sill.
Condition: Very good. There are three holes along the top of the blueprint.
Details: Longitudinal Section: This plan shows a detailed view of the interior right side of the mausoleum. Each different part of the structure is illustrated, and the building material to be used is indicated. The grade line and foundation are also shown.
Rear Elevation: This plan shows the mausoleum from the back, including two side columns, the roof and ornamentation, and rear window with Masonic insignia. The grade line is also shown, extending from one side of the mausoleum to the other.
Size: 28.5” x 17”
Drawing Material: Blueprint
Materials Noted: Glass, slate, cinder fill, marble, and bronze.
Condition: Good. Small rips and holes along the edges, visible crease lines.
