Guide to the Olive Tjaden papers,
1919-1980

Collection Number: 15-6-2919

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University Library

Contact Information:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
2B Carl A. Kroch Library
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
(607) 255-3530
Fax: (607) 255-9524
rareref@cornell.edu
http://rmc.library.cornell.edu
Compiled by:
J. Parker
Date completed:
September 1997
EAD encoding:
Mireille Lee, July 2000
Date modified:
RMC Staff, April 2013

© 2000 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Olive Tjaden papers, 1919-1980
Collection Number:
15-6-2919
Creator:
Olive Tjaden.
Quantity:
6.2 cubic ft.
Forms of Material:
Correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, business and financial records, lists, clippings, broadsides, diplomas, certificates, licenses, framed images, drawings, watercolors, books, leaded glass items, and architectural instruments.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, business and financial records, lists and other records pertaining to the practice of architecture and the renovation of Tjaden Hall on the Cornell campus, clippings, broadsides, diplomas, certificates, licenses, and other papers. Collection includes framed images, drawings, watercolors, and other visual images deriving from Tjaden's professional career, with numerous references to individual clients and patrons. Also includes books, leaded glass items, and architectural instruments.
Language:
Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Olive Tjaden VanSickle, distinguished alumna of the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell, began her career with a Long Island architect and later opened her own firm. She designed more than 2,000 buildings during 20 years of practice in New York, including her own home in Garden City, Long Island. In 1945 she moved to Florida and participated in the extensive development there. Now retired, she lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Tjaden's work includes a number of large estates on Long Island and in upstate New York, churches, and commercial buildings. In Florida, she continued her work as an architect of residential garden apartments.
At one time in her career, Tjaden was the only woman member of the American Institute of Architects. Among her other professional activities, she was an inspector for the Federal Housing Administration and program director for the Museum of Fine Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
Tjaden Hall (formerly Franklin Hall), on the Cornell University campus, was renamed in her honor in 1980.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, photographs, business and financial records, lists and other records pertaining to the practice of architecture and the renovation of Tjaden Hall on the Cornell campus, clippings, broadsides, diplomas, certificates, licenses, and other papers. Collection includes framed images, drawings, watercolors, and other visual images deriving from Tjaden's professional career, with numerous references to individual clients and patrons. Also includes books, leaded glass items, and architectural instruments.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Tjaden, Olive.
Cornell University--Students.
Cornell University--Buildings.

Subjects:
Architecture--Aesthetics.
Architecture--Conservation and restoration.
Architecture--Designs and plans.
Architecture--Working drawings.
Women architects.

Form and Genre Terms:
Photographs.

Occupations:
Architects.
INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:
Olive Tjaden Papers, #15-6-2919. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
SERIES LIST

Series I. Personal And Family Records
Correspondence
 Box 3
Photographs
 Boxes 1, 2, 4, 10
Travel
 Boxes 1-3
Miscellaneous
 Boxes 2-6, 9, 11, 12
Series II. Professional Records And Materials
Diplomas, Certificates, Licenses, etc.
 Boxes 3-5, 10
Projects
 Boxes 2, 3
Photographs of Professional Work
 Boxes 1, 3-5, 9, 10, 13
Publications and Presentations
 Boxes 2, 3, 12
Financial and Legal Records
 Box 3
Miscellaneous Professional Papers
 Boxes 3, 11
Honoraria, Awards, etc.
 Boxes 2, 3, 5, 6, 9
Dedication of Olive Tjaden Hall, Cornell University, June 12 1981
 Boxes 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 13
Series III. Artworks Boxes 2, 4, 5, 7-10
Series IV. Architectural Plans and Drawings Boxes 4, 9, Mapcase JJ-13, 14, 15
CONTAINER LIST

Date
Description
Container
Series I. Personal And Family Records
Correspondence
"Letters of long ago"
 Box 3 Folder 29
Hilda Tjaden correspondence and miscellaneous
 Box 3 Folder 30
"Personal stuff" (includes correspondence, postcards)
 Box 3 Folder 31
Carl Johnson letters, etc.
 Box 3 Folder 33
Personal correspondence
 Box 3 Folder 35
Photographs
Color slide
 Box 1
Tjaden and family, friends
 Box 2 Folder 1
Family and friends
 Box 2 Folder 17
Olive, Hilda
 Box 2 Folder 18
Olive, childhood
 Box 2 Folder 19
"Mom and Pop"
 Box 2 Folder 20
Hilda's pictures of Papa and two sisters; sister along; Moer and Fahr's wedding anniversary; antique cards
 Box 2 Folder 21
Olive and friends
 Box 2 Folder 22
Olive
 Box 2 Folder 23
Family photos
 Box 2 Folder 24
Unidentified photos (many of Tjaden)
 Box 2 Folder 25-26
Slides and slide viewer
 Box 2 Folder 27
Hilda Francke Tjaden
 Box 2 Folder 28
Unidentified family and friends (at least one of Hilda Tjaden)
 Box 2 Folder 29
Unidentified family and friends
 Box 2 Folder 30
Parents' house
 Box 2 Folder 32
Cornell University
 Box 4 Folder 9-20
Tjaden in kimono
 Box 10 Folder 1
Portrait of Olive and Mother
 Box 10 Folder 14
Portrait of Olive Tjaden
 Box 10 Folder 16
Slides
 Box 14
Travel
3 travel scrapbooks
 Box 1
Travel scrapbook: "Gala Springtime Cruise, S.S. Independence, Feb. 28 - May 4, 1967"
 Box 2
Orient, Europe
 Box 3 Folder 36
Miscellaneous
Cornell University Pooled Life Income Fund
 Box 2 Folder 13
Pistol target shooting
 Box 3 Folder 32
Materials relating to separation from Carl Johnson
 Box 3 Folder 34
Diaries
 Box 3 Folder 37
Bound volumes: The Hymnal, The Christian's Companion, "Roster of Women/Florida"
Box 3 Folder 38
Grospapa's painting
 Box 4 Folder 3
Painting palette
 Box 4
Triangle
 Box 4
Box of drafting tools
 Box 4
Box of drafting tools
 Box 16
Roswell Van Sickle miscellany
 Box 4 Folder 11-12
John G. Tjaden National Bible Institute certificate
 Box 5
Francke coat of arms
 Box 5
Ink well
 Box 6
Materials relating to separation from Carl Johnson
 Box 9 Folder 1-3
Materials relating to separation from Carl Johnson
 Box 9 Folder 2
Personal documents, 1911-1977
 Box 11 Folder 4
Miscellany, personal, n.d.
 Box 11 Folder 5-6
Legal documents, 1977-1996
 Box 12 Folder 3-4
Cornell date books, 1919, 1921
 Box 10 Folder 2
Series II. Professional Records And Materials
Diplomas, Certificates, Licenses, etc.
Architect's Certificate of Registration, State of New York
 Box 3 Folder 8
License from National Council of Architectural Registrations Boards; John Tjaden's professional engineer license, New York State
Box 4 Folder 7
State of Florida architect's certificate, Jan. 11, 1946
 Box 5
B.A. diploma (dates crossed out)
 Box 5
New York State diploma in architecture
 Box 5
Dale Carnegie course certificate
 Box 5
State of New Jersey architecture license
 Box 5
Projects
Savage Farm Project
 Box 2 Folder 14
Project proposal and specifications
 Box 3 Folder 7
Proposal for renovations to Parish House for St. James Church, Elmhurst, Queens; specifications of the labor and materials required in the erection and completion of Bellerose Baptist Church; specifications of the labor and materials required in the erection and completion of Inwood Beach Club, Atlantic Beach, N.Y.; specifications for residence and attached garage for Mr. and Mrs. Harold Jacobi, Woodmere, L.I.
Builders' information: Comparative Architectural Details; Lead Industries Association publications; decor molding business card; Hamlin colored texturing plaster leaflet; assorted clippings
Box 3 Folder 11
Photographs of Professional Work
Scrapbook of professional work
 Box 1
Tjaden's residence
 Box 3 Folder 1
Olive and workmen on job (3); exterior (4); main entrance door detail and bell; conservatory off living room, views of garden, cockatoo, main entrance tower with Tjaden silhouette on weather vane; 2 leaded glass windows; peacock leaded glass door from living room to terrace (2); Olive
Tjaden's residence entrance (and Olive), living room and breakfast room
 Box 10 Folder 8
Part of Senior Examination Exhibit of Olive F. Tjaden
 Box 3 Folder 2
Harold Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I.
 Box 3 Folder 3
exterior; stairway; living room; dressing table; dining room - "I designed everything - not decorator"
V. Newman residence, Port Washington, L.I.
 Box 3 Folder 4
Horace Hoffman house, Garden City, L.I.; Thomas Hewitt residence, Garden City, L.I. (3)
 Box 3 Folder 5
Arthur Marks residence, Woodmere, L.I.
 Box 3 Folder 6
Assembly plant, Oldsmobile dealership
 Box 4 Folder 2
Sanford Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I.
 Box 4 Folder 4
exterior and interior views
Mercury apartments, Fort Lauderdale, FL, residence of Dorothy Laman, unidentified residence, 208 Hendricks Isle, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Box 4 Folder 5
Inwood Beach Club, Atlantic Beach, N.Y.
 Box 4 Folder 6
Jacobi House, Woodmere, L.I., reprint from House and Garden Magazine
Box 5
"I designed all interiors, details, etc., not and 'outside' decorator."
Mercury Apartments, Fort Lauderdale, FL (leaflet)
 Box 5
C. Hammond Residence, Huntington, L.I.
 Box 5
Unidentified house interior
 Box 5
Unidentified painting on interior wall
 Box 9
Printer's mock-up of advertisement for house designed by Tjaden
 Box 9 Folder 5
Sanford Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I., aerial view
 Box 10 Folder 7
Tjaden designed landscaping as well
Residence on a Lake for Vice Pres. Of L. I. Lighting Co. at Bayshore, L.I.
 Box 10 Folder 9
Inwood Beach Club, L.I.
 Box 10 Folder 10
Hammond House, Garden City, L.I
 Box 10 Folder 11
Drawing of Oldsmobile Service Center
 Box 10 Folder 17
Miscellaneous slides of Tjaden's work, including her apartment in 1977
 Box 13
Publications and Presentations
Talk at Freedom's Foundation at Valley Forge
 Box 2 Folder 16
Professional articles and reprints
 Box 3 Folder 9
Automotive Merchandising; Oldsmobile Dealer Round Table, v. 3, no. 2; Inwood Beach Club leaflet; Architectural Record, Aug. 1938; Architectural Record, "Building News" (Architectural Record reprint of Inwood Beach Club article); New York World's Fair 1939, "The Home Building Center," page featuring one of Tjaden's designs; booklet: "The Community Church of Garden City"; booklet: "For the Glory of God and the Youth of Whitestone," Grace Church, Whitestone, L.I., N.Y.; Harper Method, Salon de Coiffure (leaflet); Mineola, L.I., N.Y. (leaflet)
Articles and leaflets
 Box 3 Folder 10
House and Garden, May 1935 (Harold Jacobi home); The Suburban Homefinder, Spring 1937 (Thomas M. Hewett home); "Garden City Show Place" (Tjaden's home); Seawane Bungalows; residence of Mr. and Mrs. Donald S. Gibbs, Port Washington, L.I., N.Y. (leaflet); residence of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Hensley, Port Washington, L.I., N.Y. (leaflet); Mercury Apartments' Timber Ridge, Oyster Bay, L.I., N.Y.; unidentified home (card)
House & Garden, 1935
Box 12 Folder 1
The Big Red Book, 1994-1995
Box 12 Folder 2
Financial and Legal Records
1950 records; 1951-52
 Box 3 Folder 13
Charlie's lot bought Oct. 20 1952
1952 records; Wallace residence, #200 Hendricks Isle, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
 Box 3 Folder 14
built in 1952, sold in 1953; north half of lot 8 bl. 4
1953 records
 Box 3 Folder 15
1953 Income Tax; job #196 and job #28 records
 Box 3 Folder 16
job #196 started 1952, sold 1953; job #28 started
1954 records
 Box 3 Folder 17
1954 Income tax (joint); job #28 records
 Box 3 Folder 18
lot 11, bl.4 (sold Jul. 1954)
Job #230 expenses
 Box 3 Folder 19
1955 Income tax (joint); Job #30 records
 Box 3 Folder 20
1955-57, Job #30
 Box 3 Folder 21
Photostats of Danaia Bank deposits, Job #230
 Box 3 Folder 22
1956 records; 1956 Income tax; Job #30 records, 1957-60
 Box 3 Folder 23
Correspondence with Willis J. Zick, attorney, re: taxes; 810 expense checks; bond
 Box 3 Folder 24
Jobs #200, 230, 300, 216, 20
 Box 3 Folder 25
Mortgage deeds
 Box 3 Folder 26
Miscellaneous Professional Papers
Miscellaneous papers
 Box 3 Folder 27
Clippings
 Box 3 Folder 28
Miscellany, professional, 1942, n.d.
 Box 11 Folder 1
Clippings and articles, 1935-1995
 Box 11 Folder 2-3
Honoraria, Awards, etc.
"Women of Achievement" volume
 Box 2
Honoraria
 Box 3 Folder 8
Notice of inclusion in 1968-69 edition of Personalities of the South; letter welcoming Tjaden as new Vice President of the Alumni Association of College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Cornell University, also 2 photographs of Tjaden at Cornell; press release re: Tjaden's address at New York Housing Show; World Center for Women's Archives certificate
Publicity and honors
 Box 3 Folder 12
Notices of inclusion in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the South and Southwest
Box 5
Plaque acknowledging Olive Tjaden Van Sickle in "Who's Who and Why of Successful Florida Women, Premier Edition"
 Box 6
Front page of Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Saturday, Feb. 5, 1938 (year blackened out), with story about Tjaden "the first woman member of the Brooklyn chapter of the conservative American Institute of Architects"
Box 9 Folder 4
mounted on cardstock
Clipping: “Leading Ladies of U.S.”
 Box 10 Folder 13
Dedication of Olive Tjaden Hall, Cornell University, June 12 1981
Volume of photographs "presented to Olive Tjaden Van Sickle as a memento of the dedication of Olive Tjaden Hall, June 12, 1981, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York"
Box 1
Volume of architectural drawings and photographs of Tjaden Hall
 Box 2
Cornell University Olive Tjaden Hall Renovation Schematic Design Submittal
 Box 2
Schwartz/Silver Architects, Inc., Aug. 18 1995
Photographs: Tjaden Hall Dedication
 Box 2 Folder 2
K.C. Parsons Correspondence
 Box 2 Folder 3
John Crowley Correspondence
 Box 2 Folder 4
Jason Seley Correspondence
 Box 2 Folder 5
Citation Renaming Franklin Hall Olive Tjaden Hall
 Box 2 Folder 6
Information re: renovations
 Box 2 Folder 7
Tjaden Hall dedication articles
 Box 2 Folder 8
Tjaden Hall Dedication - correspondence
 Box 2 Folder 9
Tjaden Hall Dedication - photographs
 Box 2 Folder 10
Tjaden Hall Dedication - transcripts and tapes
 Box 2 Folder 11
Cornell University Reunion Materials, 1981, 1983
 Box 2 Folder 12
Photograph of Tjaden Hall
 Box 4 Folder 1
Tjaden Hall dedication certificate
 Box 5
Photograph of Franklin Hall before rededication
 Box 9
Cornell correspondence re: Tjaden Hall and Van Sickle Art Gallery dedications, 1979-1997
 Box 11 Folder 7-14
Cornell clippings, articles, miscellany re: Olive Tjaden and Tjaden Hall dedication, 1975-1995
 Box 11 Folder 15
Tjaden Hall renovation project, correspondence, drawings, and photographs, 1966-1997
 Box 11 Folder 16
Photographs: Tjaden Hall dedication plus one image of special exhibit case
 Box 11 Folder 17-18
Audiotapes (3) of Tjaden Hall dedication
 Box 13
Audiotape of Van Sickle Art Gallery dedication
 Box 13
Series III. Artworks
Cut paper silhouettes of Olive Tjaden
 Box 2 Folder 31
Pen and ink drawings
 Box 2 Folder 33
Amiens, "A Baroque Doorway", English Renaissance, Spanish Renaissance, The Invalides, Saizhaus - German Renaissance, A Romanesque Detail, unidentified street scene
Pen and ink drawings (colored)
 Box 2 Folder 34
Egyptian pattern detail, unidentified column capital
2 prints: N. Robert, N. Arras
 Box 2 Folder 35
Designs for leaded glass windows in Tjaden's house, Garden City, L.I.
 Box 2 Folder 36-38
Unidentified pencil drawing of doorway and two children; painting of Venice scene; newspaper print of drawing of Yuletide cottage, designed by Tjaden; print of Venice scene
Box 2 Folder 39
Original tracing - Tjaden weather vane, Garden City house
 Box 2 Folder 40
Reprints of artworks
 Box 4 Folder 13
Still life painting by Tjaden
 Box 5
Charcoal drawing of unidentified building exterior
 Box 5
Pen and ink drawing of unidentified building exterior
 Box 5
12" x 12" colored glass panel depicting owl
 Box 7
16" x 12" leaded glass panel depicting nobleman
 Box 7
2 16" x 12" leaded glass panels depicting hunters
 Box 8
15" x 19" leaded glass panel depicting a lady.
 Box 15
Pen and ink drawing of unidentified town scene
 Box 9
Charcoal drawing of unidentified castle[?]
 Box 9
Sketches of gate, open structure with weather vane
 Box 9 Folder 6
Notes written on cardboard backings from two drawings/photos
 Box 9
Pen and ink drawing of West Front of Branston, Lincolnshire
 Box 10 Folder 3
Pen and ink drawing of French Renaissance chair[?]
 Box 10 Folder 4
Pen and ink drawing of window at San Lorenzo
 Box 10 Folder 5
Pen and ink drawing of Roman Corinthian order
 Box 10 Folder 6
Clipping from magazine of white bird with spread wings
 Box 10 Folder 7
Pen and ink drawings of chairs
 Box 10 Folder 12
Greek decoration – pen and ink drawing
 Box 10 Folder 15
Series IV. Architectural Plans and Drawings
Miscellaneous plans and blueprints
 Box 4 Folder 8
Sketches for stained-glass windows
 Box 9 Folder 6
Sketch of "Main Gate Entrance", Garden City, L.I.
 Box 9 Folder 6
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-13 Folder 1
Apartments, Cedarhurst, L. I.; Hendricks Island Apartments, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Hendricks Island Apartments, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Forstensen duplex); unidentified apartment sketches
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-13 Folder 2
Apartments (Richards), Cedarhurst, L. I.; B. P. W. C. Club House, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Baptist Church, Bellrose, L.I.; unidentified Colonial doctor's office and house; W. H. Duryea residence, Garden City, L. I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-13 Folder 3
Brown (Job #196); Catevenis residence, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; chicken and tool shed; Christ residence, New Hyde Park, L. I.; Community Church, Garden City, N.J.; unidentified church; unidentified country club house; Garvel residence; Hammond residence, Garden City, L. I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-13 Folder 4
Eblinger residence (Eblinger-Merrit); English garden apartments; unidentified English town house, Garden City, L. I.; Feeley residence, Morristown, N.J.; unidentified residence, Garden City, L. I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-13 Folder 5
Horace E. Hoffman residence, Garden City, L.I.; Walter Lyon residence, Huntington, L. I.; Marks residence, Woodmere, L.I.; N. Dade Imported Motors, Miami, Fla., 1950-51; Ray C. Olson apartment, Middle River, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; C. O. Pancake residence, Garden City, L. I.; Pancake residence, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-14 Folder 6
Harold Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L. I.; Sanford Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I.; Harold Smith residence, Garden City, L.I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-14 Folder 7
Olive F. and Carl Johnson residence, Garden City, L.I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-14 Folder 8
Sadie Heyman residence; Higier residence; Hodgson residence, Garden City, L. I.; house, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Jacobi residence, gate details; Sanford Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-14 Folder 9
C. A. Hammann residence, Huntington, L. I.; Oscar E. Hovey apartments, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Inwood Beach Club, Atlantic Beach, N.Y.; Jehovah's Witnesses, Tamiami, Fla.; Lannin residence on Salisbury Golf Link 1928, Garden City, L. I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 10
Hewitt residence, Garden City, L.I.; Kings College, Belmar, N.J.; Marks residence, Garden City, L. I.; William Recht residence, Woodmere, L.I.; S. Rubel entrance gateway, Roslyn, L.I.; Schine sketches; Sederholm residence (Job #534), Service Station (Job #749)
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 11
Pennington (Job #603), Henry Pierson residence, Westbury, L. I.; Schlossberg residence; Shevlin residence; Sloan-Dodge residence (Henry Pierson, builder), 2/31; Harold Smith residence, Garden City, L.I.; Tucker house (Job #442), Garden City, L.I.; Raymond White residence (Job #420), Garden City, L.I.
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 12
Sign Company; Pontiac dealership sketch; Socony Gas Station, Manhasset, L.I.; Daniel Superior house, Great Neck, L.I.; Synagogue, Mineola, L.I.; Williams residence, Rockville Center, L. I. (Job #765); World's Fair houses, New York, 1939; Zinn residence
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 13
Unidentified drawings
Watercolors, certificates
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 14
Watercolor renderings of unidentified country club house, certificates, diplomas received by Roswell Charles Van Sickle; public school and church certificates received by Hilda Francke; church certificate received by Traugott Francke
January 1940
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-15 Folder 15
Apartment house, Garden City, New Jersey, Job #788
Drawings
 Mapcase JJ-14 Folder
222 Jericho Turnpike. (Job #183)
Oversize Drawings
 On top of Mapcase JJ
Harold Jacobi residence, Woodmere, L.I.; George Parsons; Frank Richards row houses, Forest Hills, L.I.