Guide to the Charles Downing Lay Papers,
1898-1956

Collection Number: 4477

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:
M. E. Warren
Date completed:
Apr. 1992
EAD encoding:
Julia Guarneri Aug. 2002

© 2002 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library

DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Charles Downing Lay papers, 1898-1956.
Collection Number:
4477
Creator:
Charles Downing Lay 1877-1956.
Quantity:
11 cubic ft.
Forms of Material:
Notebooks, papers, correspondence, photographs, drawings.
Repository:
Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
Notebooks of architectural class notes and drawings; student papers; notebooks and sketchbooks on gardens; photographs of gardens and parks; architectural drawings and renderings; pen and ink drawings; and articles on architectural topics. Also, papers relating to lectures and club memberships, miscellaneous correspondence, and condolence letters upon his death.
Language:
Collection material in English

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Landscape architect, architect, town planner.
Charles Downing Lay attended the School of Architecture at Columbia University from 1896 to 1900 and received a S.B. in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University's School of Landscape Architecture in 1902. From 1902 to 1948 he maintained a landscape architecture practice in New York City. He served as editor and publisher of Landscape Architecture with H. V. Hubbard and Robert Wheelwright. His projects included town planning for Albany, N.Y. and for the United States Housing Corporation in Erie and Butler, Pa.; parks in New York City, Troy, Albany, Schenectady, and Brooklyn, N.Y., Washington, D.C., and Stratford, Conn.; school grounds in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut; subdivisions in New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey; and housing in New York City. He also was consulting architect to the 1939 New York World's Fair and worked on conservation efforts in the Housatonic River valley, founding the Housatonic Valley Planning Association in 1948.
COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Notebooks of architectural class notes and drawings, 1898, 1899; student papers; notebooks and sketchbooks on gardens; photographs of gardens and parks, especially Marine Park in Brooklyn; architectural drawings and renderings; pen and ink drawings; and articles on architectural topics. Also, papers relating to lectures; and club memberships, including the Century Club; miscellaneous correspondence; and condolence letters upon his death.
SUBJECTS

Names:
Lay, Charles Downing,1877-1956.
Housatonic Valley Planning Association.
United States Housing Corporation.
New York World's Fair (1939-1940)

Titles:
Landscape architecture.

Subjects:
Landscape architecture.
City planning--New York (N.Y.)
City planning--Pennsylvania--Erie.
City planning--Pennsylvania--Butler.
School grounds--New York (State)
School grounds--Washington (D.C.)
School grounds--Connecticut--Stratford.
Housing development--New York (State)
Housing development--Rhode Island.
Housing development--Connecticut.
Housing development--New Jersey.
Housing--New York (N.Y.)
Gardens--Design.
Landscape architects.
Architects and housing developers.

Places:
Marine Park (New York, N.Y.)

Form and Genre Terms:
Architectural drawings.
Photographs.
INFORMATION FOR USERS

Cite As:
Charles Downing Lay papers, #4477. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
PUBLIC AREAS INCLUDED IN THE COLLECTION
PRIVATE ESTATES INCLUDED IN THE COLLECTION
SERIES LIST

Series I. Personal Box 1, Folders 1-4
Series II. Student Papers Box 1, Folders 5-14
Series III. Correspondence Box 1, Folders 15-39
Series IV. Art and Artists Box 1, Folders 40-56
Series V. Private Homes and Estates Box 1, Folders 57-68
Series VI. Architecture, Planning, etc.: Housing, Parks, Committees and Other Box 2, Folders 1-49
Series VII. Writings Box 2, Folder 50 - Box 3, Folder 22
Series VIII. Printed Material Boxes 4-7
Series IX. Photographs and negatives of private homes, estates, public areas and other Boxes 8-17
Series V. Oversize blueprints, sketches, drawings, paintings and photographs Map Case
CONTAINER LIST

Description
Container
Series I. Personal
Obituaries
 Box 1 Folder 1
Bibliography
 Box 1 Folder 2
Copies of holograph list of paintings of Oliver I. Lay II
Box 1 Folder 3
Letter written by Laura Lay to Womens' Committee, Emergency Peace Federation, 1917
Box 1 Folder 4
Series II. Student Papers
The Back Bay Fens, Boston, 1901
Box 1 Folder 5
The Gardens of Haddon Hall, Dec. 21, 1900
Box 1 Folder 6
The Gore Place - Waltham
 Box 1 Folder 7
Horticulture I
 Box 1 Folder 7-9
Horticulture II
 Box 1 Folder 10
Prospect Park, Brooklyn - 3rd class, L.L.S.
 Box 1 Folder 11
Reports, Oct. 12, 1900
Box 1 Folder 12
Trees and Shrubs
 Box 1 Folder 13
The Tuscan Order
 Box 1 Folder 14
Series III. Correspondence, 1900-1956
A
 Box 1 Folder 15
B
 Box 1 Folder 16
C
 Box 1 Folder 17
D
 Box 1 Folder 18
Darling, J. N.
 Box 1 Folder 19
E
 Box 1 Folder 20
F
 Box 1 Folder 21
G (including "Gorge")
 Box 1 Folder 22
H
 Box 1 Folder 23
J-K
 Box 1 Folder 24
L
 Box 1 Folder 25
Lahey, Charles
 Box 1 Folder 26
M
 Box 1 Folder 27
N-O
 Box 1 Folder 28
P
 Box 1 Folder 29
R
 Box 1 Folder 30
S
 Box 1 Folder 31
Speicher, Eugene
 Box 1 Folder 32
T-V
 Box 1 Folder 33
W
 Box 1 Folder 34
Y-Z
 Box 1 Folder 35
Condolence letters, 1956
 Box 1 Folder 36
Unknown (no last name or illegible)
 Box 1 Folder 37
European trip account to Mr. Thomas, 1934 (includes travel miscellany)
Box 1 Folder 38-39
Series IV. Art and Artists
A
 Box 1 Folder 40
B
 Box 1 Folder 41
C
 Box 1 Folder 42
D
 Box 1 Folder 43
E-F
 Box 1 Folder 44
G
 Box 1 Folder 45
H
 Box 1 Folder 46
I-K
 Box 1 Folder 47
L
 Box 1 Folder 48
M
 Box 1 Folder 49
N
 Box 1 Folder 50
P
 Box 1 Folder 51
R
 Box 1 Folder 52
S
 Box 1 Folder 53
T-U
 Box 1 Folder 54
W
 Box 1 Folder 55
Z
 Box 1 Folder 56
Series V. Private Homes and Estates
Adams, Elbridge L., Great Barrington, Mass.
 Box 1 Folder 57
Agnew, George B., Lewisboro, New York
 Box 1 Folder 58
Bartram, J. Percy, Caritas Island, Stamford, Conn.
Box 1 Folder 59
Bowen, Mrs. H. S., Greenwich, Conn.
 Box 1 Folder 60
Chamberlain, Joseph, Middlebury, Conn.
 Box 1 Folder 61
McAlpin, Charles W., Morristown, New Jersey
 Box 1 Folder 62
May, George O., Southport, Conn.
 Box 1 Folder 63
Mogull, Edward, Easton, Conn.
 Box 1 Folder 64
Morse, E. B., Philadelphia, Penn.
 Box 1 Folder 65
Stillman, Edgar, Middlebury, Conn.
 Box 1 Folder 66
Willcox, James M., Radnor, Penn.
 Box 1 Folder 67
Miscellaneous details, plans
 Box 1 Folder 68
Series VI. Architecture, Planning, etc.: Housing, Parks, Committees and Other
American Institute of Architects (A.I.A.) Civic Design Committee, 1942-1948
Box 2 Folder 1
A.I.A. New York Chapter, 1934-1953
Box 2 Folder 2
Arnold Arboretum, 1954-1955
Box 2 Folder 3
Art Commission - New York, 1949-1952
Box 2 Folder 4
Art Students' League of New York, 1931-1936
Box 2 Folder 5
Battery-Brooklyn Bridge, 1939
 Box 2 Folder 6-7
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle - Brooklyn Committee on the City Plan, 1914
Box 2 Folder 8
Central Park - miscellaneous extracts, 1911
 Box 2 Folder 9
Coney Island, 1942-1945
Box 2 Folder 10-11
East Harlem, 1949
Box 2 Folder 12
Greenwich, Conn., 1942
Box 2 Folder 13
Housatonic Valley Planning Association records, 1939-1972
Box 2 Folder 14-22
Long Island Parks, 1925
Box 2 Folder 23
Long Island State Park Commission, 1925
Box 2 Folder 24
Marine Park, 1932
Box 2 Folder 25
Nassau County Committee, 1925
Box 2 Folder 26
Natural Resources Council - Conn., 1951-1954
Box 2 Folder 27-28
Neustadter Foundation, Yonkers, 1949-1950
Box 2 Folder 29
New York City, 1908
Box 2 Folder 30
New York City, 1919
Box 2 Folder 31
New York City Park Department, 1913
Box 2 Folder 32
New York City Parks, 1927-1934
Box 2 Folder 33-34
New York City Planning Commission, 1938-1940
Box 2 Folder 35-37
New York Recreation Terrace, 1927
Box 2 Folder 38
New York City - Vehicular Traffic Committee, 1946
Box 2 Folder 39
New York City War Memorial, 1923
Box 2 Folder 40
New York World's Fair, 1939
Box 2 Folder 41
New York World's Fair - Gardens on Parade
 Box 2 Folder 42
1938 Olympic Award - Marine Park, 1936-1947
Box 2 Folder 43
St. Nicholas Houses - New York City Housing Authority, 1952-1955
Box 2 Folder 44-45
Sharon, Conn.
 Box 2 Folder 46
Scintilla-Bendix, Sidney, New York
 Box 2 Folder 47
Sterling Park, Stratford, Conn., 1935-1937
Box 2 Folder 48
Washington Square
 Box 2 Folder 49
Series VII. Writings
List of Writings
 Box 2 Folder 50
Conservation
 Box 2 Folder 51
Farming
 Box 2 Folder 52
Forest and Trees
 Box 2 Folder 53
"Freedom of the City;" "Garden Book of Autumn and Winter," Duffield & Co., 1917-1933
Box 2 Folder 54
Writings related to the works, not the works themselves
Gardens - Chapter V
 Box 2 Folder 55
Housing
 Box 2 Folder 56
Land and Outdoors
 Box 2 Folder 57
The Loon and the Vesper
 Box 2 Folder 58
Nassau County, 1925
Box 2 Folder 59
New York Times Article
 Box 2 Folder 60-61
Outdoor Delights, Chapter VII
 Box 2 Folder 62
A Park System for Long Island, 1925
Box 2 Folder 63
Planning the Country Club Grounds, 1930
Box 2 Folder 64
A Tame Crow - Woodshed
 Box 2 Folder 65
Published magazine articles
 Box 3 Folder 1
Miscellaneous writings
 Box 3 Folder 2-22
Series VIII. Printed Material
Public Parks, Frederick Law Olmsted, 1902
Box 4
Hudson Nurseries, Inc., 1929
Box 4
State of Connecticut Report of the State Park Commission, 1914
Box 4
Landscape Architecture compiled index, 1910-1930
Box 4
Landscape Architecture, Apr. 1965, Apr. 1958
Box 4
Notes on Preparation of Contracts and Specifications, by Albert D. Taylor, 1927
Box 4
The Prairie Spirit in Landscape Gardening, Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, Nov. 1915
Box 4
The Future of Jamaica Bay, Department of Parks, New York City, 1938
Box 4
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, May 1956
Box 4
Beauty in Gardens - A Tribute, William Edwin Rudge, 1928
Box 4
Series IX. Photographs and negatives of private homes, estates, public areas and other
Glass lantern slides: New York City parks including Central, Prospect, and Coney Island; private homes and estates; housing projects, other parks.
Box 5-7
Small - in alphabetical order
 Box 8
Adams
 Box 9 Folder 1-2
Agnew
 Box 9 Folder 3
Albany - evergreens Ravine Beaver park
 Box 9 Folder 4
Art Commission of the City of New York
 Box 9 Folder 5
Bartram
 Box 9 Folder 6-7
Battery-Brooklyn Bridge
 Box 9 Folder 8
Bowen
 Box 9 Folder 9
Bryant
 Box 9 Folder 10
Cappleen
 Box 9 Folder 11
Crittenden
 Box 9 Folder 12
Donald
 Box 9 Folder 13
Eaton
 Box 9 Folder 14
Essex Country Golf Course
 Box 9 Folder 15
France
 Box 9 Folder 16
Frear park
 Box 9 Folder 17
Philips Gallery
 Box 9 Folder 18
Greenburgh, New York
 Box 9 Folder 19
Hunsaker
 Box 9 Folder 20
Laucks
 Box 9 Folder 21-24
Lefevre
 Box 9 Folder 25
Long Island parks
 Box 9 Folder 26
Lovett
 Box 9 Folder 27
McAlpin
 Box 9 Folder 28
Mallory
 Box 9 Folder 29
Marine Park
 Box 9 Folder 30
Miscellaneous
 Box 9 Folder 31-33
Morris
 Box 10 Folder 1
Nassau County Committee
 Box 10 Folder 2
National Academy of Sciences Washington, D.C.
Box 10 Folder 3-4
New York City
 Box 10 Folder 5-6
New York City Park Department
 Box 10 Folder 7
New York City Parks
 Box 10 Folder 8
New York Recreation Terrace
 Box 10 Folder 9-10
New York Training School, Cortland, New York
 Box 10 Folder 11
New York World's Fair, 1939
 Box 10 Folder 12
Power
 Box 10 Folder 13
Olcott
 Box 10 Folder 14
Post
 Box 10 Folder 15
Pratt - mausoleum
 Box 10 Folder 16
Pulitzer
 Box 10 Folder 17
Roberts
 Box 10 Folder 18
Salem, Massachusetts
 Box 10 Folder 19
Sheldon
 Box 10 Folder 20
Siewers
 Box 10 Folder 21
Simpson
 Box 10 Folder 22
Stillman - Chamberlain negatives
 Box 10 Folder 23
Storer
 Box 10 Folder 24
Stratford, Connecticut - War Memorial
 Box 10 Folder 25
Union Park Square
 Box 10 Folder 26
Van Norden
 Box 10 Folder 27
Van Rensselaer
 Box 10 Folder 28
Vietor [Victor?]
 Box 10 Folder 29
Willcox
 Box 10 Folder 30
Yarnall
 Box 10 Folder 31-32
Marine Park, Brooklyn, New York: reproductions of sketches, matted
Box 11
Laucks: photographs, most matted
 Box 12
Agnew, Bartram, Bassick, Budd, Casagmo, Hunsaker, Noyes, Yarnall: photographs, some mounted, some oversize
Box 13
Andrews, Bijur, Brown, Crane, Devereauz, Donald, Forsberg, Fowler, Gallaher, Hostetter, Howland, Keating, Lehman, Mallory, Morris, Olcott, Power, Smith, Seift, Van Rensselaer, Wertheim, Zinsser; Butler, Erie, Essex County Golf Course, Gate of Heaven, Loudon Heights, Madison Square, Overview Park; miscellaneous, unidentified photographs, sketches
Box 14
Adams, Anderson, Bowen, Burchard, Chamberlain, Cooper, Cosgrave, Crane, Davis, Dodge, Eton, Florham, Fowler, Gill, Lefevre, Lovett, Mallory, McIntosh, Mitchell, Olcott, Post, Power, Prescott, Smith, Stockly, Storer, Van Rensselaer, Willcox; Battery Park photographs, sketches
Box 15
Unidentified and miscellaneous
 Box 16
Charles Downing Lay photograph proofs
 Box 17
Schell Lewis Sketches
 Box 17
Certificates
 Box 17
Columbia-Delta Upsilon fraternity; Harvard; National Academy of Design; Olympiade Berlin, 1936; New York City Arts Commission, 1947; American Institute of Planning
Student drawings
 Box 17
Columbia and Harvard memorabilia (mounted as in an over-sized scrapbook)
Box 17
Miscellaneous
 Box 17
Series X. Oversize blueprints, sketches, drawings, paintings and photographs
Bassick, Jr.; Bowen and Ives; Davis; Hunsaker; Kraushaar; Laucks
Mapcase Folder 1
May; Mogul; Pagenstecher; Power; Stockley; Yarnall
Mapcase Folder 2
Beaver Park; Bridgford Park; Central Park; North End Junior High School; Prospect Park; Woodruff Park
Mapcase Folder 3
Four-story house; Water color or ink wash, 1899; "Plan for a Small House"; "House for Mrs. C.D. Lay"
Mapcase Folder 4
Blueprints for Marine Park
 Mapcase Folder 5-6
St. Nicholas Houses, Manhattan, New York
 Mapcase Folder 7
Stratford, Connecticut - blueprints
 Mapcase Folder 8
Coney Island (New York City Fair) 1943; Recreation Terraces & Public Baths
Mapcase Folder 9
Mrs. Edgar W. Bassick
 Mapcase Folder 10
Battery Park; Sheepshead Bay Houses
 Mapcase Folder 11
Recreation Terraces and Public Baths
 Mapcase Folder 12