Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and Library architectural drawings, 1928-1983

Summary Information

At a Glance

Bib ID:
11909630 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Columbia University; McKim, Mead & White; Olmsted Brothers
Repository:
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Physical Description:
79 drawings
Language(s):
English .
Access:

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.

Description

Summary

The collection contains primarily architectural drawing reproductions documenting the site history of Columbia University's Geology Library from Schermerhorn Hall on Columbia Unversity's Morningside campus to, later, the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory in Palisades, N.Y. The drawings are largely floor plans and some building elevations of both the early and later sites, but the collection also includes a survey map of the Palisades, N.Y. site, and site plans for the Thomas W. Lamont, Esq. Country Residence and Gardens. Also included are 9 student drawings of the Geology and Zoology Library in Schermerhorn Hall by School of Mines student Eugene B. Sieminski, Jr. dated 1958. Architects represented include McKim, Mead, and White, Paver & Wildfoerster, and Olmstead Brothers Landscaper Architects.

Publication Date

1928-1983

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access

This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Lamont Geo. Sciences Library. Method of acquisition--Transferred;; Date of acquisition--2015. Accession number--2015.005.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

Biographical sketch

Columbia University's Geology Library is located in Schermerhorn Hall on the Morningside Heights campus. From approximately 1948 until 2016 an additional site was maintained on the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory campus in Palasides, N.Y.

In 1929, Thomas W. Lamont (1870-1948), a Wall Street banker, constructed a weekend residence overlooking the Hudson River in Palisades, New York. He named the estate "Torrey Cliff" after John Torrey, a prominent botanist who had spent summers on the site from about 1854 to 1865. In 1948, Thomas W. Lamont died and his widow, Florence Corliss Lamont (1873-1952), an alumna of Columbia University, donated the estate to Columbia. In 1969, the Observatory was renamed "Lamont-Doherty" after a major contribution from the Henry L. and Grace Doherty Charitable Foundation.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Name
Columbia University -- Buildings CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Columbia University. Rutherfurd Observatory CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lamont, Thomas W (Thomas William), 1870-1948 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory -- History CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory -- History CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Architecture -- United States -- Designs and plans CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Building sites -- Planning CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Geology -- Study and teaching CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Library architecture CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
School lands CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
School sites CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID