T. Kennard Thomson papers, 1887-1966

Summary Information

At a Glance

Bib ID:
12298037 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Thomson, T. Kennard (Thomas Kennard), 1864-1952
Repository:
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Physical Description:
1.5 linear feet
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

Scope and content

The collection consists of personal, professional, and project-related papers. The project and professional papers are made up of contracts, specifications, proposals, published speeches, reports, clippings, trade catalogs, and engineering drawings and documents. Among the projects documented in the collection are T. Kennard Thomson's Niagara River Water Power project, Manhattan Extension project, New York City Belt Line Railroad and Elevated Highways project, and Fifth Avenue Traffic Puzzle project. Additional engineering projects represented in the collection include those primarily related to bridge and elevated railroad projects. The personal papers include photographs, financial records, obituaries, clippings, and collected ephemera of Thomson and his extended family members. The personal papers also include menus, programs, and bulletins from various clubs and societies Thomson was associated with, including the Canadian Club of New York and the University of Toronto Engineering Society (founded by Thomson while at University).

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--Kenneth L. MacRitchie. Method of acquisition--Donated;; Date of acquisition--2016. Accession number--2016.008.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

Biographical sketch

T. Kennard Thomson (1864-1952) was an engineer and urban planner. His engineering work was in the field of railways, bridges, and foundations. He is best known for his ambitious proposal, first published in 1911 as "A Really Greater New York" which radically re-envisioned the landscape around New York by reclaiming land from the East River to create an additional nine square miles of useful land. Among his other visionary proposals included a plan to relieve the city of its traffic congestion through a four deck avenue, with one for rapid-transit trains, one for trucks, one for buses, taxis, and automobiles and one for pedestrians. Another project sought to dam the lower Niagara River and create a "Little Niagara Falls" in order to utilize all the power developed from the river.

T. Kennard Thomson was born in Buffalo, NY in 1864. He studied civil engineering at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1886. Thomson was named after Thomas W. Kennard, Chief Engineer of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad. His father William Alexander Thomson (1817-1878) founded the Canada Southern Railway and served in the Canadian Parliament from 1872 to 1878. Thomson and his wife Mary Julia Harvey had five children. The family lived at 30 Madeline Parkway in Yonkers, NY. Thomson died in 1952.

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.

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Name
Harvey, A (Arthur) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Place
Niagara River (N.Y. and Ont.) -- Power utilization CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Bridges -- Design and construction CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
City planning -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Civil engineering -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Electric power-plants -- Niagara River (N.Y. and Ont.) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Elevated highways CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Freight and freightage -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Land use -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Railroad engineering CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Real property -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Roads -- New York (State) -- New York CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID