Chester H. Aldrich correspondence, 1897-1963

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

Materials are arranged chronologically, with undated items listed at the end of the inventory.

Description

Summary

This collection primarily contains original correspondence--including letters, telegrams, and postcards-- to California architect Robert D. Farquhar from Chester A. Aldrich. Also included is a small group of letters from Amey Owen Aldrich to Farquhar. Most letters are accompanied by envelopes; a very few contain photographs, clippings and other ephemera. Matters discussed in the correspondence vary widely from intimate personal subjects to observations and reports on the work of Carrère & Hastings and Delano & Aldrich, the American Red Cross and its work with soldiers in Italy during World War I, the rise of Fasicsm in Italy, economic hardships during the Depression, and the state of American and European architecture.

Using the Collection

Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

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.

Preferred Citation

Chester A. Aldrich correspondence. Located in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Purchase from private dealer; originally from the Estate of Robert D. Farquhar. Date of acquisition--2006. Accession number--2006.008.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

Processing Information

Papers Processed JSP, DF 2007.

Subject Headings

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

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Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1871, Chester H. Aldrich received his degree in architecture from Columbia University in 1893. Between 1895 and 1900, Aldrich studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, recieving his diploma in 1900. Upon his return to New York, Aldrich reentered the firm of Carrère & Hastings, for whom he had worked briefly between 1898 and 1900. In 1903, Aldrich opened a private practice with William Delano, a colleague from the Carrère & Hastings office. The firm of Delano & Aldrich was largely known for its significant designs of Beaux-Arts-style country houses, cultural institutions, commercial, and civic buildings throughout the East Coast. In addition, from 1917 to 1919, Aldrich was the head of the Red Cross refugee relief program in Italy. He returned to Rome in 1935 to serve as head of the American Academy in Rome, a position he held until his death in 1940.