Woodlawn Cemetery records, 1863-1999

Summary Information

Abstract

The Woodlawn Cemetery archive documents the history of the grounds, mausolea, monuments, and operations of Woodlawn Cemetery, founded in 1863 in The Bronx, New York, and one of the largest in the United States. The collection includes architectural designs records, maps, photographs, correspondence, construction and maintenance records, and other historical documents, spanning 140 years of the cemetery's operations.

At a Glance

Arrangement

• Series I: Major Monuments
• Series II: Masoleum Owners Correspondence
• Series III: Photographs
• Subseries 1: Cemetery Lots
• Subseries 2: Landscape, Grounds and Construction
• Subseries 3: Staff
• Subseries 4: Events
• Subseries 5: Slides
• Subseries 6: Transparencies and Negatives
• Subseries 7: Compact Discs
• Series IV: Lot Owners Correspondence
• Series V: General Correspondence
• Subseries 1: Office Files
• Subseries 2: Business Files
• Subseries 3: Community Mausoleum Files
• Subseries 4: Woodlawn Owned Properties
• Series VI: Engineer Files
• Subseries 1: Administrative
• Subseries 2: General
• Subseries 3: Reports

Description

Summary

This collection includes records created and collected by the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, during the course of their operations between 1863 and circa 1990.

Of particular interest is the rich documentation on mausoleums and memorials designed by numerous prominent American architects, landscape architects, artists, and designers, including Herbert Adams; Robert Aitken; Alexander Archipenko; Charles I. Berg; Carrère & Hastings; Sally Farnham; Beatrix Farrand; Daniel Chester French; C. P. H. Gilbert; Richard Morris Hunt; Hunt & Hunt; Anna Hyatt Huntington; Edwin Lutyens; McKim, Mead, & White; the Olmsted Brothers; Peabody & Stern; the Piccirilli brothers; Charles A. Platt; John Russell Pope; James Renwick; James Gamble Rogers; Ellen Biddle Shipman; Tiffany Studios; Trowbridge & Livingston; Gilbert Stanley Underwood; Warren & Wetmore; Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; and York & Saywer.

Additionally, the collection also includes documents related to memorials for many of the prominent figures in jazz, theater, literature, business, and politics who are buried on the cemetery's 400 acres. These include Herman Armour; the Belmont family; Nellie Bly; Vernon and Irene Castle; George M. Cohan; Celia Cruz; Miles Davis; Charles Delmonico; Duke Ellington; Jay Gould; W. C. Handy; Coleman Hawkins; Victor Herbert; Milt Jackson; the Juilliard family; King Oliver; Samuel Kress; Fritz Kreisler; Fiorello LaGuardia; R. H. Macy; Herman Melville; Robert Moses; J. C. Penney; Joseph Pulitzer; Elizabeth Cady Stanton; the Straus family; Madame C. J. Walker; Bert Williams; the Whitney family; and the Woolworth family.

• Series I: Major Monuments

• Series II: Masoleum Owners Correspondence

• Series III: Photographs

• Series IV: Lot Owners Correspondence

• Series V: General Correspondence

• Series VI: Engineer Files

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.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose.

Preferred Citation

Woodlawn Cemetery records. Located in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.

Related Archival Materials

Associated Materials--The individual records and papers of many of the architects and firms that are represented in the Woodlawn records are also held by the Department of Drawings & Archives. Records for Woodlawn Cemetery may be found in the Guastavino Fireproof Construction Company/George Collins architectural records and drawings, the Warren & Wetmore architectural records and papers, and the Kahn and Jacobs architectural records and papers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Gift of Woodlawn Cemetery. Accession number--2006.009.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library

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

Woodlawn Cemetery was founded in 1863 in the Bronx, New York, and today maintains one of the largest assemblages of above-ground mausolea in North America. Many notable figures in the worlds of commerce, literature, music, and politics are buried there.