Collection Full View
Newark Architecture Collection (1903 - 2021)
Collection IDMG Nwk Architecture
Size8 boxes
Collection Description
This is an artificial collection of miscellaneous materials relating to architecture in Newark. Contents include the following:
Box 1: Materials relating to Donald W. Geyer's Historical Architectural Survey of Newark buildings (1965-1967). Donald Geyer (1924-1980) was born in New York City and graduated from East Orange HS in 1942. A talented architectural historian, he worked in the Newark Housing Authority and the Department of Administration. In 1975 he was honored by the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee for his work securing official historic site status for 23 city buildings. He was also senior planner for Morris County for several years. This survey was conducted by Geyer as part of Newark's Community Renewal Program. Buildings were studied, photographed, and assessed as part of an effort to draw up proposals for urban renewal. Included are reports; master lists of buildings (1967); photos and descriptions of surveyed buildings; a rating sheet and guide (1968); coded maps with locations of buildings surveyed (1969); a handwritten spreadsheet describing buildings of exceptional architectural/historic interest that might be restored in connection with the nation's Bicentennial (1975); Landmark and Preservation Priorities; preliminary proposals for preservation (handwritten notes, with detailed information on a few buildings); National Register of Historic Places Inventory, nomination forms (with detailed notes and other research materials on Newark churches, ca. 1969-1972); Architectural Data File (a table with names of architects, dates, other data); and photocopies of photographs and detailed fact sheets on the Newark Public Library, City Hall, Newark Airport, Port Newark, Second River Shot Works, etc. Three large maps of sites, in Box 8 (os), are also part of this group of material.
Box 2: Records of the Historic Sites and Buildings Committee of Newark (1960-1962). The Committee, composed of individuals representing a number of bodies and institutions in Newark, first met on June 2, 1960 at the Newark Public Library. Its chair, Library Director James E. Bryan, noted that its mission was to place historical markers on buildings and sites and to consult closely with county and state organizations with similar purposes, thus continuing and expanding on the earlier work in Newark of the Schoolmen's Club and the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), a WPA project. It was also hoped that the Committee's work would help to guide plans for urban renewal. Members of the Committee included Miriam V. Studley, Dorothy Kronheim, Samuel Berg, George Oberlander, Ione Sonn, John T. McSharry, and Douglas Eldridge. The box contains minutes; correspondence; inventories; maps, recommendations; photographs; research notes; worksheets on individual buildings and sites; "Historic sites connected with the Newark leather industry" (typed list, 1960); "Selected bibliographies for N.J. local history" (1961); "Architectural types from an historic viewpoint" (1961); memorial tablets in Newark (mimeographed list); and general articles on historic preservation. A large map of Newark (ca. 1960-1962) in Box 8 (os) is also part of this group of material.
Boxes 3 and 4: exhibit and other materials of Julia Sabine (Library staff member). Contents include: mounted captions (and photocopies of captions) from a Newark Public Library exhibit on Newark Architecture: Houses, Schools, Churches, Banks, Architecture; typescript and related materials for an illustrated talk by Sabine on "Resources for the History of New Jersey Architecture" (1955), with original photographs, including First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church; and "Grace Church, an Architectural Study with Notes" (unsigned and undated typescript, with research materials)
Box 5: Historic American Building Survey (HABS; photographs, written descriptions, and information); plans and publicity materials for Gateway Center (1972-1973); Newark Post Office (707 Broad St., floor plans); "Historic [Dwelling] Houses of Newark 1666-1833," list (1934); Historic American Buildings Survey, 1 sheet (1941); notes on history of Sydenham House (typescript, 1972); Preliminary Plan for a Newark Botanical Garden ("A Proposal for a Botanical Garden in Newark," by Dr. Sydney S. Greenfield, 1962, including plans in Box 8 [os]); Gibraltar Building material (1951-1961) and plan (1927, in Box 8 [os]); illustrated proposal for, "Grant USA Tower" (121 stories, the tallest building in the world, with "Newark Renaissance Mall," 1991); Grace Church restoration (1993); nomination forms for National Register of Historic Places (Essex Club, 1990; Glencoe, 1991; South Park Calvary United Presbyterian Church, 1971; The James Street Commons Historic District (1970-1975); large file of records of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee (1975-1987), including minutes, correspondence, membership lists, financial reports, with National Register of Historic Places nominations for the Griffiths Building, the Lloyd House, and Newark churches.
Box 6: Newark City Hall, souvenirs of corner-stone laying (invitation, program, menu; 1903); proposal for "The Newark Stadium" (1920s?); HABS and other notes on the Lloyd House (Plane St.) and the Griffith Building; Krueger-Scott Mansion (reports, flyers, clippings, drawings, etc.); New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Schematic Design Revision, 1992, in Box 8 [os]); architect's proposal for "Reconnaissance Studies" of four historic churches on Broad St. (1993); "A Development Plan for University Heights," with map (ca. 1970s; photocopy) and blueprints for Howard Savings Institution buildings on Bloomfield Ave. and Clifton Ave. (1945, in Box 8 [os])
Box 7: contains two large items: "A Survey of Ecclesiastical Architecture built in Newark from 1810-1865," by Kenneth B. Schnall (thesis, Newark State College Graduate School, 1965); and a folder of loose pages from a large clippings scrapbook devoted to issues of reassessment of property taxes, urban development, and the Fox-Lance-Crane Act, which permitted property tax concessions to developers engaged in urban renewal projects (clippings are from the Newark News and the Star-Ledger, 1960-1961)
Box 8 (os, offsite): contains several large drawings and plans removed from other boxes
Box 1: Materials relating to Donald W. Geyer's Historical Architectural Survey of Newark buildings (1965-1967). Donald Geyer (1924-1980) was born in New York City and graduated from East Orange HS in 1942. A talented architectural historian, he worked in the Newark Housing Authority and the Department of Administration. In 1975 he was honored by the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee for his work securing official historic site status for 23 city buildings. He was also senior planner for Morris County for several years. This survey was conducted by Geyer as part of Newark's Community Renewal Program. Buildings were studied, photographed, and assessed as part of an effort to draw up proposals for urban renewal. Included are reports; master lists of buildings (1967); photos and descriptions of surveyed buildings; a rating sheet and guide (1968); coded maps with locations of buildings surveyed (1969); a handwritten spreadsheet describing buildings of exceptional architectural/historic interest that might be restored in connection with the nation's Bicentennial (1975); Landmark and Preservation Priorities; preliminary proposals for preservation (handwritten notes, with detailed information on a few buildings); National Register of Historic Places Inventory, nomination forms (with detailed notes and other research materials on Newark churches, ca. 1969-1972); Architectural Data File (a table with names of architects, dates, other data); and photocopies of photographs and detailed fact sheets on the Newark Public Library, City Hall, Newark Airport, Port Newark, Second River Shot Works, etc. Three large maps of sites, in Box 8 (os), are also part of this group of material.
Box 2: Records of the Historic Sites and Buildings Committee of Newark (1960-1962). The Committee, composed of individuals representing a number of bodies and institutions in Newark, first met on June 2, 1960 at the Newark Public Library. Its chair, Library Director James E. Bryan, noted that its mission was to place historical markers on buildings and sites and to consult closely with county and state organizations with similar purposes, thus continuing and expanding on the earlier work in Newark of the Schoolmen's Club and the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), a WPA project. It was also hoped that the Committee's work would help to guide plans for urban renewal. Members of the Committee included Miriam V. Studley, Dorothy Kronheim, Samuel Berg, George Oberlander, Ione Sonn, John T. McSharry, and Douglas Eldridge. The box contains minutes; correspondence; inventories; maps, recommendations; photographs; research notes; worksheets on individual buildings and sites; "Historic sites connected with the Newark leather industry" (typed list, 1960); "Selected bibliographies for N.J. local history" (1961); "Architectural types from an historic viewpoint" (1961); memorial tablets in Newark (mimeographed list); and general articles on historic preservation. A large map of Newark (ca. 1960-1962) in Box 8 (os) is also part of this group of material.
Boxes 3 and 4: exhibit and other materials of Julia Sabine (Library staff member). Contents include: mounted captions (and photocopies of captions) from a Newark Public Library exhibit on Newark Architecture: Houses, Schools, Churches, Banks, Architecture; typescript and related materials for an illustrated talk by Sabine on "Resources for the History of New Jersey Architecture" (1955), with original photographs, including First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church; and "Grace Church, an Architectural Study with Notes" (unsigned and undated typescript, with research materials)
Box 5: Historic American Building Survey (HABS; photographs, written descriptions, and information); plans and publicity materials for Gateway Center (1972-1973); Newark Post Office (707 Broad St., floor plans); "Historic [Dwelling] Houses of Newark 1666-1833," list (1934); Historic American Buildings Survey, 1 sheet (1941); notes on history of Sydenham House (typescript, 1972); Preliminary Plan for a Newark Botanical Garden ("A Proposal for a Botanical Garden in Newark," by Dr. Sydney S. Greenfield, 1962, including plans in Box 8 [os]); Gibraltar Building material (1951-1961) and plan (1927, in Box 8 [os]); illustrated proposal for, "Grant USA Tower" (121 stories, the tallest building in the world, with "Newark Renaissance Mall," 1991); Grace Church restoration (1993); nomination forms for National Register of Historic Places (Essex Club, 1990; Glencoe, 1991; South Park Calvary United Presbyterian Church, 1971; The James Street Commons Historic District (1970-1975); large file of records of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee (1975-1987), including minutes, correspondence, membership lists, financial reports, with National Register of Historic Places nominations for the Griffiths Building, the Lloyd House, and Newark churches.
Box 6: Newark City Hall, souvenirs of corner-stone laying (invitation, program, menu; 1903); proposal for "The Newark Stadium" (1920s?); HABS and other notes on the Lloyd House (Plane St.) and the Griffith Building; Krueger-Scott Mansion (reports, flyers, clippings, drawings, etc.); New Jersey Performing Arts Center (Schematic Design Revision, 1992, in Box 8 [os]); architect's proposal for "Reconnaissance Studies" of four historic churches on Broad St. (1993); "A Development Plan for University Heights," with map (ca. 1970s; photocopy) and blueprints for Howard Savings Institution buildings on Bloomfield Ave. and Clifton Ave. (1945, in Box 8 [os])
Box 7: contains two large items: "A Survey of Ecclesiastical Architecture built in Newark from 1810-1865," by Kenneth B. Schnall (thesis, Newark State College Graduate School, 1965); and a folder of loose pages from a large clippings scrapbook devoted to issues of reassessment of property taxes, urban development, and the Fox-Lance-Crane Act, which permitted property tax concessions to developers engaged in urban renewal projects (clippings are from the Newark News and the Star-Ledger, 1960-1961)
Box 8 (os, offsite): contains several large drawings and plans removed from other boxes
FormatsGraphics; Photographic materials; Textual materials
SubjectsArchitecture / Building; Business / Commerce; Property / Urban Development; Religion / Churches
Time Periods20th Century; 21st Century
LanguageEnglish
Access policyOpen for research
ProcessedYes
Finding AidYes