Commonwealth Fund records, Harkness House drawings, SG 2, 1907-1984

Summary

Creator:

Hale, Herbert Dudley (1866-1908), Rogers, James Gamble, Commonwealth Fund, and Harkness House (New York, N.Y.)

Extent:

61.64 Cubic Feet Approximately 700 oversized drawings.

Language:

English .

Background

Scope and content:

Consists of approximately 700 oversized drawings ranging in date from James Gamble Rogers originals in 1907 through the renovations completed in the 1980s.

Biographical / historical:

Design and Construction History of Harkness House

Harkness House was built between 1906 and 1908, and presented as a wedding gift from Anna Harkness, founder of the Commonwealth Fund, to her son Edward and her daughter-in-law Mary Stillman Harkness. Designed by James Gamble Rogers, the house sits on the corner lot of Fifth Avenue and East 75th Street in New York City. Rogers and Edward Harkness developed an unusually close architect-client relationship. This facilitated Rogers' use of a restrained architectural design for the home, reflecting the philosophy and lifestyle of its owners. Rogers became a favored architect of the family and he was later commissioned by Edward Harkness to design structures at both Columbia University and Yale.

When the house was being constructed, a neighbor's property to the east of Harkness House already had the address of One East 75th Street, but the Harkness' strongly preferred a 75th Street address rather than a more affluent Fifth Avenue address, so they requested to have "One" and their neighbors kindly obliged (converting their address from One to 3 East 75th Street). Situating the main entrance on East 75th Street had a profound effect on the building's design, resulting in a wide but not deep mansion rather than a narrow but very deep townhome. The Italian Renaissance-style of the house with its large public space centered on a library and music room contrasted greatly with the extravagance of the other mansions that lined Fifth Avenue with their opulent grand ballrooms.

Despite their unpretentious temperament, the Harkness lifestyle required a large home of varied form and function including: public and private spaces, seven main bedrooms, servant quarters for a large staff, workshops, kitchens, pantries, storage and mechanical rooms. To accommodate their vast needs, Rogers designed a building with seven floors, two stories of which were underground, and a top floor set back penthouse, which could not be viewed from the street, to house the servants quarters. The façade of Harkness House was covered with Tennessee marble and the grounds around the house were defined by a wrought iron fence inspired by the fence of the Scalegari Tombs in Verona.

Rogers' sense of design flowed from the outside in. The Harkness House's interior is neither overwhelming and ostentatious nor excessively modest. On many of the interior walls, Rogers chose to use paneling rather than marble. The layout of the formal entry way and vestibule was designed to be less imposing than other neighboring houses. From the entrance there is a 90-degree turn from the vestibule and then a small set of stairs that leads to the entrance hall. The intention of this design was not to overwhelm a visitor with immense scale and flamboyance. Upon entering, the room to the left was the reception room and to the right was the dining room. The eastern exposure of the house faces the neighboring residence which limited light. In the dining room, Rogers commissioned Kenyon Cox to design leaded windows with allegorical figures representing Abundance of the Sea and the Abundance of the Land. These windows successfully brought additional light to that area of the house.

The main staircase was constructed entirely of Cassis marble, actually a polished limestone, with a continuous balustrade of cast bronze running from the first floor to the fourth. Set within a stair hall of Istrian marble, another polished limestone, the stairway is large and oblong shaped, with rounded ends. It flows graciously upward through the house, but its positioning is unusual. It is not a natural focal point. The treads and risers along with the balustrades do not dominate the view from the entry hall as in so many great houses. The stair hall is set back somewhat from the main rooms of the house, particularly on the upper floors, where it is enclosed, almost in the manner of a modern staircase. [note: Goldberger, Paul (1987). The Commonwealth Fund. The Harkness House. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Other/2004/Aug/Harkness-House.aspx]

The second floor held three public spaces: the library, central gallery (hall), and music room, each of which was larger than any rooms on the entry level. The two rooms were virtually square-shaped and the gallery served as an elaborate corridor almost as large and expansive as the salons at either end. Rogers also added more Kenyon Cox glass to the music room as it, too, faced the darker eastern exposure. The high ceilings of the second floor required the use of a double turn staircase with a mezzanine landing used for storerooms between the second and third floors.

The third floor was the Harkness' private residence. The rooms occupying this floor were relatively small with Mrs. Harkness' boudoir being the largest. Her boudoir and bath encompassed the entire Fifth Avenue frontage, including a view of Central Park, while the Harkness' bedroom faced 75th Street.

The fourth floor contained five guest bedrooms, a sewing room, and a room for a valet. The fifth or penthouse floor was accessible by a separate servants' staircase. It was reserved for maids' bedrooms and the laundry, which was operated only by female servants. The elaborate kitchens, with white tile walls and white ash woodwork, the wine cellar, and bedrooms for male servants were in the basement, with boilers and storerooms in a cellar one level further down. [Note: Goldberger, Paul (1987). The Commonwealth Fund. The Harkness House. Retrieved July 8, 2009, from http://www.commonwealth].

Mary Stillman Harkness died on June 6,1950 leaving no heirs. The Harkness House was turned over to The Commonwealth Fund, and it became their headquarters in 1952. The building received New York City landmark status in 1967. It was renovated in the 1980s, and this project helped spark the renovation and improvement of other buildings and public spaces on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Periodic tours are available of the Harkness House through the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America.

Architects, Designers and Engineers of Harkness House (One East 75th Street, New York, N.Y.)

Architects and Designers

Hale and Rogers

Herbert Dudley Hale (22 July 1866-10 November 1908) graduated from Harvard University in 1888 and subsequently studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Upon returning to the United States, he formed a partnership with James Gamble Rogers and created the design firm, Hale and Rogers in 1904.

James Gamble Rogers (1867-1947) served as the primary architect of Harkness House. He graduated from Yale University in 1889 and designed many of the buildings on their New Haven campus in the 1910s and 1920s. Edward Harkness grew to favor Rogers' architectural style and commissioned him to design several building for his philanthropic endeavors including the Butler Library at Columbia University, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, and the Harkness Memorial Quadrangle and Tower at Yale.

D.S. Hess and Company - An interior design firm from New York City created by David S. Hess. The company designed and manufactured furnishings for many prominent metropolitan New York residences. The John Ballantine House, now a National Historic Landmark in Newark, N.J. was similarly furnished by Hess' firm.

Elevators

Otis Elevator Co. - Vermont-born Elisha Graves Otis, a mechanic living in Yonkers, New York, invented the first safety hoist in 1852. Otis opened his own factory in Yonkers on September 20, 1853 and the business ultimately grew to that of the foremost elevator builders in the world. When Otis died in 1861 he left his estate to his two sons, Charles and Norton, at which time the business became known as Otis Brothers and Co. The Otis Elevator Co. was formed in 1898 from the $11 million merger of Otis Brothers and Co. and 14 other elevator companies.

Engineers

Lord Electric Company - Created by Frederic W. Lord in Boston in 1895. He was a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a head of his time in the field of electrical engineering. The company was cutting edge and was able to envision what changes were going to occur with electricity.

Vincent Stramandinoli and Associates - A contemporary engineering firm in New York City, best known for historic building restorations.

Albert L. Webster, Civil and Sanitary Engineer - A renowned civil and sanitary engineer based in New York City. Webster was a member of the class of 1879 at Sheffield Scientific School and later studied at Johns Hopkins University. Webster served as a consultant for the construction of Grand Central Station as well as the New York Public Library. A member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, he was also an author of a series of children's books called "Caleb", which he had originally created to entertain his own children.

Metalwork

Jno. Williams Inc., Bronze Foundry and Iron Works - Jno. Williams was a firm that produced ornamental brass and iron architectural elements and art pieces in New York City.

Samuel Yellin, Metalworkers - Samuel Yellin (1885-1940), the 20th Century's foremost artisan in wrought iron design and production, founded Samuel Yellin Metalworkers, in 1909 in Philadelphia.

Plumbing

Meyer-Sniffen Co., Fine Plumbing Fixtures - Established in 1868, Meyer-Sniffen, a New York City firm, designed, manufactured, and imported high grade plumbing fixtures.

Security

The Mosler Safe Company - Founded in 1867 by Gustave Mosler in Cincinnati Ohio, the Mosler Safe Company quickly grew to become a well renowned manufacturer of physical security equipment, most notably safes and bank vaults. In 1891 the company relocated to a larger factory in Hamilton, Ohio.

Woodwork

Pottier and Stymus Company - A premier cabinetmaker of the late 19th century based in New York City. They produced interiors for private and commercial clients in the United States and aboard. In addition to their cabinet work, they also built furniture in neo-grec, Renaissance revival and Egyptian revival styles.

Auguste Pottier (1823-1896) was born in Coulommiers, France and completed an apprenticeship with a wood sculptor in Paris. He immigrated to the United States in 1847. While serving as the general foreman at Rochefort and Skarren cabinetmakers in New York City, Pottier first met and worked with William P. Stymus (who was then serving as the upholstery foreman). Following Rochefort's death, Pottier and Stymus formed a partnership which began on May 1, 1859. In 1888, Pottier and Stymus Manufacturing Company liquidated to become a cooperative known as Pottier and Stymus Company.

Custodial history:

The drawings were produced in a variety of formats and using several different types of backing materials including: Diazo blue print, tracing paper, vellum, linen, photocopy paper and polyester backed paper.

Arrangement:

Each drawing is arranged by floor, room and utilities, and further arranged in numeric and/or alphabetical order. This arrangement begins with the facade, grounds and lower levels of the building, and continues upward through the house to the attic/roof level. The description provided for each drawing includes: title, size, material and architect. Each drawing is labeled by draw and folder number, floor, room, drawing number (when applicable), date and number of copies (when multiple).

Physical description:

775 drawings.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Architecture

Places:

New York (N.Y.)

Restrictions:

Open for research. Brittle or damaged items are available at the discretion of RAC.

Drawings that are torn, damaged, particularly frail and/or light sensitive are tagged as "Use with Permission Only". These items are available at the discretion of RAC.

If duplicates exist, one drawing is tagged "Primary Access Copy" and the other one is tagged "Use with Permission Only".

Location of this collection:

Rockefeller Archive Center

15 Dayton Avenue

Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591, United States

Link to repository site

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