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Thomas Harlan Ellett architectural records, 1915-1948.
Architectural Archives, 215 898-8323 002
Mixed Availability
- Format:
- Other
- Author/Creator:
- Ellett, Thomas Harlan, 1880-1951.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Ellett, Thomas Harlan, 1880-1951.
- Ellett, Thomas Harlan.
- Chicago Tribune (Firm)--Buildings--Competitions--Designs and plans.
- Chicago Tribune (Firm).
- American Battle Monuments Commission--Monuments--Designs and plans.
- American Battle Monuments Commission.
- Cosmopolitan Club (New York, N.Y.)--Buildings--Designs and plans.
- Cosmopolitan Club (New York, N.Y.).
- New York World's Fair (1939-1940)--Buildings--Designs and plans.
- New York World's Fair.
- National Academy of Design (U.S. : 1828-1997)--Buildings--Designs and plans.
- National Academy of Design (U.S. : 1828-1997).
- Architects--Archives.
- Architects.
- Architectural design--History--20th century--Sources.
- Architectural design.
- Architectural drawing--United States.
- Architectural drawing.
- Architecture--United States--History--20th century--Designs and plans.
- Architecture.
- World War, 1914-1918--Monuments--Designs and plans.
- World War, 1914-1918.
- Country homes--United States--Designs and plans.
- Country homes.
- Post office buildings--Designs and plans.
- Post office buildings.
- Genre:
- Architectural drawings -- American.
- Travel sketches.
- Photographs.
- Specifications.
- Physical Description:
- 2541 sheets : various media and
- 242 photoprints and
- 2 v. (195 photoprints + 133 drawings) and
- 70 folders.
- Other Title:
- Thomas Harlan Ellett collection.
- Place of Publication:
- 1915-1948.
- Biography/History:
- Born in Red Oak, Iowa in 1880, Thomas Harlan Ellett studied architecture at the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago (certificate 1902) and at the University of Pennsylvania under Paul Philippe Cret and George Walter Dawson (graduated 1906). After two years of travel and study in Paris and Rome, he worked for four years for McKim, Mead and White. In 1915, Ellett established his private practice in New York City. He built his reputation through a series of distinctive country estates built in the New York area and beyond, reaching as far as Louisiana and Illinois. In 1922 he won honorable mention in the Chicago Tribune Building Competition. Important public commissions include the Saint Mihiel American Cemetery & Memorial, designed for the American Battle Monuments Commission (completed 1927). Ellett won the Architectural League of New York's, 1928 Silver Medal for the J. Seward Johnson House, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and the 1933 Gold Medal for the Cosmopolitan Club of New York. During the Great Depression (1935-37), Ellett worked as a consulting architect on many post office projects. Among his many designs, the Huntington, Long Island and Bronx, New York are notable. Late works include the Club House of the 1939 New York World's Fair and the (unbuilt) headquarters of the National Academy of Design 1946-48. Ellett died in Garrison, New York in 1951.
- Summary:
- This collection is the primary archive of Ellett's work, comprising architectural drawings and blueprints, photographic prints, office files, scrapbooks and memorabilia, which document buildings and projects spanning the years 1915-1948. The vast majority of Ellett's major commissions are represented by drawings in the collection. Also included are renderings for the Chicago Tribune Competition. Project drawings include 12 renderings by Schell Lewis and one by Chester B. Price. The office file for the Bronx Post Office includes a small amount of correspondence with the sculptor, Charles Rudy. The collection also contains a small amount of personal material, including portrait photographs of Ellett, travel sketches and watercolors.
- Finding Aid/Index:
- Printed finding aid available at the Architectural Archives. For electronic finding aid see Web Link.
- This collection is indexed (with electronic access to selected images) in Philadelphia Architects and Buildings, a searchable database of architectural research materials. See Web Link.
- Cited as:
- Thomas Harlan Ellett Collection, The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania.
- Access Restriction:
- Collection available for research by appointment only.
- Online:
- Finding Aid
- Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
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