Collections : [Avery Drawings & Archives]

This large collection documents in great detail the architectural projects of Abraham Geller and his colleagues throughout the United States and abroad, spanning the 1940s through the 1990s. Types of projects represented include retirement homes, recreational facilities, medical centers, private residences and prototype dwellings for large residential developments, urban renewal projects, and offices.

The collection includes 1134 images (photographs and postcards, with some duplicates) of approximately 60 buildings, including some earlier photographs, plans, and renderings that Morris copied to add context to her own contemporary photographs. Of properties with identified architects, the great majority were designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, with a few examples of the work of Richard Upjohn, James Renwick, and several other lesser-known architects. Major sites depicted include Lyndhurst, Tarrytown, N.Y.; Fonthill Castle, Bronx, N.Y.; Lovat, Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.; Hurst-Pierrepont, Garrison, N.Y.; Belvoir, Yonkers, N.Y.; Beechwood, Yonkers, N.Y.; Mount Ida, Troy, N.Y., Llewellyn Park, Orange, N.J.; and Malbone, Newport, R.I. Some 18th-century buildings, and one 17th-century building (the Christopher Billop House, near Tottenville, Staten Island, built circa 1699), are also depicted.

The colleciton includes one album created by the Cass family about Crimson Beech and 59 working drawings used for the construction of the dwelling. The album includes photographs of the exterior and interior of the house, the "Erdman Homes Standard Specifications & Package Content" document, clippings, and 4 architectural drawings by D. Korves. The working drawings were produced by Marshall Erdman & Associates and are primarily technical drawings.