Inventory of the Blake Estate Collection, ca. 1922-1998
Holly Selvig
Environmental Design Archives
College of Environmental Design
230 Wurster Hall #1820
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Phone: (510) 642-5124
Fax: (510) 642-2824
Email: designarchives@berkeley.edu
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Blake Estate Collection
Collection number: 2002-06
Environmental Design Archives
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Processed by:
- Holly Selvig
- Date Completed:
- August 2002
- Encoded by:
- Devan McGirr
© 2009 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Blake Estate collection
Dates: ca. 1922-1998
Collection number: 2002-06
Creator:
Blake Family
Collector:
Environmental Design Archives
Collection Size:
1 box, 1 flat file drawer, 12 tubes.
Repository:
Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.
University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, California
Abstract: The Blake Estate Collection spans the years ca. 1922-1998 and contains records documenting its history as the private residence
of Anson S. and Anita Blake and later as a teaching resource owned and managed by the University of California, Berkeley,
Department of Landscape Architecture, now the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. Included are
projects by professional architects and landscape architects, as well as design projects by landscape architecture students.
Physical location: Environmental Design Archives. University of California, Berkeley.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Blake Estate Collection, 2002-06, Environmental Design Archives. College of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.
Acquisition Information
The Environmental Design Archives acquired this collection in 2002.
Historical Note
Considered one of the most important gifts to the University of California, the Blake Estate includes a Spanish style house
designed by architect Walter Bliss located on 10 acres of rolling terrain with outcroppings of Lawsonite rock, two creeks,
and views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate. Mrs. Anita Blake and her sister Mabel Symmes are credited with the
design and major planting of the grounds, which feature a formal grotto and reflecting pool. The home and garden are representative
of the eclectic period in California design.
Seeking to relocate from their residence in Berkeley, Anson and Anita Blake purchased land in 1922 in what is now Kensington.
Anson's brother Edwin T. Blake purchased the adjacent land and Mabel Symmes designed a single master plan for both estates.
From the 1920s through the 1940s, the land surrounding Anson Blake's house developed into an extensive collection of plants
from around the world, and university students visited it regularly. The estate was donated to the University of California
in 1957 for instruction and research in landscape architecture. After the death of Mrs. Blake in 1962, the estate became the
property of the Department of Landscape Architecture.
Landscape architects and faculty members Geraldine Knight Scott and Mai Abergast oversaw the transition of the estate from
private ownership to the university. Several proposals for future development of the estate were made, including Scott's Long
Range Development Plan in 1964, although none were implemented. The Department uses the Blake Estate for field trips, construction
exercises, social events, and as the subject of student design projects. It also serves as a popular source of part-time work
among landscape architecture students. From the 1970s to the present, the house has served as the residence of the President
of the University of California.
Note
- Laurie, Michael.
75 Years of Landscape Architecture at Berkeley: An Informal History. Part I: The First 50
Years
. Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, 1988.
- Laurie, Michael.
Part II: Recent Years.
Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley, 1992.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Blake Estate Collection spans the years ca. 1922-1998 and contains records documenting its history as the private residence
of Anson S. and Anita Blake and later as a teaching resource owned and managed by the University of California, Berkeley,
Department of Landscape Architecture, now the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. Included are
projects by professional architects and landscape architects, as well as design projects by landscape architecture students.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into two series: Blake Family Papers and University Records.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Arbegast, M. K. (Mai Kitazawa)
Scott, Geraldine Knight, 1904-1989.
Symmes, Mabel, 1875-1962.
Blake, Anson Stiles, 1870-1959.
Blake, Anita Day Symmes, 1872-1962.
Blake, Edwin Tyler, 1875-1948.
University of California, Berkeley. Dept. of Landscape Architecture.
University of California, Berkeley.
Landscape architecture--California.
Campus planning--California--Berkeley.
Gardens--California--Berkeley.
Genres and Forms of Material
Architectural drawings.
Architectural records.
Landscape architecture drawings.
Student works.
Index Terms Related to this Collection
University of California, Berkeley.
Online Archive of California.
Related Collections
Blake Family Papers, 1881-1962, (BANC MSSC-B 903) The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Geraldine Knight Scott Collection, (2000-3), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
Katherine D. Jones Collection, (1998-10), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
University of California, Berkeley, Blake Garden
University of California, Berkeley, Department of Capitol Projects
Project Index
The Project Index list is arranged alphabetically by Project/Client Name and contains information, where available, about
the location, date, project type, creators, and formats for each project in the collection.
Project/Client Name (location, date, project type) Creator [role] Format [Ms=Manuscripts, Dr=Drawings, Ph=Photographs]
- Blake, Anson S. Property Surveys (Kensington, CA; 1924-1928) [Ms, Dr]
- Blake, Anson S. Residence (Berkeley, CA; n.d.) Creator: Seely [architect] [Dr]
- Blake, Anson S. Residence (Kensington, CA; ca. 1922) Creator: Bliss [architect] [Dr]
- Blake, Edwin T. Property Surveys (Kensington, CA; 1938-1949) [Ms, Dr]
- Blake, Edwin T. Residence (Kensington, CA; ca. 1922) Creator: Seely [architect] [Dr]
- General Map (Kensington, CA; ca. 1958) [Dr]
- Greenhouse (Kensington, CA; 1950-1962) Creator: U.C. Office of Architecture and Engineering [Dr]
- House Plan [Berkeley] (Berkeley, CA; n.d.) [Ms]
- Long Range Development Plan - G. K. Scott (Kensington, CA; 1964) Creator: Scott, G.K. [landscape architect] [Ms, Dr]
- Master Plan - M. Symmes (Kensington, CA; n.d.) Creator: Symmes, M. [landscape architect] [Dr]
- Miscellaneous - G. K. Scott (Kensington, CA; 1963-1969) Creator: Scott, G.K. [landscape architect] [Dr]
- Miscellaneous - Originals (Kensington, CA; ca. 1963) [Dr]
- Miscellaneous - Prints (Kensington, CA; n.d.) [Dr]
- Planimetric Survey (Kensington, CA; 1958) Creator: Parlett [civil engineer] [Ms, Dr]
- Residence Alterations (Kensington, CA; 1968) Creator: Brocchini [architect] [Dr]
- Service Area Survey and Design (Kensington, CA; 1964) Creator: Tashima & Hodges [landscape architect] [Dr]
- Site Analysis - Student Project (Kensington, CA; 1998) Creator: Jewell [professor] [Dr]
- Student Design - LA 102 Rendering (Kensington, CA; 1998) Creator: Jewell [professor] [Dr]
- Student Design - LA 102 Sections (Kensington, CA; 1998) Creator: Jewell [professor] [Dr]
- Student Design - LA 134A (Kensington, CA; 1961) Creator: Buchanan, Carter, Royston [professor] [Dr]
- Student Design - Misc. (Kensington, CA; 1955-1982) [Dr]
- Topographic Map (Kensington, CA; n.d.) [Dr]
- Tree Inventory (Kensington, CA; n.d.) [Dr]
- Tree Inventory (Kensington, CA; 1985) Creator: Turner & Middleton [unknown] [Dr]
- Tree Inventory (Kensington, CA; 1991) [Dr]
- Tree Removal Plans (Kensington, CA; n.d.) [Dr]
- Vegetation Survey (Kensington, CA; 1958) Creator: Parlett [civil engineer] [Ms, Dr]
I. Blake Family Papers
ca. 1922-1949
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat Files
Series Scope and Content Summary
Contains legal descriptions and graphic surveys of adjacent properties in Kensington owned by brothers Anson S. and Edwin
T. Blake. Includes house plans for Edwin T. Blake's residence in Kensington, which later became a monastery, but does not
include a complete set of house plans for Anson S. Blake's residence in Kensington, known as the Blake Estate. Included is
the original master plan by Mabel Symmes, which incorporated both brothers' land into a single scheme, and a manuscript by
Anita S. Blake titled "History of a Pioneer Garden."
A. Anson S. Blake
ca. 1922,
1924-1928
B. Edwin T. Blake
1922,
1938-1949
C. Mabel Symmes
ca. 1922,
1950,
1959-1960
II. University Records
1955-1998
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat Files, Tubes
Series Scope and Content Summary
Documents the evolution of the Blake Estate under the ownership of the University of California, Berkeley, Department of Landscape
Architecture. Includes initial surveys done at the time the estate was given to the University and more recent information
on vegetation and other physical characteristics of the garden. Includes a Long Range Development Plan by Geraldine Knight
Scott and materials about alterations to the garden and house. Also includes student design projects related to the garden.
A. Surveys Done at Transition of Ownership
1958
B. Topographic Survey
n.d.
C. Vegetation Surveys
1985,
1991
C. Vegetation Surveys
1985,
1991
E. Design Projects
1950-1962,
1963-1969
F. Student Designs
1955-1982,
1961,
1998
I. Blake Family Papers
ca. 1922-1949
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat files
A. Anson S. Blake
ca. 1922-1949
Physical Description: 3 flat files, 3 folders
Box FF, Folder 1
Berkeley Residence
undated
Box 1, Folder 1
House Plan [Berkeley?]
undated
Box FF, Folder 2
Kensington Residence
ca. 1922
Box FF, Folder 3
Kensington Residence Property Surveys
1924-1928
Box 1, Folder 2
Kensington Residence Property Descriptions
undated
B. Edwin T. Blake
ca. 1922-1949
Physical Description: 2 flat files, 1 folder
Box FF, Folder 4
Kensington Residence
1922
Box FF, Folder 5
Kensington Residence Property Surveys
1938-1949
Box 1, Folder 4
Kensington Residence Property Descriptions
undated
C. Mabel Symmes
ca. 1922
Physical Description: 1 flat file
Box FF, Folder 6
Master Plan - Kensington
ca. 1922
Box 1, Folder 4.a
Correspondence
1950,
1959-1960
D. Anita S. Blake
undated
Physical Description: 1 folder
Box 1, Folder 5
Manuscript - History of a Pioneer Garden
undated
II. University Records
1955-1998
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat Files, Tubes
A. Surveys Done at Transition of Ownership
ca. 1958
Physical Description: 4 flat files, 1 folder
B. Topographic Survey
undated
Physical Description: 1 tube
Box T, Folder 1
Topographic Survey
undated
C. Vegetation Surveys
undated,
1985,
1991
Physical Description: 3 tubes, 1 flat file
Box FF, Folder 11
Tree Removal Plans
undated
D. Site Analysis
1998
Physical Description: 1 flat file
Box FF, Folder 12
Site Analysis - Student Project
1998
E. Design Projects
ca. 1955-1998
Physical Description: 7 flat files, 1 folder, 1 tube
Box FF, Folder 14
Long Range Development Plan - G.K. Scott
1964
Box 1, Folder 2
Long Range Development Plan - G.K. Scott
1964
Box T, Folder 5
Long Range Development Plan - G.K. Scott
1964
Box FF, Folder 15
Miscellaneous - G.K. Scott
1963-1969
Box FF, Folder 16
Miscellaneous - Originals
ca. 1963
Box FF, Folder 17
Miscellaneous - Prints
undated
Box FF, Folder 18
Residence Alterations
1968
Box FF, Folder 19
Service Area Survey and Design
1964
F. Student Designs
1955-1998
Physical Description: 6 tubes
Box T, Folder 6
Landscape Architecture 102 - Rendering
1998
Box T, Folders 7,8,9,10
Landscape Architecture 102 - Sections
1998
Box T, Folder 11
Landscape Architecture 134A
1961
