Neal Townley Childs Collection 1944.-1
Jacob Tobias and Kelcy Shepherd
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
and by a grant from the Getty Foundation.
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
January 1999
230 Bauer Wurster Hall #1820
Berkeley, CA 94720-1820
designarchives@berkeley.edu
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Berkeley. College of Environmental Design. Environmental Design Archives
Title: Neal Townley Childs Collection
Creator:
Childs, Neal Townley
Identifier/Call Number: 1944.-1
Physical Description:
4 Linear Feet:
2 boxes, 3 flat boxes
Date (inclusive): 1916-1935
Abstract: The Neal Childs collection includes correspondence, contracts, procedural statements, drawings and scrapbooks documenting
the landscape architect's career. Scrapbooks contain original photographs and clippings related to landscape architecture
and garden structures, and are arranged by subject. Project records consist of specifications, plant lists, photographs, and
one drawing and are primarily related to residential projects in the Palo Alto area.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of Item], Neal Townley Childs Collection, [1944-1] Environmental Design Archives, University of California,
Berkeley.
Neal Townley Childs (approximately 1887-1978)
Neal Townley Childs received his A.B. from Yale College in 1909 and his M.F. from Yale University Forest School in 1911. He
also did graduate work in landscape architecture at the University of California in 1914.
Childs' career included work in forestry as well as commercial and residential landscape architecture. He worked for the
U.S. Forest Service from 1911 through 1913 and was an assistant professor of forestry at the University of Nebraska in 1914.
He headed Neal T. Childs Co. Landscape Architects and Consulting Foresters in San Francisco from 1915 through 1920. He returned
to forestry in 1920, working as Chief Forester for the U.S. Leather Company and Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company of New
York City out of their San Francisco office until 1922. He worked as a landscape designer out of his home Oakholme in Atherton,
California after 1923, and completed numerous residential projects in the Palo Alto area.
Childs wrote the book Man and the Land: The Story Of Man's Use And Abuse Of The Land Thru The Ages in 1928.
The Neal Childs collection is comprised of records documenting the landscape architect's career. The collection is arranged
in four series: Professional Papers, Office Records, Project Records and Additional Donations. The first series contains
a resume and project list, and correspondence with clients, friends, and publishers. Office records include contracts, fee
lists, and procedural statements as well as visual records. These consist of drawings of garden structures, and reference
scrapbooks containing original photographs and clippings, arranged by subject. Childs's project records consist of specifications,
plant lists, photographs, and one drawing and are primarily related to residential projects in the Palo Alto area. Blueprints
from the Blackman residence (Stanford University, ca. 1931) were donated separately, and comprise the final series. The bulk
of the collection was donated by Childs in 1944, with additional materials being transferred in 1979, following his death.
Professional Papers I. 1923-1935
Contains a resume, project list, job application and correspondence. The job application includes samples of Childs's work
such as reports and drawings. Correspondence includes letters of appreciation from clients and friends regarding the publication
of his work in the Architect and Engineer.
Office Records II. 1916-1932
Consists of contracts, procedural statements, promotional materials, drawings and scrapbooks. Contracts include blank forms
and completed documents. The drawings, sketches and plans of a variety of garden structures, may have been sold individually
by Childs. The scrapbooks contain photographs and clippings of landscape details, arranged by subject. One volume consists
entirely of photographs of eucalyptus and other trees.