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Inventory of the Blake Estate Collection, ca. 1922-1998
2002-06
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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
Collection 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], Blake Estate Collection, 2002-06, Environmental Design Archives. College of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.
The Environmental Design Archives acquired this collection in 2002.
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.
The collection is organized into two series: Blake Family Papers and University Records.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
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.
Architectural drawings.
Architectural records.
Landscape architecture drawings.
Student works.
Index Terms Related to this Collection
University of California, Berkeley.
Online Archive of California.
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
The following is a list of landscape architectural projects from the Blake Estate Collection. For instructions on interpreting
the Project Index, see
The Guide to the Project Index at
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/pindex/guide.htm .
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]