Description
This collection comprises architectural
drawings, plans, renderings, and blueprints used in the construction of the Scripps College
in Claremont, California. Materials include black images, as well as color paintings. The
collection includes plans for major campus buildings such as academic units, campus support
facilities, and student housing as well as plans for campus layout and infrastructure,
including landscaping, and utility systems. The collection covers the years 1927 to 2001,
with the bulk of the material ranging from 1927 to 1971.
Background
Scripps College is frequently described as one of America’s most beautiful college
campuses. Scripps’ scenic 30-acre campus, listed in the National Register of Historic
Places, was designed by architect Gordon Kaufmann in collaboration with landscape architect
Edward Huntsman-Trout. The plan for Scripps campus was designed with the idea that there
would be an artistic connection between the buildings and its landscape. One such example is
the walkways that line the campus. Each walkway was designed to link walks and vistas to
architectural approaches. Examples of such walkways include: the vista between the entrance
to Balch Auditorium and the entrance to the President’s House, through a grassed lane shaded
by rows of American elms; the north-south axis of the campus, the orange tree-bordered walk
from the Oak Terrace above the Bowling Green to the door of Toll Hall, with the fountain
entrance to the Florence Rand Lang Art Building framed in the tree-formed vista from Toll
terrace; and the east-west crosswalk extending the width of the campus near the halls of
residence, focused on Dorsey Hall’s great window.
Restrictions
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to Ella Strong Denison
Library.
Availability
Collection open for research.