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Guide to the Scripps College Architect and
Construction Files at Scripps College
D193X.1
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Table of contents
Title: Scripps College
Architect and Construction Files
Creator:
Scripps College
Dates:
1926-1992
Date (bulk): (bulk 1927-1933)
Extent:
10.5 cubic feet
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library.
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: This collection
consists of correspondence, architectural drawings, daily
construction notes, photographs, specifications, contracts,
invoices, financial records, and other miscellaneous records
pertaining to the construction of buildings and facilities
at Scripps College in Claremont, California. The collection
covers the years 1926 to 1992, with the bulk of the material
ranging from 1927 to 1933.
Collection Number: D193X.1
Language:
English
Physical Location: Ella Stong Denison
Library
This collection is open for research with permission from
Ella Strong Denison Library staff.
All requests for permission to publish must be submitted
in writing to Denison Library.
Related material at Ella Strong Denison Library
Scripps College Architectural Drawings,
Date: 1927-2001
18 cubic feet
Scripps College Architect and Construction Files
Collection. Ella Strong Denison Library, Scripps
College, Claremont, California.
Records in this collection were given to Scripps College
by Harlan Edwards ca. 1930’s. Other records in
this collection were deposited by Scripps College
as part of the Scripps College Archives.
Preliminary arrangement by library staff. Processed by
History Associates Incorporated, 2005.
No addition to the collection is anticipated.
Administrative History of the Scripps College Architect and Construction Files
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 Dorsey Hall’s
great window.
The general plan of the campus, the four residence halls, the
Memorial Garden, and the Art Building were designed in 1926
by architect Gordon Kaufmann of Los Angeles. Kauffman was a
leading architect during the 1920s. Sumner Hunt, also of Los
Angeles, was the architect chosen - in the late 1920s - by
Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch to design Balch Hall, which
houses the academic interests of the College.
The landscape architect for the entire campus was Edward
Huntsman-Trout of Hollywood. Huntsman-Trout was a well-known
landscape architect in Southern California between 1920 and
the early 1970’s, and was a prominent designer of both
residential estates and larger non-residential commissions.
One of the most representative examples of Huntsman-Trout’s
style is Scripps College. Scripps College features one and
two story Spanish Colonial Revival buildings placed on
rectilinear, interlocking axes.. The plan is highly complex.
The open spaces are enhanced by the addition of intimate
courtyards and slight changes of level. Two major axes make
up the scheme; the east-west axis of the auditorium; and the
art building facing north toward the bowling green and Toll
Hall. These axes together make the structural backbone of
the plan. They give it strength and stability to contrast
with the free form of trees and other plants. Huntsman-Trout
placed many rare shrubs and trees on the campus, including
liquidambar, American elms, tulip trees, almond trees, and a
variety of sycamores. Garden grounds are frequent
throughout. Shade trees are everywhere.
Coats, Bruce A. Guide to the Scripps College Campus: In Celebration
of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the Founding of Scripps
College. Scripps College, Claremont, California, 2002
| 1926 | Architect Gordon Kaufmann along with landscape architect Edward Huntsman-Trout, designs a general campus plan featuring four residence halls to be built the first four consecutive years of the College. |
| 1927 | Eleanor Joy Toll Hall is the first residence hall constructed and opens as the first building in the Gordon Kaufmann plan. |
| 1928 | In fall, Grace Scripps Clark Hall is completed. |
| 1929 | Janet Jacks Balch Hall, designed by architect Sumner Hunt of Los Angeles, is completed in fall and becomes the primary academic facility. |
| 1929 | In fall Ellen Browning Residence Hall is completed. |
| 1930 | In fall, Susan Miller Dorsey Hall is ready for occupancy. |
| 1931 | Ella Strong Denison Library is dedicated. |
| 1933 | Alumnae Park is dedicated to the honorary alumnae from the early years of the college before there was a true alumnae association. |
| 1933 | The swimming pool and the first units of the field house are completed. |
| 1934 | Architect Gordon Kaufmann designs the Margaret Fowler Garden, an enclosed, European medieval-style cloister garden for the east side of the campus to accompany the Oratory. |
| 1966 | Dorothy Drake Wing of Denison Library opens. |
Scope and Contents of the Records
The Scripps College Architect and Construction Files Collection
contains correspondence, photographs, architectural
drawings, specifications, contracts, invoices, financial
records, and other miscellaneous records pertaining to the
construction of buildings and facilities at Scripps College
in Claremont, California. The collection covers the years
1926 to 1992, with the bulk of the material ranging from
1927 to 1933.
The largest series in the collection is facilities, which consists
of correspondence, photographs, blueprints, specifications,
contracts, invoices, financial records, and other
miscellaneous records pertaining to the construction of
buildings and facilities at Scripps College. This series
also contains correspondence from supervising engineer
Harlan Edwards, architect Gordon Kaufmann, W.C. Crandall,
and J.C. Harper. The next largest series is the
correspondence series, which also contains correspondence
from the above individuals.
With the exception of Series 1, Photographic Material, and
photographic prints located in the daily construction
records folder in Series 3, Facilities, this collection
consists largely of textual records. Textual record types
primarily include correspondence, newspaper clippings,
notes, financial statements, specifications, invoices, and
contracts.
The collection is organized into six series:
- Series 1: Photographic Material, 1927-1930, .25 cubic feet
- Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-1933, .5 cubic feet.
- Series 3: Facilities, 1926-1991, 3.65 cubic feet.
- Series 4: Construction, 1927-1935, 1 cubic ft.
- Series 5: Non-Scripps College Material, 1927-1930, .25 cubic feet
- Series 6: Oversize Material, 1 cubic ft
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Architecture
and Construction--Archives.
Scripps College
(Claremont, Calif.)--Archival resources.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Architectural Drawings
Blueprints
Correspondence
Photographs