Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository: Cleveland Museum of Art Archives
- Creator: Cleveland Museum of Art.
- Creator: Hubbell & Benes Co.
- Title: Cleveland Museum of Art construction records for the 1916 Building
- ID: 1111.064
- Date [bulk]: 1915-1917
- Date [inclusive]: 1905-1923
- Extent: 3.0 Cubic feet [6 boxes, 3 century albums, 10 drawers of architectural drawings, several oversize items]
- Language: English
Biographical/Historical note
The founding of The Cleveland Museum of Art was a collaborative effort. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, wealthy Cleveland businessmen John Huntington, Horace Kelley, and Hinman Hurlbut left substantial bequests in their wills to establish an art museum. In 1892 Jeptha Wade II gave eight acres of land to the city of Cleveland "for the construction and maintenance of an art gallery and school." Over the next two decades, the trustees of the Huntington, Kelley, and Hurlbut estates worked towards reconciling the legal stipulations of the wills to finance the construction of a single art museum on the land that Wade donated.
In June 1905 the trustees reached a preliminary agreement. Encouraged by the progress of the negotiations, E.R. Perkins, president of the Huntington trust, appointed a six-man building committee to select an architect and review prospective building plans. The committee subsequently chose the local firm of Hubbell & Benes to design the new museum, but it also retained Edmund Wheelwright, consulting architect for Boston's newly completed Museum of Fine Arts, as an advisor to the project. The museum opened to members on June 6, 1919 and to the public on June 7, 1916.
Scope and Contents note
This is an artificial collection comprised of records pertaining to the construction of the Cleveland Museum of Art 1916 building, including the records of the temporary committees formed to plan the building and the records of the department that would evolve into buildings and grounds. The collection reflects the contributions of four different corporate entities, two of which were associated with the museum only during the initial construction. Buildings and Grounds records consist of general office files including correspondence among the architects, the superintendent for architects, engineers, contractors, inspectors, consultants, suppliers and the superintendent of the CMA; lists of equipment and furnishings; financial statements and calculations, cancelled checks, shipping invoices; personal materials of Victor E. Thibaud - including correspondence, financial statements, tax bills, and receipts; sketches of furnishings and equipment; CMA superintendent's office diary March 17, 1916 - July 24, 1916; personal correspondence of John W. McCabe; files of the Building Committee including correspondence, minutes, agreements, financial statements, calculations, lists of equipment and furnishings; and specifications. A who's who of the individuals named in the collection is as follows:
Allen & Haworth Providers of interior marble Anderson, Alex Vice President, Blue Ridge Marble Company Cornell, W. G. Engineers & Contractors Crowell-Lundoff-Little Co. General Contractors Building Construction Crowell & Murray Inspectors of iron, steel, cement & building materials Crowell and Sherman Co. General Contractors Eveleth, C. F. Consulting Engineer (French & Hubbard) French (Hollis) & Hubbard (Allen) Consulting Engineers (Boston) Fuller, C. W. Secretary, Building Committee Gilman, H.F. Superintendent, Crowell-Lundoff-Little Co. Harmon, Arthur L. Architect Holden, Liberty E. Chairman, Building Committee Hubbell & Benes Architects Jessop, William Sales Manager, George Marble Company Kelley, Hermon A. Secretary, Cleveland Museum of Art Little, Bascom Secretary, Crowell and Sherman Lundoff, Clemens W. Vice President, Crowell and Sherman McCabe, J. F. Superintendent, Buildings and Grounds, CMA McCabe, John W. Superintendent, Buildings and Grounds, CMA McCreary, A.R. Chief Engineer, Crowell and Sherman Ranney, H. C. President, CMA Thibaud, Victor Emile Superintendent for Architects, released April 1916 Wheelright, Edmund M. Consulting Architect (Boston) Whiting, Frederic Allen Director and Secretary of the Building Committee
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Ingalls Library and Museum Archives
11150 East Blvd.Cleveland, OH, 44106
216-707-2492
archives2@clevelandart.org
Conditions Governing Access note
Subject to review by archives staff. For more information or to access this collection contact archives staff at archives2@clevelandart.org.
Controlled Access Headings
Personal Name(s)
- Whiting, Frederic Allen, 1873-1959
Subject(s)
- Architecture -- Ohio -- Cleveland
- Art museum architecture -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Designs and plans.
- Art museums -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Design and construction.
- Art museums -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Planning.
Collection Inventory
Construction Records | ||||
| Box | Folder | |||
Report from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: The Museum Commission in Europe | 1 | 1 | ||
Articles of Incorporation, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 26 June 1913 1913 | 1 | 2 | ||
Materials relating to the Exchange of Lands in Wade Park With the City of Cleveland | 1 | 3 | ||
Building Committee correspondence | 1 | 4 | ||
Building Committee minutes of meetings, 8 June 1905 - 6 November 1912 1905-1912 | 1 | 5 | ||
Building Committee minutes of meetings, 24 April 1913 - 12 December 1914 1913-1914 | 1 | 6 | ||
Building Committee minutes of meetings, 26 February 1916 - 4 November 1915 1914-1915 | 1 | 7 | ||
Building Committee minutes of meetings, 16 November 1915 - 24 November 1916 1915-1916 | 1 | 8 | ||
Building Committee minutes of meetings, 1 December 1916 - 18 December 1919 1916-1919 | 1 | 9 | ||
Agreements with architects, general contractors, and consulting engineers, 1907-1913 1907-1913 | 2 | 1 | ||
French and Hubbard, correspondence, 1914 - September 1918 1914-1918 | 2 | 2 | ||
French and Hubbard, correspondence, October 1918 - 1921 1918-1921 | 2 | 3 | ||
V.E. Thebaud (Hubbell and Benes) correspondence 1913-1916 | 2 | 4 | ||
V.E. Thebaud, personal correspondence 1914-1915 | 2 | 5 | ||
V.E. Thebaud, calculations of materials, qualities, and costs | 2 | 6 | ||
V.E. Thebaud, construction journal 1914 | 2 | 7 | ||
V.E. Thebaud, memos to H.G. Gilman n.d. | 2 | 8 | ||
Superintendent's office diary 1916 | 2 | 9 | ||
John W. McCabe, appointment as superintendent 1922 | 2 | 10 | ||
John W. McCabe, personal correspondence 1919-1912 | 2 | 11 | ||
Shipping invoices from King Bridge 1914-1915 | 3 | 1 | ||
Shipping invoices from King Bridge [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1914-1915 | 3 | 2 | ||
Lists of equipment and furniture [1] | 3 | 3 | ||
Lists of equipment and furniture [2] | 3 | 4 | ||
Lists of equipment and furniture [3] | 3 | 5 | ||
Promotional material for equipment and furniture | 3 | 6 | ||
Crowell and Murray, cement inspections 1916-1915 | 3 | 7 | ||
Report on contract from W.S. Tyler, 5 November 1915 1915 | 3 | 8 | ||
Report of the lighting committee to the building committee 1916 | 3 | 9 | ||
Temperature readings, August - September 1917 1917 | 3 | 10 | ||
Duties of Telephone Operato [not found as of 9 November 2001] | 3 | 11 | ||
Titles of specifications | 3 | 12 | ||
Specifications, general conditions | 3 | 13 | ||
Specifications, carpenter work | 3 | 14 | ||
Specifications, plumbing | 3 | 15 | ||
Specifications, heating and ventilating apparatus | 3 | 16 | ||
Specifications, heating and ventilating apparatus | 4 | 1 | ||
Specifications, electrical work and apparatus | 4 | 2 | ||
Specifications, painting and finishing | 4 | 3 | ||
Specifications, interior marble work revision no. 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
Specifications, [emergency lighting apparatus and wiring] | 4 | 5 | ||
Specifications, [for hardware] | 4 | 6 | ||
Specifications, [for glass] | 4 | 7 | ||
Specifications, [for sheet metal work] | 4 | 8 | ||
Specifications, for vacuum cleaning plant | 4 | 9 | ||
Specifications, for landscape work | 4 | 10 | ||
Specifications, for elevators and apparatus | 4 | 11 | ||
Specifications, for completing garden court - Hubbell & Benes, Architects | 4 | 12 | ||
Specifications, for finishing north galleries | 4 | 13 | ||
Specifications, Report on Methods of Obtaining Auxiliary Heat to Charles W. Bingham | 4 | 14 | ||
Specifications, for gas boilers, steam piping, and apparatus - auxiliary heating | 4 | 15 | ||
Specifications, for electric wiring for service station | 4 | 16 | ||
Specifications, for erecting complete a steam power plant in the service building | 4 | 17 | ||
Specifications, [for service station plumbing] | 4 | 18 | ||
Specifications, changes in electrical wiring | 4 | 19 | ||
Specifications, for ornamental iron and bronze | 4 | 20 | ||
Specifications, for alterations to the heating and ventilating system March 11, 1947 1947 | 4 | 21 | ||
Letters on heating [not found as of 9 November 2001] | 4 | 22 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 1-25 1913-1916 | 4 | 23 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 26-50 1913-1916 | 4 | 24 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 51-75 1913-1916 | 4 | 25 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 76-100 1913-1916 | 4 | 26 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 101-125 1913-1916 | 5 | 1 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 126-150 1913-1916 | 5 | 2 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 151-175 1913-1916 | 5 | 3 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 176-200 1913-1916 | 5 | 4 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 201-225 1913-1916 | 5 | 5 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 226-250 1913-1916 | 5 | 6 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 251-275 1913-1916 | 5 | 7 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, nos. 276-296 1913-1916 | 5 | 8 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, service station), nos. 1-21 | 5 | 9 | ||
Applications for certificates of payment and certificates of payment, service station), nos. 22-42 | 5 | 10 | ||
Cleveland Trust bank passbook 1916-1918 | 5 | 11 | ||
Cash book and ledger 1914 | 5 | 12 | ||
[Statements of Account - The Guardian Savings and Trust - July 9, 1917 - October 1, 1919] [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1917 | 5 | 13 | ||
[Statements of Account - Construction Account - The Guardian Savings and Trust - May 2, 1917 - July 25, 1918] [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1917 | 5 | 14 | ||
[Statements of Receipts and Disbursements - Building Account - The Guardian Savings and Trust - January 12, 1914 - March 24, 1917] [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1914-1917 | 5 | 15 | ||
[The National Commercial Bank - Cancelled Checks - April 22, 1915 - May 29, 1915] [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1915 | 5 | 16 | ||
[Journal of the CMA - January 2, 1914 - December 30, 1915] [not found as of 9 November 2001] 1914-1915 | 5 | 17 | ||
Garden, Conservatory, and Hall Furniture in Art Stone and Wood, the Fischer & Jirouch Company, Cleveland n.d. | 6 | 1 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [1] | 6 | 2 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [2] | 6 | 3 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [3] | 6 | 4 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [4] | 6 | 5 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [5] | 6 | 6 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [6] | 6 | 7 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [7] | 6 | 8 | ||
Photographs of architectural details, unidentified vendor(s) [8] | 6 | 9 | ||
Construction Photographs 1905-1919 1.0 Cubic feet [3 century albums] | Box 7-9 | |||
Cleveland Museum of Art photographs: 132 images including models of the building, exterior construction, interior construction, and the completed building and grounds 1912-1919 | ||||
Hubbell and Benes photographs: 170 images including models of the building, site preconstruction, exterior and interior construction 1905-1915 | ||||
Oversize materials | ||||
| Drawer | ||||
Architectural Drawings Scope and Contents noteThe architectural drawings that are relevant to the construction of the 1916 building were transferred to the architectural drawings collection. For more information on these drawings please contact archives staff. Restrictions to access may apply. | 1-10 | |||
Hubbell & Benes Cash Receipts and Disbursements Journal (1 volume) (O*2-3-1) | ||||
The Work of William E. Foster, Architect (two copies) (O*2-3-1) | ||||
Drawing of exhibit space for Fischer; Jirouch (two drawings) (O*2-3-1) | ||||