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FILE — Box: K, Folder: 21 Identifier: DDO-RB-GAR-001, K:RH 1951.06.02

Letter from Ruth M. Havey, Twenty-five Fifth Avenue, New York 3, N.Y. to Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, 1537 Twenty-eighth Street, Georgetown, Washington 7, D.C., June 2, 1951 Digital

Letter from Ruth M. Havey, Twenty-five Fifth Avenue, New York 3, N.Y. to Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, 1537 Twenty-eighth Street, Georgetown, Washington 7, D.C., June 2, 1951
Letter from Ruth M. Havey, Twenty-five Fifth Avenue, New York 3, N.Y. to Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, 1537 Twenty-eighth Street, Georgetown, Washington 7, D.C., June 2, 1951

Scope and Contents

Typescript letter with handwritten signature from Ruth Havey to Mildred Bliss reports the moulded capping below the rail at the North Vista was sent to Mr. Steinbraker. She sent Mr. Kearney a copy of the enclosed letter to Steinbraker so that he can be ready to grade up to it inside the wall. Havey acknowledges Mildred's message that the chains had not arrived and sent on to Mr. Patterson. He wished to place the order for the chains and she does not know what arrangements he has made. She tells Mildred that things are going at a very lively pace, and she will have on the morning of Tuesday June 12 a modelled console and corner finial, and small scale and full size drawings for the console, corner finial and rail. Havey feels between the model and the drawings the intention should be clear enough to get approval and place the order for the work. It would be well during the visit to consult with the men who will execute the stonework and ironwork. She has made tentative arrangements to be in Washington again durig the week of June 25th if Mildred wished to take up other Dumbarton Oaks projects at that time. She also offers to have the North Vista console and corner finials sculpted in full size using clay before cutting in stone if Mildred thinks it would be safer.

Copy of letter from Ruth M. Havey to Mr. G. Morris Steinbraker, 3207 Grace Street, N.W., Washington 7, D.C. dated June 2, 1951. Based on a request by Mildred Bliss, Havey encloses the original detail drawing for the moulded edge of the outside line of the 3 1/2" limestone capping for the low retaining wall below the rail at the center of the North Vista. She asks that the top of the capping is set 2'-10" below the top of the end of the console wall as shown on the wall construction drawings of December 13, 1950 and hopes the capping can be set in place and the grading done by the morning of Tuesday, June 12th. The iron rail is being designed on the assumption that the length of the curve at the center line of the wall between the ends of the console walls is 24'-1". Havey asks him to check this dimension carefully on the wall as built. She says there is no leeway in the railing's length once it is finished. The rail is to center on the wall not the capping below.

Dates

  • Creation: June 2, 1951

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials chiefly in English with a few items in Greek, Latin, French, Italian, or Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

An appointment is required for access to these papers. To request an appointment, fill out the online form: http://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/access-and-hours/schedule-an-appointment.

For research queries, contact the staff of Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives (library@doaks.org).

Extent

23 boxes (Approximately 2632 items including correspondence, expense reports, invoices, estimates, deposit records, book lists, newspaper clippings, newsletters, and plant lists.)

Repository Details

Part of the Dumbarton Oaks Repository

Dumbarton Oaks holds archival collections in its Rare Book Collection, Image Collections and Fieldwork Archives, and the Dumbarton Oaks Archives. The collections include: the papers of noteworthy scholars in the three fields that Dumbarton Oaks supports (Byzantine, Pre-Columbian, and Garden and Landscape); image collections depicting objects or sites of topical interest to scholars in the three fields; Beatrix Farrand’s personal archive of letters and original drawings that document the development of the Dumbarton Oaks Garden; and institutional records and architectural plans and drawings documenting the history of Dumbarton Oaks. For more information about hours and to make an appointment to consult any of the collections listed here, please fill out the request form: https://www.doaks.org/research/library-archives/schedule-an-appointment

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