Research: Topics: Environment: Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Preliminary Guide to Environmental Sources
Historical Records Repositories in New York State
The New York Public Library. Manuscripts & Archives Section.
Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018
- American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. American Scenic
and Historic Preservation Society records, 1895-1971.
14.5 linear feet (38 boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Founded in 1895 by conservationist and New York City civic leader Andrew H. Green (1820-1903), the Society's purpose was to protect scenic and historic sites. It acted as a custodian for several New York State parks and historic sites, and as an advocate for numerous other sites located largely in New York State, but also included sites throughout the United States and Europe.
Collection includes minutes of trustees' monthly meetings, and of annual meetings of the Society, 1911-1971; annual reports, 1898-1926; record books, 1898-1926, containing additional minutes, correspondence of secretaries and presidents, reports, New York State legislative documents, clippings, printed material, blueprints, maps, and photographs; minutes, reports, correspondence, and other records, 1911-1939, of committees that administered sites under the Society's custodianship; miscellaneous financial documents, 1930s-1960s; general files, 1930s-1960s, consisting largely of correspondence; issues of the Society's bulletin, Scenic and Historic America, 1929-1938; two books, A Narrative of the Life of Mary Jemison, and Philipse Manor Hall at Yonkers, N.Y., published by the Society, containing heavy annotations for the 1925 editions; and minutes, correspondence and other documents, 1924-1939, of the State Council of Parks (N.Y.), on which the Society was represented. Robert Moses was chairman of the Council and some of his correspondence is included. Scenic and historic sites treated include Letchworth Park, Stony Point Battlefield Reservation, John Boyd Thatcher Park, John William Draper Park, Hamilton Grange, and Philipse Manor Hall, all located in New York State and under the custodianship of the Society.
Also discussed are Niagara Falls, Palisades Interstate Park, the Octagon House in Washington, D.C., the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York City, Storm King Mountain (site of the Consolidated Edison power plant in upstate New York), and post-World War I reconstruction in France.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository. - Breathe Again. Records, 1971-1974.
.2 linear foot (1 box)
Breathe Again (Bay Ridge Ecological Action Towards a Healthier Environment) was a small grassroots citizens group located in and acting within Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, N.Y. The group's primary goal was to alert individuals to recycling, waste disposal and clean air issues in their community. It was founded in 1971 and lasted until mid-1972. After 1972 its activities were continued by the Brooklyn Environmental Coalition. Collection consists of correspondence, minutes, membership information, clippings, photographs, and materials documenting the activities of Breathe Again. Correspondence, 1971-1974, is with city, state and national groups. Also, minutes of meetings, 1971-1972, photographs of waste sites, publicity releases, and other materials concerning environmental matters and ecological awareness.
Access restrictions: apply in Special Collections office.
Subjects: Recycling (Waste, etc.) - Citizens for a Quieter City. Records, 1950-1977, bulk (1966-1977)
40 linear feet (41 boxes)
Citizens for a Quieter City, Inc. was founded in New York City in 1966 by Robert Alex Baron (1921-1980) as a non-profit, voluntary organization dedicated to the reduction of urban noise. Its objective was to develop information about the injurious effects of noise, the methods of controlling and reducing it, and the education of the public to the importance of its abatement. Baron, a theatrical manager, founded a predecessor organizaton, the Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association, in 1965.
Collection consists of correspondence, minutes, diaries, financial records, photographs, printed matter, audio and video tape recordings pertaining to Citizens for a Quieter City and the Upper Sixth Avenue Noise Abatement Association as well as Baron's papers as a theatrical manager. Correspondence, 1966-1974, is with officials of city, state and federal agencies, civic and community organizations, and manufacturers of construction equipment and noise abatement devices. Minutes and by-laws section contains minutes of the board of directors and of the technical committee, and by-laws of the organization. Diaries and notebooks, 1970-1973, consists of desk diaries and memoranda by Baron. Complaint center problem reports, 1969-1972, contain complaints received from the public; financial records include invoices, ledgers, balance sheets, audit reports, bank statements, and other items; and noise pollution inquiry, 1970-1972, consists of forms summarizing the nature of inquiries received. Upper Sixth Avenue Association records, 1965-1966, include correspondence, minutes and reports of Baron. Theater papers, ca. 1950-1960s, consist of his records as general manager of Theatre Tours. Also, photographs of Baron and photographic slides; printed matter; audio and video tape recordings of conferences, television shows and public events in which Citizens for a Quieter City participated; and some oversize materials, such as scrapbooks and publicity posters.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository. - Gray, Ethel Huyler, 1877-. Ethel Huyler Gray papers, 1908-1958.
1.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
Ethel Huyler Gray (1877- ), an American actress, author and editor, worked in the theatre for 12 years, then edited legal documents and advertising copy. She also was a writer and researcher for the New York Theosophical Society.
Collection contains Gray's correspondence, writings, photographs, sketches, and printed matter. Correspondence, 1908-1958, is mainly incoming and topics include environmental issues, Gray's claim as a patentee to New Harlem, and personal matters. Writings consist of literary manuscripts, speeches and articles on subjects such as St. Mark's Episcopal Church in New York City, British archaeology, and unicorns. Also, photographs of family members, sketches, clippings, and other printed materials.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository. - Outdoor Cleanliness Association. Records, 1931-1969, bulk (1940-1966)
18 linear feet (19 boxes and 2 map cases)
The Outdoor Cleanliness Association (OCA) was formed in 1930 by a group of New York City residents as a voluntary civic association to promote awareness of the refuse disposal and pollution problems becoming increasingly apparent in the city by the 1930s. The OCA helped citizens to identify and locate proper city authorities to correct health and sanitation violations and attempted to increase public awareness through poster campaigns, school programs and fundraising events. The group discontinued its activities in 1971.
Collection is largely comprised of correspondence, 1934-1969, of the Outdoor Cleanliness Association with city agencies, special interest groups and civic organizations concerning educational projects, fundraising programs and social events. Also included are minutes and reports, 1931-1968, of the annual meetings of the Board of Directors; financial records, 1940-1969; correspondence files, 1963-1969, of the OCA junior committee; directories and memoranda, 1947-1966; graphic works (mainly publicity posters); photographs of OCA members and events; and newspaper clippings, 1930-1958.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository. - Skeel, Emily Ford, 1867-1958. Papers, 1871-1958.
106 linear feet (150 boxes and 2 v.)
Arrangement: Nine series: General Correspondence; Personal and Family Correspondence; Financial and Household Correspondence; Bibliographic Notes; Minor Series; Scrapbooks; Photograph Albums; Photographs; Printed Matter.
Collection consists of correspondence, notes, scrapbooks, photographs, and printed matter relating to Skeel's professional and personal activities. General correspondence, 1871-1958, includes letters about her bibliographic and editorial work as well as letters of Skeel and her husband with family and friends, librarians, archivists, and academics. There is correspondence with various organizations and societies concerned with social and educational issues and with the Single Tax measures of Henry George. Personal and family correspondence, 1871-1950, contains correspondence with family members, relatives and personal friends, and other correspondence that is personal in nature. Financial and household correspondence, 1913-1946, consists of letters with banks and stockbrokers, general business letters and correspondence from Skeel's years in Martha's Vineyard. Bibliographic notes are made up of material Skeel gathered for her work on Webster and original manuscript of the Webster bibliography. Minor series includes notes about Weems, memoranda, writings, student notebooks, personal and family papers with genealogical information, commonplace books, accounts and account books, and maps. Also, scrapbooks compiled by Emily and Roswell Skeel; photographs of family members and residences, prominent people and various other subjects; and printed matter, such as clippings, pamphlets, prints and ephemera.
Emily Ford Skeel (1867-1958) was a bibliographer, editor and philanthropist. Her parents were Gordon Lester Ford (1823-1891), a railroad and real-estate magnate and collector of Americana, and Emily Fowler Ford (1826-1893), a poet. Like her older brothers Worthington Chauncey Ford (1858-1941) and Paul Leicester Ford (1865-1902), Skeel did historical research and compiled bibliographies on Parson Weems and Noah Webster. She and her husband, Roswell Skeel, Jr. (1866-1922), contributed time and money to various organizations and causes concerned with social reform or environmental conservation.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository.
Subject: Environmental protection. - Sullivan, John Francis, 1878-. Papers, ca. 1906-1933, bulk (1920-1930)
13 linear feet (12 boxes and 5 packages)
John Francis Sullivan (1878- ) was an engineer who worked on New York City municipal improvement projects from the 1900s through the 1920s. In 1930 he was appointed City Planner. From 1918 to 1920, as an Army Reserve officer, Sullivan directed construction of the United States Nitrate Plant No. 2 at Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He also served in 1927 as a consultant on the construction of the Cooper River Bridge in Charleston, South Carolina.
Collection consists of correspondence, reports, minutes, transcripts, blueprints, maps, notes, sketches, photographs, and printed matter chiefly concerning the projects Sullivan worked on in New York City. Projects documented include West Side improvement, 1909-1920s; sewers and New York harbor pollution, 1912-1928; subway and bus routes, 1900s-1920s; port and harbor development, 1919-1920; and road and bridge construction in the 1920s. Sullivan's work on the Cooper River Bridge in 1926 and 1927 is documented in these files and some personal and miscellaneous materials are included. U.S. Nitrate Plant No. 2 records, 1918-1921, consist of correspondence and other materials concerning the construction of the plant at Muscle Shoals and ensuing congressional investigation. Also, photographs, including approximately 150 lantern slides; blueprints and maps; notes and sketches; and printed matter with many clippings.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository. - Wald, Lillian D., 1867-1940. Papers, 1889-1940.
Originals: 24 linear feet (48 boxes).
Copies: 37 microfilm reels.
Collection available on microfilm; New York Public Library.
Lillian D. Wald (1867-1940), a public health nurse and social worker in New York City on the Lower East Side, was a pioneer in American social work and public health. She founded the Henry Street Settlement and the Visiting Nurse Service of New York in 1893 and was a crusader for liberal, social welfare and philanthropic causes including child welfare, civil liberties, immigration, the peace movement during and after World War I, the Socialist Party, and unemployment.Collection consists of correspondence, speeches, writings, and collateral papers documenting Wald's career in public health nursing and social work in New York City, her association with the Henry Street Settlement and the Visiting Nurse Service, and her many other social welfare concerns, such as child labor, housing, recreation, sanitation, peace, prohibition, and women's suffrage. Correspondence contains letters to and from Wald concerning the social conditions she encountered and sought to improve. Correspondents include friends, professional associates, government officials and well-known people in the U.S. and abroad. Other papers consist of speeches, articles and notes written by Wald; collateral materials which include articles and speeches by her colleagues in nursing and social work; letters she wrote during trips to the Orient in 1910 and to Russia in 1924; notes, minutes, reports, and printed matter from various conferences she attended; and miscellaneous biographical materials.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository.
Lillian Wald papers; also located at: Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.
The New York Public Library, Rare Books & Manuscripts Division.
Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018
- Environmental Action Coalition. Environmental Action Coalition
records, 1970-1993.
45 linear feet (68 boxes, 1 charter case file)
The Environmental Action Coalition (EAC) is a non-profit citizens' association in New York City dedicated to expanding public awareness of environmental problems. It works to achieve this goal through consumer awareness, the development of an environmental education curriculum for schools, and the coordination of environmental protection and improvement projects with community groups, business, government, and the scientific community. Organized in 1970 as the New York Committee for Earth Day, the EAC focuses on the issues of recycling and solid waste disposal, urban forestry, water conservation, and environmental education.
Collection consists of general records, waste management program files, environmental education records, and other materials documenting the activities of the Environmental Action Coalition. General records, 1970-1987, include correspondence, reports, minutes, grant proposals, and related records in subject files. Waste management program files, 1971-1986, contain correspondence, minutes, surveys, reports, and subject files of Waste Management Director. Environmental education materials include issues and files of Eco-News, 1977-1980, 1985-1986, the first environmental newsletter for children; files relating to the EAC newsletter Cycle, 1973-1992; and miscellaneous materials about environmental education topics. Records, 1984-1991, related to EAC's contract with the Dept. of Sanitation in New York City, consist of correspondence, proposals, contracts, reports, and invoices for various recycling projects. Also, financial records, fund raising files, 1970-1993, publicity materials, clippings and other printed matter, photographs, and posters.
Access restrictions: Apply in Special Collections Office.
Finding aids: Finding aid available in repository.