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Olmstead Brothers landscaping in Houston records

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0172
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of correspondence, design documents, planting lists, and photographs that cover the history of the gardens designed for J. Robert Neal in Houston from the initial contact of the Olmsted firm to inquiries by the present owners of the property concerning restoration. The correspondence covers all aspects of the design and furnishing of the gardens, including invoices for irrigation features and detailed lists of columns, urns and vases. There are also letters having to do with the featuring of the gardens in the April 1937 issue of Country Life in America and with planning for an Historic Landscape Report as a preliminary to restoration.

Dates

  • 1931 - 1939

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research.

Stored offsite at the Library Service Center and require 24-hour notice for retrieval. Please contact the Woodson Research Center at 713-348-2586 or woodson@rice.edu for more information.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the Olmsted Brothers Landscaping in Houston (J. R. Neal Gardens) Records must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library.

Biographical Sketch

Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects of Brookline, Massachusetts existed from 1857, when the firm designed Central Park in New York City, until 1950. The Neal gardens were the only residential project the firm did in Houston; there were three others in Texas, two in Dallas and one in San Antonio. The architect of the Olmsted firm who was chiefly responsible for the Neal project was J. F. Dawson.

J. Robert Neal (1894-1939) was made a vice president of Houston’s Second National Bank when his father used his share of the proceeds from selling the Cheek-Neal Coffee Company to buy controlling interest in the bank. From 1931 to 1939, the younger Neal devoted meticulous attention to the building of a home and gardens on a three-and-three-quarter-acre site in the River Oaks area, abutting the golf course of the River Oaks Country Club. He engaged noted Houston architect John F. Staub to design the house, and the Olmsted firm to design and plant the gardens.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet ( (1 box))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of correspondence, design documents, planting lists, and photographs that cover the history of the gardens designed for J. Robert Neal in Houston from the initial contact of the Olmsted firm to inquiries by the present owners of the property concerning restoration.

Source of Acquisition

This collection is part of the Hutcheson and Allied Families’ Papers, donated by Joanne Seale Wilson, November 16, 2010.

Subjects

Record Groups

Related Names

Creator

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Olmsted Brothers Landscaping in Houston (J. R. Neal Gardens) Records, 1931-1939
Status
Completed
Date
2012
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

https://library.rice.edu/woodson
Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA

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Harmful Content Statement
© 2023 Woodson Research Center
Fondren Library, Rice University
Physical Address: 6100 Main, Houston, Texas 77005-1827
Mailing Address: MS-44, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, Texas 77251-1892