Guide to the Construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments (Westchester County, New York) as Photographed by Harold Haliday Costain Architectural Photography, 1929 April 11-August 24 SPEC.RARE.MMS.0369 Finding aid prepared by David Mezick Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2023 September This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2023-10-06T10:01-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments (Westchester County, New York) as Photographed by Harold Haliday Costain Architectural Photography SPEC.RARE.MMS.0369 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 1 0.15 Cubic feet 1929 April 11-August 24 The Van Tassel Co-operative Garden Apartments were built in 1929 in the village of North Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York; as of 2023, the name of the village is Sleepy Hollow. The project was funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960) and designed by architect Andrew J. Thomas (1875–1965), who both were known for working on housing projects that incorporated green outdoor space, also known as garden apartments. The Construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments (Westchester County, New York) as Photographed by Harold Haliday Costain Architectural Photography is a photograph album that contains photographs dated from April 11-August 24, 1929 that were taken during different stages of the construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments, including the laying of brick masonry walls by workers. (1) flat box English Arrangement of Materials

The collection consists of photographs that are arranged chronologically in a photograph album, showing the progress over time of the construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments.

 Acquisitions Information

Accession No. RARE.2023.0056: Purchased, 2022 December

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments (Westchester County, New York) as Photographed by Harold Haliday Costain Architectural Photography, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0369, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University

 Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.

 Use of Materials

Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.

 Processing Information

Processed by: David Mezick, 2023 September; Finding aid written by: David Mezick, 2023 September

 Historical Note

The Van Tassel Co-operative Garden Apartments were built in 1929 in the village of North Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York; as of 2023, the name of the village is Sleepy Hollow. Planning for the Van Tassel Apartments started in 1928. The project was funded by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874-1960) and designed by architect Andrew J. Thomas (1875–1965). Both Rockefeller and Thomas were known for working on housing projects that incorporated green outdoor space, also known as garden apartments. Construction was completed in 1929 by Todd and Brown Inc. with masonry subcontractors Tobin and McKenna Inc., and included double floors, slate and bluestone stairs, Holland bricks, and sculptural ornaments. The Van Tassel opened in January 1930.

Photographs were taken during construction by Harold Haliday Costain (1897-1994), who owned a studio in Scarsdale, New York that specialized in architectural, advertising, and narrative photography.

 Scope and Contents

The Construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments (Westchester County, New York) as Photographed by Harold Haliday Costain Architectural Photography is a photograph album that contains photographs dated from April 11-August 24, 1929 that were taken during different stages of the construction of the Van Tassel Co-Operative Garden Apartments. The photographs show the foundation, steel beam supports, the laying of brick masonry walls by workers, and the addition of sculptural ornaments on the outer walls. The last photographs in the album show the completed brick face of the building. A caption was written on the lower corner of the negative for each photograph. Each caption includes the number of the image, the date, and a description that explains from what direction the construction site is being viewed. The image numbers start with Number 3, there are two images labeled Number 10, and there is no Number 12. The captions given in quotation marks in the collection inventory were taken from the captions on the items themselves.

 General Note

Forms part of the Herman J. Albrecht Library of Historical Architecture.

 Costain, Harold Haliday Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison), 1874-1960 Thomas, Andrew J. (Andrew Jackson), 1875-1965 Van Tassel Apartments (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) Architects--New York (State)--20th century Architectural photography--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Architecture photographers--New York (State)--20th century Architecture, Domestic--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Bricklaying--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Building--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Garden apartments--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Gelatin silver prints Housing developers--United States--20th century Housing development--New York (State)--Sleepy Hollow--20th century Photograph albums "Number 3 view southeast corner looking northwest" photograph 1929 April 11 "Number 4 view northwest corner looking southeast" photograph 1929 April 11 "Number 5 view southeast corner looking northwest" photograph 1929 April 26 "Number 6 view northeast corner looking west" photograph 1929 April 26 "Number 7 view northeast corner looking southwest" photograph 1929 April 26 "Number 8 view northeast corner looking southwest" photograph 1929 May 11 "Number 9 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 May 11 "Number 10 view southeast corner looking northwest" photograph (2) 1929 May 27 "Number 11 view northeast corner looking west" photograph 1929 May 27 "Number 13 view east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 June 10 "Number 14 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 June 10 "Number 15 view east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 June 25 "Number 16 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 June 25 "Number 17 view southeast corner of garage looking northwest" photograph 1929 July 11 "Number 18 view east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 July 11 "Number 19 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 July 11 "Number 20 view southeast corner of garage looking northwest" photograph 1929 July 25 "Number 21 view east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 July 25 "Number 22 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 July 25 "Number 23 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 August 10 "Number 24 view southeast corner of garage looking northwest" photograph 1929 August 10 "Number 25 view from clock tower south of east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 August 10 "Number 26 view southwest corner looking northeast" photograph 1929 August 24 "Number 27 view southeast corner of garage looking northwest" photograph 1929 August 24 "Number 28 view from base of clock tower south of east center looking northwest" photograph 1929 August 24