William Lyman Phillips papers - 1886-1992

Identity elements

Reference code

HMA0095

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

William Lyman Phillips papers - 1886-1992

Date(s)

  • 1886-1992 (predominant: 1922-1966) (Creation)

Extent

32 boxes, 155 plans and maps

Name of creator

Biographical history

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The bulk of papers pertain to W. L. Phillips' career, from his work at Harvard University in the early 1900s to his involvement in numerous landscaping projects through the late 1950s, with substantial portions of this data relating to the Mountain Lake Sanctuary and Royal Palm State Park.

Among the records are letters, invoices, notes, clippings, sketches, reports, planting lists, contracts, specifications, photographic prints, negatives, pamphlets, and ephemera. Documents related to professional organizations and awards are also included. A set of alphabetized index cards bears notes concerning landscape architecture, astronomy, investment information, property data, and other topics. In addition, notebooks of Harvard class notes, classified plant lists, and field notes and sketches augment the collection.

Supplementing the papers regarding professional projects are original plans and blueprints, as well as several maps. Where indicated in the files, photocopies of some plans substitute for the originals, which are located at the University of Miami library.

Also maintained in the collection are papers documenting Phillips' personal life spanning the early 1900s to the mid-1960s. Correspondence with family members and friends, school records and notebooks, an address book, birth and death records, passports, identification cards, certificates, travel brochures, clippings, and other ephemera comprise this material. Financial and property records include bank statements, correspondence, mortgage papers, investment documents, and tax information. In addition, the personal data contains a 1992 historic designation report for Phillips' North Miami residence. Two pencil drawings found among the papers depict the figure of an unknown youth and a signed portrait of William Lyman Phillips.

System of arrangement

The collection is arranged into nine series: (1) residential projects -- private; (2) residential projects -- commercial; (3) commercial projects; (4) professional correspondence; (5) professional papers; (6) clippings; (7) photographic prints; (8) research notes; and (9) plans and maps. Within each series, files possess an alphabetical order by subject followed by a chronological arrangement where dates are indicated.

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

Boxes 1-26, the plans and the maps are open for research. Boxes 27-32 are closed for research until Mrs. Coyle’s death or the year 2025, whichever comes first.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

Languages of the material

    Scripts of the material

      Language and script notes

      Finding aids

      Acquisition and appraisal elements

      Custodial history

      Immediate source of acquisition

      Gift of his daughter, Juliette Phillips Coyle, through Faith Jackson, 1994.

      Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

      Accruals

      Related materials elements

      Existence and location of originals

      Existence and location of copies

      Related archival materials

      The following items have been separated from the papers and filed in Oversized Ephemera, box 2: two pencil drawings, one of an unidentified youth and and other a portrait of W. L. Phillips; Certificate of Fellowship presented by the American Society of Landscape Architects, 1951.

      Phillips’ landscape drawings are at the University of Miami, Richter Library, Special Collections, Coral Gables, Florida. Phillips' papers relating to Fairchild Tropical Garden are housed in the archives of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Coral Gables, Florida. Additional papers and plans are in Special Collections, Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

      Related descriptions

      Notes element

      General note

      Other Information

      Accessions:

      1994-335
      Papers 1994-335
      Photographs and Negatives 1994-753-1 thru 365
      Notebooks 1994-790-1 thru 3
      Drawings and Certificate 1994-791-1 thru 3
      Plans 1994-788-1 thru 128
      Maps 1994-796-1 thru 27

      Specialized notes

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Description control element

      Rules or conventions

      Sources used

      Archivist's note

      © Copyright 2019 HistoryMiami Archives & Research Center. All rights reserved.

      Access points

      Subject access points

      Name access points

      Genre access points

      Accession area