Downtown Office records
Scope and Contents
The Downtown Office records consist of materials related to the fundraising activities of the Downtown Office following World War II, up to 1950. Since fundraising was the primary function of the office, most of the records focus on this activity, though the collection also includes general administrative materials.
The records primarily document the work of Mildred Saffel, manager of the Downtown Office, with materials related to President Joseph R. Swan and Director William J. Robbins included to a lesser extent.
Dates
- 1943 - 1950
- Majority of material found within 1944 - 1948
Creator
- New York Botanical Garden (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research with permission from Mertz Library staff.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be submitted in writing to the LuEsther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden.
Biographical / Historical
The Downtown Office was opened at 801 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, on March 29, 1945, as an extension of the Development Office of the New York Botanical Garden. It was established to increase membership, secure contributions, and raise publicity for the Garden's Journal. Originally formed to centralize fundraising activities, the Garden chose to hire professional help to raise "substantial sums of money." Their financial goal was set at $5,000,000.
The Committee on Plans and Development was responsible for directing fundraising activities. They met at the Downtown Office and focused their efforts on industrial and commercial prospects, foundations, and large donors.
On October 20, 1948, the Committee on Plans and Development was dissolved after achieving its major goals. It was replaced by the Ways and Means Committee. The professional staff was replaced by volunteers in 1950, and the office was moved to another downtown location in 1952.
Extent
3.125 Linear Feet (8 document boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is organized into five series:
- Series 1: Activities/Outreach, 1943-1948
- Series 2: Administrative Records, 1945-1948
- Series 3: Committees, 1944-1948
- Series 4: Correspondence, 1944-1950
- Series 5: Fundraising, 1945-1948
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Downtown Office records were transferred to the New York Botanical Garden archives from the President’s Office in 1980.
Processing Information
Newspaper clippings were photocopied and discarded.
Creator
- New York Botanical Garden (Organization)
- Harper, J. Henry, Mrs. (Person)
- Montagne, Henry de la, 1888-1982 (Person)
- Robbins, William Jacob, 1890-1978 (Person)
- Saffel, Mildred (Person)
- Swan, Joseph R. (Joseph Rockwell), 1878-1965 (Person)
- Title
- Downtown Office records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Serena D. Gomez in 1998 with further revisions by Nicole Font in 2024.
- Date
- December 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Originally processed by Serena D. Gomez, Reference Librarian / Archivist in May 1998. Reprocessed by Nicole Font, Leon Levy Processing Archivist, in December 2024 with funding from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Foundation.
Repository Details
Part of the The Archives of the New York Botanical Garden Repository
New York Botanical Garden, Mertz Library
2900 Southern Boulevard
Bronx NY 10458 United States
ssinon@nybg.org