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Catalog Data

Former owner:
Thorne, Chester Mr Mrs  Search this
Architect:
Cutter, Kirkland Kelsey  Search this
Landscape architect:
Olmsted, John Charles, 1852-1920  Search this
Olmsted Brothers  Search this
Provenance:
Tacoma Garden Club  Search this
Collection Creator:
Garden Club of America  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Place:
Thornewood (Tacoma, Washington)
United States of America -- Washington -- Pierce County -- Tacoma
Scope and Contents:
Thornewood related holdings consist of 2 folders (43 glass lantern slides, 24 35 mm. slides, and 12 photoprints). The folders include copies of articles.
General:
A 400 year old Elizabethan manor in England was purchased by Chester Thorne and dismantled and shipped from England to be included in the building of Thornewood. Thornewood, built in 1911, once covered 100 acres, from the American Lake shore to the Tacoma Country and Golf Club. The mountain served as the inspiration for the landscape design. "The mountain at a distance has been brought into the picture by means of long, horizontal lines, by the general contrivance of walks, borders, boundary walls, by the preservation of certain natural trees..." (Howe, 1915) The garden terminated with two arbors united with balustrades. A Japanese garden was planted in two corners near a water garden. Most of the estate was divided into 30 home sites in 1959. In 1982, the house was named to the National Register of Historic Places. By 1988, the property was reduced to three acres on the lake. The current owners use the house, "Thornewood Castle," and property as a bed and breakfast.
Persons associated with the garden include: Chester Thorne (former owner, 1910-1927); Perry and Connie Palmer (former owners, 1965-1988?); John C. Olmsted of Olmsted Brothers, Landscape Architects (landscape architect, 1910).
Reproduction Note:
Three slides reproduced from American Country Houses To-Day; six slides reproduced from hand-colored photographs by Asahel Curtis; four slides reproduced from collections in Washington State Historical Society; one slide reproduced from House Beatuiful (1926); and three slides reproduced from Lewis and Shelon Plate (1921).
Related Materials:
Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 03494, Chester Thorne.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Gardens -- Washington (State) -- Seattle  Search this
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Identifier:
AAG.GCA, File WA005
See more items in:
The Garden Club of America collection
The Garden Club of America collection / Series 1: United States Garden Images / Washington
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb62a47bcef-790d-4432-92cd-2a7e4bbc16ce
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aag-gca-ref11425