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Burr Homestead: Architectural Drawings
Collection, MS B129
1934
1963 – 1964
1963 – 1964
This collection features architectural drawings of the historic Burr Homestead at 739 Old Post Road in Fairfield. Donor Rick Daley found these drawings at a tag sale. The Thaddeus Burr House was built in 1793 to replace the earlier Burr Homestead burned by the British in 1779 during the American Revolution. Thaddeus's extensive wealth came from his vast farmland. Since Thaddeus could afford to pay people to do the farming for him, he had a lot of free time, which he used to serve as a politician.
The architectural drawings are grouped together within the collection by purpose. The first series was drawn for the American Historic Buildings Survey, the second for proposed renovations to the Burr Homestead, and the third as very detailed drawings of individual rooms.
In 1934, the Burr Homestead entered the Historic American Buildings Survey of the United States Department of the Interior; Office of National Parks, Buildings, and reservations; Branch of Plans and Design. This series contains the twelve pages of blueprints created in 1934 when the Burr Homestead was added to the national Survey. These blueprints offer scale drawings of exteriors, floor plans, a cross-section, and decoration details inside and outside of the Burr Homestead.
The second series of blueprints was produced in 1963 for the town of Fairfield's Department of Public Works. This series demonstrates proposed renovations of the Burr Homestead to transform the space into an office building for various town departments such as welfare, health, and building. This six-page set of blueprints primarily showcase floor plans within the building detailing where each office would be located after the proposed renovations. There are two sets of the 1963 blueprints, and a copy of the sixth page (an aerial view of the surrounding area) with penciled in alterations dated 1964. There are two additional photocopies of the sixth page with the proposed landscape alterations.
The third series consist of one pair of single-page blue prints. One shows a room with a section labeled as a "stage"; the other has a "glass wall" and a "restroom" with three doors leading to the "hall." These designs are scaled to a much greater magnification than those of the first two series but resemble the layouts of the Garden Club Show at Burr Homestead.
In 1934, the Burr Homestead entered the Historic American Buildings Survey of the United States Department of the Interior; Office of National Parks, Buildings, and reservations; Branch of Plans and Design. This series contains the twelve pages of blueprints created in 1934 when the Burr Homestead was added to the national Survey. These blueprints offer scale drawings of exteriors, floor plans, a cross-section, and decoration details inside and outside of the Burr Homestead.
The second series of blueprints was produced in 1963 for the town of Fairfield's Department of Public Works. This series demonstrates proposed renovations of the Burr Homestead to transform the space into an office building for various town departments such as welfare, health, and building. This six-page set of blueprints primarily showcase floor plans within the building detailing where each office would be located after the proposed renovations. There are two sets of the 1963 blueprints, and a copy of the sixth page (an aerial view of the surrounding area) with penciled in alterations dated 1964. There are two additional photocopies of the sixth page with the proposed landscape alterations.
The third series consist of one pair of single-page blue prints. One shows a room with a section labeled as a "stage"; the other has a "glass wall" and a "restroom" with three doors leading to the "hall." These designs are scaled to a much greater magnification than those of the first two series but resemble the layouts of the Garden Club Show at Burr Homestead.
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