Records of Helen D. and Prentiss French, 1932-1978
Joanne Miller and Betsey Frederick-Rothwell
Environmental Design Archives
College of Environmental Design
230 Wurster Hall #1820
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Phone: (510) 642-5124
Fax: (510) 642-2824
Email: designarchives@berkeley.edu
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Records of Helen D. and Prentiss French, 1932-1978
Collection Number: 1998-12
Environmental Design Archives
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Processed by:
- Joanne Miller and Betsey Frederick-Rothwell
- Date Completed:
- January 1999
- Encoded by:
- Campbell J. Crabtree
- Encoding revised by:
- Devan McGirr
© 2009 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Records of Helen D. and Prentiss French
Dates: 1932-1978
Collection number: 1998-12
Creator:
French, Helen D., 1900-1994
Creator:
French, Prentiss, 1894-1989
Collector:
Environmental Design Archives
Extent:
1 box, 3 flat file drawers
Repository:
Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.
University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, California
Abstract: The French collection consists of project files and drawings arranged into four series: professional papers from both Helen
and Prentiss French, projects by Helen French, projects by both Helen and Prentiss French, and projects by Prentiss French.
Their projects consist mainly of houses in Northern California and Florida. The records also include photographs of the site
of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and a PG&E station. Helen French's oversize drawings consist of various residences,
while Prentiss French's large drawings are from landscape designs of Harvey Mudd College, the University of Alaska, and US
Army Air Defense Missile Sites.
Physical location: Environmental Design Archives
University of California
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of Item], Records of Helen D. and Prentiss French, 1998-12, Environmental Design Archives. College of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.
Acquisition Information
The Environmental Design Archives accessioned this collection in 1998.
Biographical Note
Architect Helen Douglass French and her husband, landscape architect Prentiss French, worked together and independently in
New England, Florida, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Helen Douglass was born in 1900 in Arlington, MA. earning her graduate
degree at the Cambridge School of Architecture (1917-1921) -- now part of the Harvard School of Architecture. She subsequently
worked in the Boston offices of Charles G. Loring (1921-1925) and William Delano Aldrich (1925-1926), later studying at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts and traveling in Europe (1926-1927). Prentiss French was born in 1894 in Chicago, IL. He earned his
Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard in 1921 subsequently working in the office of the Olmsted Brothers
(1921-1924), and teaching at the University of Massachusetts in 1925. From 1926-1928, Prentiss was employed as the resident
landscape architect for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, then establishing the new town of Venice, FL.
Helen and Prentiss married in 1927, and operated a private practice in Boston and Stockbridge, MA between 1928-1932. They
then relocated to Sarasota, Florida where they worked in association with architect Clarence Martin for ten years. During
WWII, Prentiss was employed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1942-1946) after which they moved to the San Francisco Bay
Area where Helen Douglass French received her California certification in 1946. The couple shared an office in San Francisco
from 1947 into the 1960s, working primarily on residential projects throughout Northern California. Prentiss French also
completed numerous projects for the U.S. Army in the late 1950s, in California, Alaska and other western states. Helen was
a member of the AIA Northern California Chapter, the San Francisco Planning and Housing Association, the Outdoors Arts Club
of Mill Valley, the Marin Art and Garden Center, the Women's League of San Francisco, and served as the secretary for the
Mill Valley Parks and Recreation Commission. Prentiss passed away around 1989, and Helen followed in 1994.
SOURCES:
- Helen Douglass French membership file, AIA, Washington D.C.
- "Helen Douglass French,"
American Architects Dictionary, 182.
- "Helen Douglass French,"
Who's Who on the Pacific Coast (Chicago: A.N. Marquis Co., 1949).
- Prentiss French. Biographical Data. The Council of Fellows, American Society of Landscape Architects. Records of the ALSA.
Scope and Content Note
The French collection consists primarily of drawings and specifications documenting the French's collaborative and individual
work. The majority of the records are those of Helen D. French and is largely architectural in nature. The records are arranged
into four series: Professional Papers, 1932-1978; Helen D. and Prentiss French Project Records, 1933-1970; Prentiss French
Project Records, 1933-1941; and Helen D. French Project Records, 1936-1959.
Project records consist of drawings, specifications and photographs and some client correspondence. These include records
from the French's early work with Clarence Martin in Sarasota, Florida, and Northern California residential projects completed
during the 1950s and 60s. In addition to residential work, the records also include photographs of the site of the Diablo
Canyon nuclear power plant, a PG&E station, and a quadrangle for Harvey Mudd College. Drawings by Prentiss French for the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were transferred to the National Archives, Alaska region.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into four series: Professional Papers, 1932-1978; Helen D. and Prentiss French Project Records,
1933-1970; Prentiss French Project Records, 1933-1941; and Helen D. French Project Records, 1936-1959.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Landscape architects--California.
Landscape architecture--California.
Architects--California.
Architecture--California.
Landscape architects--Florida.
Landscape architecture--Florida.
Architects--Florida.
Architecture--Florida.
Genres and Forms of Material
Architectural records.
Architectural drawings.
Landscape architecture drawings.
Index Terms Related to this Collection
French, Prentiss.
French, Helen D.
Project Index
The Project Index list is arranged alphabetically by Project/Client Name and contains information, where available, about
the location, date, project type, creators, and formats for each project in the collection.
Project/Client Name (location, date, project type) Creator [role] Format [Ms=Manuscripts, Dr=Drawings, Ph=Photographs]
- Atterbury, Kirby, Jr. (Paradise Cove, CA; 1954; residential) [Dr]
- Bailey, Richard J. (San Rafael, CA; 1957; residential) [Dr]
- Beers, Sherman J. (Kent Woodlands, Kentfield, CA; 1951-1952; residential) [Dr]
- Boynton (Ukiah, CA; 1959; residential) [Dr]
- Byles, Axtell J. (Sarasota, FL; 1937; residential) Collaborator: French, Leigh Jr. (architect) [Dr]
- Chesterwood (Cresson, W.P.), alterations (Stockbridge, MA; 1954, 1957, 1962; residential) [Dr]
- Christo, Mrs. George (San Francisco, CA; 1961; residential) [Dr]
- Clark, Bruce (Bay Point Park, Sarasota, FL; 1937; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Cochrane, Andrew H. (Palo Alto, CA; 1950-1951; residential) [Ms, Dr]
- Cook, S.C. (Mill Valley, CA; n.d.; residential) [Dr]
- Cresson, W.P. (see Chesterwood)
- Daddisman, Rex A. (San Francisco, CA; 1949; residential) [Dr, Ph]
- Davis, Captain B.P. (Mill Valley, CA; 1948; residential) [Dr]
- Davis, Duncan, alterations (San Francisco, CA; 1951; residential) [Dr]
- Douglass, Donald C. (Sarasota, FL; 1955-1958; residential) [Dr]
- Dunnigan, M.W. (San Francisco, CA; 1956; residential) [Dr]
- Dynes, Charles, remodel (San Francisco, CA; 1953; residential) [Dr]
- Elsener, L.A. (Sonoma, CA; 1956; residential) [Dr]
- Evers, Frank (Sarasota, FL; 1935, 1958-1959; residential) [Ms, Dr]
- Eyde, Richard B.: Fairlawn Drive (Berkeley, CA; 1950; residential) Photographer: Baer, M. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- Eyde, Richard B.: Overlook Road, Park Hills, Unit #2 (Berkeley, CA; 1953; residential) [Ms, Dr]
- Fassett, Truman (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1936; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Ms, Dr]
- Finley, Malcolm H. (San Rafael, CA; 1950; residential) [Dr]
- French, Helen D. & Prentiss (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1936; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- French, Helen D. & Prentiss (Kent Woodlands, Kentfield, CA; 1950; residential) Photographer: Baer, M. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- French, Helen D. & Prentiss (San Francisco, CA; 1962; residential) [Dr]
- Ganz, Frederick M. (Lake Tahoe, CA; 1947; residential) [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- Gleason, F.B. (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1938; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Greynolds Park (Ojus, FL; 1933; recreational) [Dr]
- Guest, Mrs. Frederick E. (Palm Beach, FL; 1935; residential) [Dr]
- Gysenberg, P.H. (San Rafael, CA; 1951, 1954; residential) [Dr]
- Harvey Mudd College (Claremont, CA; 1955-1957; educational) [Dr]
- Hasenauer, R.P. (Mill Valley, CA; 1948, 1955; residential) [Dr]
- Hersloff, Nils B. (Stockbridge, MA; 1940-1941; residential) [Dr]
- Hill, Austin (San Francisco, CA; 1962; residential) [Dr]
- Hitzrot, James Morley (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1938; residential) [Dr]
- Hyde, Olive (Mission San Jose, CA; 1952; residential) [Dr]
- Johnson, Ward R. (San Rafael, CA; 1953; residential) [Dr]
- Kerry, F.A. (Sarasota, FL; 1935; residential) [Dr]
- Luchessa, D.C. (San Anselmo, CA; 1954; residential) [Dr]
- Matthews, Richard T., (San Francisco, CA; 1966; residential) [Dr]
- McCormick, A.L., addition (Fairhills, San Rafael, CA; 1950; residential) [Dr]
- Mundy, H.L. (Venice, FL; 1938; residential) [Dr]
- Newberry, John S. (Sarasota, FL; 1940; residential) [Dr]
- Pacific Gas & Electric: Diablo Canyon Power Plant (Diablo Canyon, CA; 1968; industrial) [Ph]
- Pacific Gas & Electric: Inskip and Volta Power Houses (Battle Creek, CA; n.d.; industrial) Photographer: Nakagawa [Ph]
- Proctor, Randy (Stockbridge, MA; 1934-1938; residential) [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- Raoul, Loring (Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL; 1937; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Remssen, Charles M. (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1937; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Richardson, J.F. (Mill Valley, CA; 1955-1956; residential) [Dr]
- Rosecrans, W.S. (Carpinteria, CA; 1947-1960; residential) [Dr]
- Rosecrans, W.S., addition (Indio, CA; 1939; residential) [Dr]
- Sciaroni (Kent Woodlands, Kentfield, CA; 1955; residential) [Dr]
- Smith, Ed (Los Altos, CA; 1965; residential) [Dr]
- Taylor, R.C. (Menlo Park, CA; 1949; residential) [Dr]
- Thiele, Martha F (unknown; 1957; residential) [Dr]
- Tuttle, John M. (Bay Island, Sarasota, FL; 1936-1937; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Unidentified (residential) [Dr]
- University of Alaska (Fairbanks, AK; 1951; educational) [Dr]
- Verling, Kenneth (Kent Woodlands, Kentfield, CA; 1953; residential) [Dr]
- Waner, Paul (Bay Point Park, Sarasota, FL; 1932-1940; residential) [Ms, Dr]
- Whitney, Elizabeth Fay (Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL; 1936; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Whitney, Elizabeth Fay (Siesta Key, Sarasota, FL; 1939; residential) Collaborator: Clarence Martin, (architect) [Dr]
- Williams, Frank (Carmel Meadows, CA; 1952; residential) [Dr]
- Wright, Mrs. Allen G. (San Francisco, CA; 1958; residential) [Dr]
- Wyatt, Eve Byron (Mill Valley, CA; 1954; residential) [Dr]
- Wyatt, Eve Byron (Sausalito, CA; 1956-1960; residential) [Dr]
Series Description
Box 1
I. Professional Papers
1932-1978
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically.
Contains published materials relating to site planning, construction, and materials, course materials from the Cambridge School
of Architecture and a small amount of correspondence.
Boxes 1-2, , folder Flat Files
II. Helen D. and Prentiss Project Records
1933-1970
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Files arranged alphabetically by project.
Includes drawings of residences in Sarasota, Florida, and California. Also contains photographs of Diablo Canyon from 1968.
Box 2, , folder Flat Files
III. Prentiss French Project Records
1933-1941
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Files arranged alphabetically by project.
Contains drawings from residences in Florida and Massachusetts and a 1978 letter regarding a "Jefferson lap desk." Drawings
include landscape designs for Harvey Mudd College, the University of Alaska, and the United States Army.
Boxes 3-4, , folder Flat Files
IV. Helen D. French Project Records
1936-1959
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Files arranged alphabetically by project.
Includes drawings of residences in Sarasota, Florida, and various California locations, including Palo Alto, Ukiah, San Francisco,
Lake Tahoe, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Indio, and Carpinteria.
Container List
I. Professional Papers
1936-1937,
1961-1978
Physical Description:
Box 1, Flat Files
A. Correspondence
1961,
1978
Physical Description:
3 flat files, 3 folders
B. Reference Files
undated
Physical Description: 1 tube
Box 1, Folder 3
Structural Information
n.d.
Box 1, Folders 4
Materials/Construction
1936-1937
Box 1, Folder 5
Landscape and Site Planning
1936,
1962-64
II. Helen D. and Prentiss French Project Records
1936-1959
Physical Description: Boxes 3-4, Flat Files
III. Prentiss French Project
1933-1941
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat Files, Tubes
IV. Helen D. French Project Records
1936-1959
Physical Description: Box 1, Flat Files, Tubes
