Greene, Charles Sumner (1868–1957) and Greene, Henry Mather (1870–1954)

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Buildings by the firm of Greene and Greene, Charles and Henry, are some of the best examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in the United States. Born outside of Cincinnati, the brothers’ early education involved the crafts of woodworking, carpentry, metalwork, and tool-making at the Manual Training School of Washington University, St. Louis. After finishing a two-year course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1891, they both entered architectural apprenticeships in Boston. Following their parents’ move to California, they arrived in Pasadena in 1893. In the course of their trip across the United States, they attended the Columbia Exposition and saw the replica of the Ho-o-do of Byodo-in Temple at Uji (Current and Current, 1974; Makinson, 1977). This example of Japanese architecture would be later reflected in their use of woodwork joinery.

Their most celebrated project was a house for the David Gamble family (1907–1909). Completely designed and furnished by the architects, the house was constructed almost entirely of wood. The roof features shingle shakes and large eaves expressing exposed wood joists. The wood interior revealed the Greenes’ concern for craftsmanship, with built-in cabinets and intricate joinery construction of the staircase.

Consistent with other architects of the Arts and Crafts, the Greenes worked closely with their craftsmen and builders. The abundance of forests and woodworking traditions in the United States facilitated their almost spiritual use of wood. The architectural theorist Reyner Banham stated that Greene and Greene represent craftsmanship to the extreme, considering every joint was articulated and the interior was ‘like a cabin of a wooden ship’ (Makinson, 1977, p. 22). Although suggesting an element of socialism, these houses were expensively crafted for the rich.

This page demonstrates the Greenes concern for details and joinery. It is a series of studies for a window frame, sash and sill, where numerous section sketches explore the interrelationship of materials. Calculations have been scattered across the sheet, written from various sides of the page, and notes show down the margins. This may suggest that the sketch was passed between several people as a dialogue or the sketches were worked on intermittently. Most likely this sketch reflects Henry’s hand, since he was the partner most interested in the tectonics of building. The crowding of the notes point to a search for an empty space in which to write, where the architect was concerned with the proximity to the visual description. Without the aid of a scale or straight edge, the specific
numerical measurements imply a certain precision. This may suggest that the window detail could have been assembled from this sketch. A window frame was a common detail a contractor could have easily constructed but this study shows the Greenes’ concern for design of the whole and control over the process.

With the extensive notes and measurements, this sketch may represent both a memory device and a medium to work through the construction of a detail. The sill has been rendered in the most pertinent place, where several different elements meet. The rest of the window frame uses cut lines only briefly to indicate the whole sash. The pieces have been identified by various methods in order to indicate their differences, some have been stippled or textured. The sketch, including both diagrams (the visual) and notes (the written), magnifies the idea that neither communication would suffice on its own. Together, they sufficiently describe the complex combination of pieces.