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Agency History/Biographical note:
Arthur A. Shurcliff graduated with high honors from both Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1894, and Harvard University in 1896. Shortly thereafter, Shurcliff, (formerly Shurtleff) joined the Olmsted firm to train under the direction of Frederick Law Olmsted. In 1900, Shurcliff aided Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in the founding of what was to become the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture, the first such institution in the western hemisphere. After a decade of working at the Olmsted firm, Shurcliff was able to open his own office. In 1905, he founded the Boston based landscape architect firm of Shurcliff, Merrill and Footit. He took with him several of Olmsted's important clients, including the Boston Park Department and the Metropolitan Parks Commission, the predecessor of the Metropolitan District Commission. The firm became widely known and in great demand by both private and public clients throughout New England and New York. Their work consisted of estate designs for the wealthy, the layout of private schools and colleges, the improvement of hospital grounds, the planning of a wide variety of parks and parkways, and the layout of cemeteries and subdivisions. Mount Holyoke and Amherst colleges were major clients of the firm. Shurcliff took great pride in the design of Amherst's World War II memorial, with its circular granite plaque set in a landscaped plaza bearing names of soldiers, and enclosed by paths and seats, overlooking a sweeping view of the various athletic facilities designed earlier by Shurcliff, his son, Sidney N. Shurcliff, and associates, Vincent N. Merrill, and Douglas B. Footit. At Mount Holyoke College, in 1925, Shurcliff took over as master planner and landscape architect, guided by an earlier Olmsted design. The firm's long tenure with Mount Holyoke included working with a succession of six presidents of the College and seven other architectural firms.  In 1950, Sidney N. Shurcliff, took over the running of the company. Sidney Shurcliff is notable for being instrumental for a revival of interest in Frederick Law Olmsted's work.

Scope and Content:
The Shurcliff, Merrill and Footit Architectural Records contain memoranda; notes; articles from the "Mount Holyoke College NOW" publication; architectural sketches and plans; and financial records which consist of invoices, bills for professional services, construction estimates, as well as various account information. The records include correspondence between Arthur Shurcliff, founder of the architecture firm, and former college President Roswell Ham regarding the layout and design of the campus plan. The majority of the records consist of memoranda from his son, Sidney N. Shurcliff, and his associates, Vincent N. Merrill and Douglas B. Footit, which focus primarily on the firm's architectural projects at Mount Holyoke College. This includes information on electrical equipment configuration, garden restoration, bench purchases, parking area plans, campus maps, reconstruction of the 1904 Garden, campus beautification and renovation of buildings, directional signs, Jewett Lane subdivision, and landscape planting. Related receipts, expenses, and cost estimates are included. In addition to statistical documentation there are photocopies of layouts, aerial photographs, and drafts.

Cite as: Shurcliff, Merrill and Footit, Landscape Architects, Records, Mount Holyoke College, Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Copyright © 1998, Mount H olyoke College. This page created by LITS and maintained by P. Carini. Last modified on March 19, 2003