Milton L. Grigg Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

This collection is open for research use.

Photographic materials not housed in sleeves must be handled with the proper gloves.

Samples of old nails in Boxes 835 and 846 have been placed in their own folders and should not be handled.

Personally Identifiable Information in Boxes 836 (folder 25), 837 (folder 6), 841 (folder 10), 845 (folder 7), and 847 (folder 9) need to be redacted prior to access.

Please note, part of this collection is housed at Ivy Stacks, an off-site storage facility. Requests for materials housed at Ivy Stacks require at least 72 hours' notice.

Terms of access:

This collection contains some in-copyright material. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page (https://www.library.virginia.edu/special-collections/services/publishing) for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.

Preferred citation:

MSS 6478, Milton L. Grigg Papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
241.08 Cubic Feet 833 square tube boxes, 15 cubic boxes, and 2 flat oversize boxes
Creator:
Grigg, Milton L. (Milton LaTour), 1905-1982 and Grigg, Wood, Browne & Williams (Firm)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

MSS 6478, Milton L. Grigg Papers, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

These additions to MSS 6478 Milton L. Grigg Papers, organized into two main series, contain architectural drawings, administrative and project files, and miscellaneous materials created by Milton Grigg and his architectural firm from the 1920s to the 1990s. The names of the projects and clients are followed by the commission number(s) where available. The materials document the projects completed by Grigg and his firm across the State of Virginia, as well as in West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

The first series, which is the bulk of this addition, includes approximately 5,000 construction drawings and renderings. These include representations of private residences, public and government buildings, memorials, religious buildings, and historic structures. They reflect Griggs's specialization in church architecture, estates, restoration, and historic preservation. The drawings are organized in alphabetical order by either the name of the project or the last name of the client, generally the case with residential homes. Each project, or commission, can include as few as one to several drawings or as many as several roles of drawings, and housed in multiple boxes.

The second series of administrative/project files is organized alphabetically by project name into 20 subseries, and contains some miscellaneous materials, as well. The materials include correspondence, field notes, specifications, surveys, plans, studies, articles, budgets, reports, meeting minutes, proposals, bills, grant materials, statements and memorandums, contract information, certificates and awards, bidding and negotiation documents, photographic materials, drawings, and promotional materials. They document the work related to: the Alexander Campbell Mansion; Bethany College & Town of Bethany, WV; Canberra, AustraliaU.S. Embassy; Fluvanna County Courthouse; Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center; Gadsby's Tavern; Gunston Hall, Lorton, VA; Harrodsburg Historic Society - Mud Meeting House; Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials; Michie Tavern; Midway Mill; Miller School; Mitchells Presbyterian Church; Museum of American Frontier Culture; Old Stone Presbyterian Church; Old St. John's Church; U.S. Treasury; Virginia Executive Mansion; and other locations. The original arrangement of folders has been maintained unless materials needed to be moved due to preservaion issues. A detailed inventory of the administrative/project files can be found in the External Documents section of this finding aid.

The following are brief descriptions of the contents of each subseries. A detailed inventory of the administrative/project files can be found in the External Documents section of this finding aid.

Alexander Campbell Mansion: Field notes, Correspondence, Specifications, Historical Documentation, Study, Drawings, Articles

Bethany College, Town of Bethany: Budgets, Funds, History, Field Reports, Grants, Studies, Bulletins, Samples, Specifications, Contractor Information, Bidding Information, Correspondence, Resources, Memorandums, Certificates, Phase Plans

Canberra, Australia U.S. Embassy: Budget, Landscape, Contracts, Letters, Bills, Correspondence

Fluvanna County Courthouse: Specifications, Restoration Information

Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center: Plans, Notes, Memos, Bidding and Negotiation Documents, Construction Administrative Information

Gadsby's Tavern: Correspondence

Gunston Hall, Lorton, VA: Correspondence, Plans, Reports, Drawings, Specifications

Harrodsburg Historic Society - Mud Meeting Plans, Specifications, Correspondence, Study

Historic Fredericksburg Foundation Inc. - Architectural Consultation - Historic Fredericksburg Inventory Project: Correspondence, Restoration Informaation, Plans, Notes, Photographs, Slides, Memorandum

Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials: Reports, Surveys, Plans, Correspondence, Adminstration and Consultants information, Budgets, Contract Information, Tech. Information, Observations and Field Work, Resources Information

Michie Tavern: Adiministrative information, Plans, Construction Documentation, Research, Schematic Designs

Midway Mil: Correspondence, Plans, Notes

Miller School: Plans, Bidding and Negotiations Documetation, Construction Admin. Information, Schematic Designs, Correspondence, Specifications, Restoration

Miscellaneuous Files: Site and Facilities Plans, Drawings, Photographic Materials, Certificates and Awards

Mitchells Presbyterian Church: Background Information, Report Notes, Correspondence

Museum of American Frontier Culture: Correspondence, Memorandums, Resources and Information, Field Reports, Proposals, Preliminary Specifications, Schematics, Administrative Information, Change Order Requests, Plans, Contract Information, State Review Specifications, Project Closeout Materials, Time Extension Request, Publications, Cash Items, Minutes, Budgets, Drawings, Estimates, Agendas, Bidding and Negotiation Information

Old Stone Presbyterian Church: Report on Physical Preservation

Old Stone Warehouse: Field Report, Memorandums, Correspondence, Structural Plans and Details, Contractor's Statement, Structural Modification

Old St. John's Church: Restoration Information

U.S. Treasury: Legal Affidavits, Contract Information, Restoration Information, Plans, Correspondence, General Council, AJS - Print Analysis, Proposals, Pamphlets and Fliers, Investigations, Reports, Paint Analysis

Virginia Executive Mansion: Correspondence, Construction Admin., Agenda, Letters of Transmittal, Memorandums

Biographical / historical:

Milton LaTour Grigg was born on April 18, 1905, in Alexandria, Virginia, the son of James Fossett and Mary Emily (Glasgow) Grigg. After graduating from Alexandria High School in 1924, he studied at the University of Virginia's Engineering School before transferring to the architecture program in the McIntire School of Fine Arts in 1926. While never receiving his degree, Grigg was recorded as an alumnus of UVA's Architecture class of 1929.

Following his studies, Grigg apprenticed for Perry, Shaw and Hepburn, of Boston, Massachusetts as a draftsman and designer for the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg until 1933. During his years in Williamsburg, he learned a great about the practices of restoration and Early American architecture.

In 1933 Grigg returned to Charlottesville and started a private practice. He achieved success early on. After he received a bronze medal in the nationwide Better Homes in America competition, he earned a spot on the 1930s Monticello restoration project under Fiske Kimball, and also took on wealthy Northern clients who suffered financially during the Depression and wished to regain lavish lifestyles in the South. These included Marion DuPont, who renovated James Madison's Montpelier, Langhorne Gibson (daughter of Irene Langhorne, "The Gibson Girl,"), and Grover C. Dula of Lucky Strike Cigarettes. In 1937, Grigg added University of Virginia alumnus Floyd E. Johnson to his firm and renovated the Albemarle County Courthouse.

In 1936 Grigg identified the home called Edgemont as a work of Thomas Jefferson, which established his legitimacy as a professional with Fiske Kimball. He then altered and restored the building in 1938 and again in 1946.

Grigg moved to Washington, D.C. in 1941 after dissolving his firm's partnership to work as the Chief of the Design Section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There, he worked on national projects like the Potomac River Basin, the National Airport, and the construction of Walter Reed Hospital. During 1942-1945 Grigg served as the civilian head of the Design Section for the Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, chiefly designing military hospitals and other structures. He also served on commissions and boards in the city of Charlottesville; these included the Planning Commission, the Building Code Commission, and the Building Code Appeal Board. He was also a member of the Rotary Club.

After World War II, Grigg moved back to Charlottesville, where he practiced with his new associate William Newton Hale, and also started an additional office in Alexandria. By 1977 their firm came to be known by the name Grigg, Wood, and Browne. The firm specialized in churches, estates, and restoration. Grigg and Hale designed new homes in the Meadowbrook Hills neighborhood, and many public, religious, civic, and commercial buildings. Grigg also restored many churches, as he maintained traditional styles as well as dabbled in modern architecture.

From November 1953 to February 1954 Grigg served as the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation's architect, and as a member of the Monticello restoration committee, supervising its restoration. He was also responsible for the design of the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia, and the notable St. John's Lutheran Church in Emporia, Virginia.

Grigg was a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (three-time president of the Virginia chapter) and served as its director for the Middle Atlantic Region. He served twice as president of the Church Architectural Guild of America, 1963-1964, as president of the Interfaith Research Center in New York, and as comptroller of the International Congress on Religious Architecture.

Grigg died on March 23, 1982, aged seventy-six.

Reference list:

Lasala, J.M. & Lay, K.E. (1990). The Life and Career of Milton la Tour Grigg, FAIA (No. 102)[Master's thesis, School of Architecture, University of Virginia].

Lasala, J.M. (2009). The Curriculum Vitae of a Classicist. Magazine of Albemarle County History, 67, 14-51.

Lay, K.E. (2000). The Architecture of Jefferson County: Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. University Press of Virginia.

Acquisition information:
Addition ViU-2017-0033 donated by Martha Wood, March 2017 and acquired by Molly Schwartzburg. Addition ViU-2020-0032 donated by Dalgliesh Gilpin Paxton Architects, March 2020 and acquired by Molly Schwartzburg.
Processing information:

This finding aid has been created to create access for the most recent additions to the Milton L. Grigg Papers (2017-0033 and 2020-0032). See Related Materials note for information about other finding aids and guides to the collection.

Some materials have been removed from their original boxes or folders and rehoused due to preservation and conservation issues.

Photograph prints and negatives removed for conservation treatment and rehousing.

Arrangement:

These additions to the Milton Grigg Papers are arranged into two main series:

Series 1 - Architectural Drawings; Series 2 - Administrative/Project Files;

Series 1 is further arranged alphbetically into 915 file entries by the name of the project or by the last name of the client. Each entry represents a set of architectural drawings for the project. Series 2 is arranged alphbetically into subseries by the name of the project. Each project and client entry includes its respective commission number(s) when known. The original titles and arrangement of folders have been maintained.

Physical description:
Fair. All rolls were frozen and then evaluated for any significant mold. Blueprints found in collections were placed in mylar as blueprints can react to buffered papers, which the archival tube boxes are made of.
Dimensions:
Sizes of the tube boxes include: 3 X 3 X 36 = 452 boxes; 5X 5 X 30 = 170 boxes;4 X 4 X 28 = 201 boxes; and 8.5 X 6 X 48.9 = 10 boxes
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard