The Greene & Greene Virtual Archives (GGVA) contains images of drawings, sketches, photographs, correspondence, and other historical documents related to the work of the architects Greene & Greene, the southern California design firm (active 1894-1922) that is often associated with the finest architecture and craftsmanship of the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Recent photographic documentation of the firm’s furniture and other decorative arts is presented as part of the GGVA. Images in the GGVA are generally organized by project name, or as personal papers, such as letters to the Greenes from their parents or between the brothers themselves. Search tips are provided to assist use of the site and to locate particular images by project, client name or other criteria. An image enlargement feature allows for detailed study and supporting text provides important background information.

The GGVA is made possible by a generous grant from the J. Paul Getty Trust under the Electronic Cataloguing Initiative of the Getty Grant Program. With the objective of creating a single, visual resource for Greene & Greene researchers, homeowners, students and the general public, the GGVA brings together selected material from the four major Greene & Greene collections: the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University in the City of New York; the Environmental Design Archives at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB); The Gamble House, University of Southern California (USC), in Pasadena, California; and the Greene and Greene Archives, USC at The Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

A key characteristic of this site is the searchable image database, which provides digital representations and text information for public study. Links to full descriptions of the Greene & Greene materials in each repository, called “collection guides” or “finding aids” are also available as research tools. While this site presents a generous selection of Greene & Greene material that indicate the depth and breadth of the four collections, it is not comprehensive and does not include a digital image of every item archived at each repository.

Approximately 4000 of the most important and frequently requested materials from the four collaborating repositories are available for viewing at the GGVA website. Standards developed and refined by the California Digital Library have been used for cataloging and presentation. All images are accompanied with descriptive information. In a spirit of providing comprehensive universal access to the world’s primary cultural and historical resources, the GGVA facilitates access and use by making a large portion of the collections available on the Internet. The website is both a portal to the work of the architects Greene & Greene and a resource for information about them. The collaborating institutions have created content to this end by providing:

• Information about the architects’ design projects selected for the GGVA
• Reference material, such as a bibliography and a list of links to significant websites
• A searchable image database
• Links to the finding aids of each repository’s Greene & Greene collection