Object Details
- General
- Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company's history began in 1850. The name "Aetna" was inspired by the most active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna, which towers at 11,000 feet and is located on the eastern shores of Sicily. The company was originally organized as an annuity fund to sell life insurance and was incorporated in 1853 as Aetna Life Insurance Company. Aetna became a prosperous stock insurance company, and in 1899 entered into the health insurance business as well. Today the company is still in operation as Aetna, Inc. In 1931, the corporate headquarters were moved to Farmington Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut. The building was designed by architect, James Gamble Rogers in the Colonial Revival style with brownstone, red brick, and a monumental golden dome inspired by Hartford's Old State House, which dates to 1796. Known as the Rogers Building, it was the largest office building in Connecticut and the largest Colonial Revival building in the world at the time of its completion. The grounds for the Aetna headquarters were designed by landscape architect, Ellen Biddle Shipman beginning in 1929. This was one of her most prominent public commissions and included extensive planning and planting for the twenty-two-acre site. Shipman designed the entrances, paving, water features, two private courts, a roof garden adjacent to the president's office, and a network of paths through the wide, tree-studded lawns, which were accompanied by several small gardens. Planting plans incorporated shrubs, vines, bulbs, and perennials. Shipman utilized many of the trees already growing on the site, and incorporated new trees on the lawns and to border the streets and main walk. Her design also included decorative details such as a zodiac compass in the paving of the forecourt, specifications for wrought-iron balustrades and street lamps, and the building's cornerstone inscription. Despite being a corporate landscape, Shipman's characteristic expressiveness, delicacy, and artistic complexity translated into the large scale design. Persons Associated: Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company (owners); Ellen Biddle Shipman (landscape architect); James Gamble Rogers (architect).
- Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Architect
- Rogers, James Gamble
- Collection Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Place
- United States of America -- Connecticut -- Hartford County -- Hartford
- Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company (Hartford, Connecticut)
- Topic
- Gardens -- Connecticut -- Hartford
- Colonial Revival
- Landscape architect
- Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
- Architect
- Rogers, James Gamble
- See more items in
- Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection
- Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection / Gardens / Connecticut
- Sponsor
- Cataloging of the Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection was made possible with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum.
- Extent
- 14 Film negative
- Date
- circa 1929-1950
- Container
- Box 1
- Archival Repository
- Archives of American Gardens
- Identifier
- AAG.SHP, File CT360
- Type
- Archival materials
- Negatives
- Film negative
- Collection Citation
- Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ellen Shipman garden photography collection.
- Collection Rights
- Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: [email protected].
- Bibliography
- Garden has been featured in Judith B. Tankard, The Gardens of Ellen Biddle Shipman (Sagaponeck, NY: Sagapress, Inc., 1996), p. 168-171, 208n2. Garden has been featured in Judith B. Tankard, Ellen Shipman and The American Garden (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2018), p. 220-225.
- Other Finding Aids
- Rudy J. Favretti collection
- Collection Restrictions
- Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: [email protected].
- Record ID
- ebl-1633715325312-1633715325339-1
