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In June, 1931, Mr. Harrison Williams of Bayville, Long Island, contacted the Institute, asking if we would consider lighting the large and famous gardens on his estate. Earlier that year he had given the job to an electrical company but stopped them when they began to erect telephone poles with floodlights in the flower beds. Could the job be done artistically, and with no evidence of equipment during the daytime? I found the project a challenge, and during July and August 1931 we completed the job.

The flower beds are lit from invisible sources. A pool with a central fountain and surrounded by willows (1) has underwater lighting units. At night the water becomes luminous, illuminating the willows from below. A long vista from the East wing of the mansion has three fountains with glass nozzles and powerful sources of pure white light illuminating the jets of water. (2) The vista ends at a columned temple with a projection screen at the rear (3-4) over which a 2000 watt clavilux instrument plays a recorded lumia composition in color (5.) At night, framed by the trees and the three snowy-white jets of water, the composition makes an impressive accent behind the columns - the only use of color in the entire garden. 6 shows some of the 8 ornamental lead lanterns located along the walks, and also two of the glass units for the fountains. In 1940, Mr. Harrison Williams loaned the clavilux instruments for use in the Danish building at the New York Worlds Fair, where it played on a large screen on the second floor during the summer. 1940

I later wrote an illustrated article,Gardens at Night, for the Womans Home Companion and it appeared in the August, 1935 issue.