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Hugh Ferriss (1889-1962) was an architectural renderer known for his vision of the modern city and his ability to translate vast projects into dramatic but clear-cut images. Ferriss published two books: The Metropolis of Tomorrow (1929) and Power of Buildings (1953). The collection was donated to Avery Library by Ferriss' family after his death, and has been supplemented by several later additions from other sources. 363 original drawings in the collection have been photographed and digitized and can be viewed via links in the finding aid's container listing.

Records of one of the oldest schools of social work in the United States, founded in 1898 as the New York School of Philanthropy and affiliated with the Charity Organization Society of New York City. The school merged with Columbia University in 1959, becoming the Columbia University School of Social Work. This collection includes the records of the office of the Dean, Development and Alumni Relations, and the Social Work Library, the bulk of which date from the 1930s through the 1980s.

Phoenix House was founded in 1967 as a therapeutic community to treat addiction in an 85th Street apartment in New York City. In the following decades, Phoenix House expanded to locations throughout New York City and ten states. At the time of the interviews, Phoenix House was serving over 5,000 individuals and remained committed to supporting individuals and families by providing a wide range of services including prevention, early intervention, treatment, continuing care, and recovery support. The Phoenix House Oral History Collection documents three periods of Phoenix House's work: origins, growth, and established leadership. In the first period, spanning from 1967 to the 1970s, narrators detail the founding of a therapeutic community, the dynamics of this community, and the influences of other self-help drug treatment organizations such as Synanon on the program. In the growth period, narrators speak of opening up new facilities, and designing and launching new programs. Topics covered include the political and funding challenges of expanding Phoenix House's reach, increases in medical and mental health staff, and partnering with state departments of corrections to provide the Phoenix House program as an alternative to incarceration. In the final period, narrators describe changes in the therapeutic community model, further expansion of programs across the United States, acquisitions of competitors, new funding challenges, and transitions in leadership.