Shaping the American Landscape: Related Pioneers

Frederic E. Church

Born in Hartford, CT Church was raised in a prosperous, long-established New England family where his artistic and cultural interests were nurtured from a young age. In 1844 ...

H.W.S. Cleveland

His Minneapolis Park System which he began work on in 1883 is recognized as one of the most significant open space systems in the U.S.

Lester Albertson Collins

Lester Albertson Collins was born and raised in New Jersey. In 1938, he earned a degree in English at Harvard, then traveled in the Far East with fellow student ... 

Elizabeth Kellam de Forest

Born in San Francisco, Elizabeth Kellam attended Vassar College and Stanford University, earning her Master’s in Psychology in 1920. In 1925 she married landscape architect Lockwood de Forest III...

Lockwood de Forest, III

Born in New York City as Lockwood de Forest III, he was known professionally as Lockwood de Forest, Jr. He developed a deep love and knowledge of the California landscape while at the...

Charles Eliot

Recognized primarily for his highly successful advocacy for regional park systems and landscape conservation planning, Charles Eliot is also known for his numerous publications.

Beatrix Farrand

The only founding woman member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Farrand developed a reputation for her elegant, restrained style and rich architectural detail.

Bryant Fleming

Bryant Fleming was born in Buffalo, NY and studied horticulture, architecture, architectural history, and art at Cornell, graduating in 1901. Fleming became the first lecture...

Hanna/Olin

The landscape architecture and urban design practice Hanna/Olin was founded in 1976 by Robert Hanna and Laurie Olin.

I.M. Pei and Partners

I.M. Pei & Associates was founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei, Eason H. Leonard, and Henry N. Cobb. The firm was renamed I.M. Pei & Partners in 1966 and Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in 1989.

Innocenti & Webel

Umberto Innocenti and Richard Webel met at Vitale & Geiffert (Ferruccio Vitale and Alfred Geiffert, Jr.), and formed a partnership in 1931 known as Innocenti & Webel, of Roslyn, Long Island, NY.

George Kessler

Born in a small village in Germany, George Kessler moved with his family to the United States when he was three years old. At 16, Kessler returned to Germany for his education.

Lord & Schryver

Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver practiced landscape architecture together in Salem, OR from 1929 to the 1970s. Their firm was the first office of professional women landscape architects on the west coast.

John Charles Olmsted

A founding member and the first president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, John Charles Olmsted was the nephew and then stepson of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

Before joining his father’s firm in 1895, “Rick” Olmsted studied landscape architecture at Harvard, apprenticed in the office of Daniel Burnham in Chicago on the World’s Columbian Exposition, and worked on the 10,000-acre Biltmore estate in Asheville, NC.

Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.

Unsurpassed in the field of landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., defined and named the profession and designed many of America's most beloved 19th century parks and landscapes.

Paul B. Riis

A Swiss-born park designer and conservationist, Riis was the original superintendent of the Rockford, IL park system from 1912 to 1927. He was also the director of the American Institute of Park Executives from 1923 to 1926, as well as editor and primary writer of the “Conservation of Wild Life” section for Parks and Recreation Magazine for 16 years.

Sasaki, Walker and Associates

Sasaki, Walker and Associates was founded in 1957 in Watertown, MA, by Hideo Sasaki and Peter Walker.

Downing Vaux

Son of Calvert Vaux, he was named after his father’s mentor and former partner, Andrew Jackson Downing. Shortly after his birth, his father and Fredrick Law Olmsted, Sr. began collaboration on their plan for Central Park.

Calvert Vaux

Born in England and trained as an architect, Vaux came to America in 1850 to collaborate with Andrew Jackson Downing on Picturesque estate landscape projects.