Pioneer Information
Son of sculptor Henri-Léon Gréber, Parisian-born Gréber studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts, receiving a M.Arch. in 1908. He first visited the U.S. in 1910, where he formalized the gardens of Harbor Hill, Clarence Mackay’s Long Island estate. In partnership with the firm of architect Horace Trumbauer, he designed European style gardens for American clientele including the estates of Miramar in Newport, Rhode Island, and Hautbois in Jericho, Long Island. The designs reflect the influence of 17th century French landscape architect André Le Nôtre.
In 1917, Gréber was hired as consultant to the Fairmount Park Commission resulting in his plan for the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Logan Square, and the landscape for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was also commissioned to design the grounds of the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia. After 1920, he was primarily active outside of the U.S., both in Europe and Canada. His 1939 and 1950 plans for Ottawa played a major role in fashioning the present landscape and infrastructure of the Canadian capital. Additionally, he was a consultant for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
Gréber taught at the Institut d’Urbanisme and, in 1920, published L’Architecture aux Etats-Unis, providing his French compatriots the first examination of American achievements in civic art, estate design, and low cost housing.
