Pioneer Information
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Winters received a B.A. from Wellesley College in 1928, a B.S. in Architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1929, and a B.L.A. from Cornell University in 1936. She served as the director of the Pittsburgh Garden Center from 1936 to 1939 and worked for landscape architect Theodore Kohankie from 1939 to 1942; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Philadelphia from 1942 to 1944; Clarke, Rapuano & Holleran in New York from 1944 to 1946; and Rose Greely in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The following year Winters joined Ralph E. Griswold & Associates of Pittsburgh, becoming a partner of Griswold, Winters & Swain in 1957. Winters contributed to all aspects of the office’s work, reviewing planting schemes for every project and designing and supervising numerous private gardens for prominent families. Her nonresidential projects include paving and planting designs for numerous schools, including Mount Mercy University, Bethany College, and the Carnegie Institute of Technology (Morewood Gardens). Other work involved the Pittsburgh Federal Building, Squaw Valley Park, Edgewood Memorial Park, and the West End Overlook. With her partners, Winters developed a master plan for the development of Pittsburgh riverfronts and hillsides. From 1961 to 1965 she collaborated with architect Charles Stotz on the restoration of the gardens at Old Economy Village in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Her final garden and masterpiece was for Mr. and Mrs. James A. Fisher in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania, and was planned in the early 1970s.
In addition to publishing a book and various magazine articles, Winters lectured on landscape architectural design on television and radio and frequently spoke to various organizations on her firm’s and the profession’s work. She became a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in 1968. Winters died at the age of 72 in Pittsburgh.
