Bookcover: A black-and-white photograph of Leverett Pond in Brookline, Massachusetts. A road runs between tall trees in the foreground and the pond in the background. A small tree-covered island emerges from the right side of the pond.
A vanishing walkway beneath a tunnel of white birch trees, planted as an allée. This feature was designed by Warren Manning for Stan Hywet Hall, in Akron, Ohio, about 1915.
Overhead view of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Dark mountains in the background are offset by bronze-hued foliage in the foreground.
A modernist garden patio designed by James Rose for his own home in Ridgewood, New Jersey, with small sprays of fountains, chairs, and a trellis.

Pioneers of American Landscape Design
Charles A. Birnbaum and Robin Karson, Editors

McGraw-Hill

$59.95 original price
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American Society of Landscape Architects Merit Award in Communications

“It’s the first of its kind in America . . . a valuable tool.”—Anne Raver, New York Times

“Charles Birnbaum and Robin Karson have . . . made an incalculable contribution to America’s heritage, landscape architectural history, and the depth and diversity of the roots from which landscape architects draw their identity and pride.”
—Robert Scarfo, Landscape Architecture

“Pioneers will quickly become an indispensable resource for anyone working in the field.”
—Patricia Lowry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

PIONEERS OF AMERICAN LANDSCAPE DESIGN is the first reference book of its kind. The encyclopedic survey presents engaging biographies of more than 160 prominent landscape architects, horticulturists, planners, and engineers who shaped cities, suburbs, parks and gardens across the United States. With 450 plans and photographs, Pioneers is providing valuable new information to landscape architects, historians, students, and preservationists working to secure National Register nominations, as well as general readers interested in American landscape design.

This survey ranges from the eighteenth century to the modern period. It includes profiles of such well-known figures as Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Law Olmsted, Beatrix Farrand, and James Rose, as well as lesser-known designers, including many women landscape architects. Each entry weaves together details of the practitioner’s life and professional career and includes illustrations of major projects, followed by a brief bibliography. A list of sites where practitioners’ works may be visited is also included.

Contributors skillfully discuss various design concepts as well as more general, pragmatic realities of preservation. Pioneers is an excellent resource for the growing movement to preserve historic landscapes.