Samuel Parsons

For the soldier in the American Revolution, see Samuel Holden Parsons

Samuel H. Parsons Jr. (1844 - February 3, 1923). Parsons was a well-known American landscape architect remembered primarily for his "Beaux-Arts" designs in New York City, the development of Central Park, San Diego’s City Park, and for serving as a founding member to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)

Life

Samuel Parsons was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1844 to Samuel Parsons Sr., an accomplished, and well noted, horticulturist, who was the first to import Japanese Maples and propagate rhododendrons. Samuel received his practical training and knowledge of landscaping and landscape materials working for J.R. Trumpy, the manager of his father’s nursery in Flushing, Queens. Parsons then went to school at Yale University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy in 1862, after that he spent several years studying and practicing farming. When he returned home to the family nursery, a welcoming surprise awaited him. The nursery was now in business with and supplying Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, two famous designers most notably responsible for New York’s Central Park design. Parsons became an apprentice of Calvert Vaux from 1879-1884 and would become his partner from 1887-1895. Vaux would become the head landscape architect of the New York City Parks Department and with him came Parsons. Parsons would take over the unpaid position of Superintendent of Planting. After Vaux's death in 1895, Parsons would become the new head landscape architect of New York City and remained there until 1911. During Parsons partnership with Vaux, the two produced many notable designs, including: Abingdon Square and Christopher Street Park, both in Greenwich Village, the restoration of the Ladies Pond in Central Park, which at the time was infested with malaria carrying mosquito's, the siting of Grant's Tomb in Riverside Park, and the completion of Morningside Park. In collaboration with architect Stanford White, both Parsons and Vaux also produced the Washington Memorial Arch in Washington Square Park and the Grand Army Plaza Arch in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Throughout their tenure together Parsons noticed that Vaux was a very passionate believer in the idea of naturalistic parks, but was reluctant to push himself forward. After Vaux’s death, Parsons went on to design Balboa Park (then known as City Park) in San Diego, Albemarle Park in Ashville, North Carolina, St. Nicholas Park in New York City, a Dutch Garden for Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, as well as the re-design of Union Square to accommodate the new subway station. New York City was the main beneficiary of Parsons designs, which also included numerous bathrooms, some of which were designed to resemble Greek Temples. In 1899, Parsons also founded the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in conjunction with 10 other well established landscape architects on a basis of three tenets:

1. To establish landscape architecture as a recognized profession in North America.
2. To develop educational studies in landscape architecture.
3. To provide a voice of authority in the "New Profession".

From 1905 to 1907 Parsons served as the President of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parsons would publish numerous magazine articles and at least six books on landscape gardening throughout his life. Yet, it seems that only once in his life he depended on media publicity to accomplish a goal. The lone occasion was to seek help from local newspapers to help rid Central Park of shantytowns. Throughout his professional career, Parsons was known for his ability to merge elegant plantings and the extensive knowledge he had gained from his father with the native environment without disrupting the Genus Loci (the spirit of place) of the sites he designed. He was able to maintain his design characteristics in all of his design projects without completely copying his earlier work. He remains a founding father of the modern day landscape architecture institution, and his designs are still visible throughout the United States, primarily in Sand Diego’s Balboa Park and New York City's Union Square. Parsons most notable designs outside of New York City are Balboa Park in San Diego, California and Pine Lawn Cemetery on Long Island.

Balboa Park/City Park

In 1902 the San Diego Chamber of Commerce formed a Park Improvement Committee to improve upon already existing parks and develop new city parks. Kate Sessions, a committee member, convinced others that a professional landscape architect should be responsible for drawing up the plans for the new City Park, known today as Balboa Park. A local merchant, George W. Marston, who volunteered to pay a minimum of $4,000 and a maximum of $5,000 to a landscape architect that offered their services, was arranged to meet Samuel Parsons during a business trip to New York City. The meeting went very well and Parsons was hired to design the park. In December of 1902 Parsons wrote down his first impressions of what he wanted the park to look like. Interestingly, Parsons visited the site for the first time right after winter rains gave way to blooming wildflowers. He was able to record which type of native flowers grew on the land and where. He was able to work around this to retrieve the sense of natural planting throughout the site. Parsons also discovered the site offered plenty of views ranging from mesas to the Pacific Ocean. His ultimate goal would be to capture the outside world instead of blocking the outside world like he did in previous park designs in New York City. With the arrival of Samuel Parsons in San Diego came the objections of the locals. Local business people, gardeners, politicians and clients for the project all objected to the fact that an outsider was going to design the cities largest park. They were convinced that only the locals knew the soil, climate, and plant conditions present throughout the site. Parsons only visited the site four times, leaving the execution of his plans to his assistant, George Cooke. Parsons was able to do most of his work from his office in New York with the contour maps sent to him from the San Diego Bureau of Public Works. Throughout the construction and improvement of City Park some locals called upon Parsons to design their private estates and grounds. 1911 was the last year Parsons was part of the project in San Diego. His initial plans weren't exactly matched and the results are a park that lacks what the designer initially had planned. With modern technology and the introduction of high-rise buildings many of the views the park initially offered, no longer exist. Parsons had no idea what would be built on the City Park site in years to come. The 1,200-acre (4.9 km²) park is now host to numerous buildings including; a velodrome, administrative offices and buildings, a golf course, a zoo, restaurants, gift shops and public schools. These are only some of the occupants of the park land. Out of the 1,200-acre (4.9 km²) park only 263 acres (1.06 km²) are left as open spaces. Furthermore, most of the initial plants introduced by Parsons are dying or are already gone. The city of San Diego has removed many of the trees and shrubs in the park to decrease the number of transients living throughout the site. Balboa Park has left a lasting impression on the city of San Diego, although it no longer serves the romantic purpose Parsons had imagined.

Notable Designs

• Abingdon Square Park, New York City
• The Ladies Pond in Central Park, New York, New York
• Morningside Park, New York, City
• Washington Memorial Arch in Washington Square Park, New York
• the Grand Army Plaza Arch in Prospect Park, Brooklyn
• Balboa Park, San Diego, California
• Albemarle Park, Ashville, North Carolina
• St. Nicholas Park, New York City
• Union Square, New York City

See also

• Landscape architecture
• History of gardening
• Garden real estate
• Landscape Design
• Calvert Vaux
• Frederick Law Olmsted

References

• Amero, Richard W. (winter 1998). "Samuel Parsons Finds Xanadu in San Diego". The Journal of San Diego History 44 (1). Retrieved on 30 October, 2006.
• Raynor, vivian. "ART; A Landscape Artist Who Left His Mark", The New York Times Company, March 26, 1995. Retrieved on 30 October, 2006. 
• American Architect's Biographies. Society of Architectural Historians (4 February, 1997). Retrieved on 30 October, 2006.
• American Society of Landscape Architects (2006). Retrieved on 30 October, 2006.

External links

• The Journal of San Diego History