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Preserving Garden Writer Elizabeth Lawrence’s House and Garden
The Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden, a modest home and garden in Charlotte, North Carolina, has had a huge influence on more than a generation of gardeners and writers across the country and internationally. Elizabeth Lawrence moved to Charlotte in 1949 soon after her publication of A Southern Garden. She was the first woman graduate in landscape architecture from today’s North Carolina State University. Miss Lawrence lived in the house for 35 years, and for 15 of those years was employed as a garden writer for the Charlotte Observer. More than eight books have been published by her or written about her work. In March of 2007, the Duke University Press released a collection of Lawrence’s Observer columns, Beautiful at All Seasons, Southern Gardening and Beyond with Elizabeth Lawrence, edited by Ann Armstrong and Lindie Wilson.

In 1986, Mary “Lindie” Lindeman Wilson moved into 348 Ridgewood Avenue. Within the first year in her new home, Lindie welcomed Rosemary Verey and then Christopher Lloyd, who both asked to see the renowned Elizabeth Lawrence’s garden. It was then that Lindie made her life’s work the study of Lawrence and the preservation of the garden.

Recognizing that she would not be able to continue indefinitely as the steward of Lawrence’s legacy, Lindie invited the Garden Conservancy and Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary to come together in 2004 to develop a plan for the long-term preservation of the house and garden. As a result, the Friends of Elizabeth Lawrence was formed to assist in fundraising, documentation of the garden and its interpretation. In 2005, the house and garden were designated as a historic site by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Landmarks Commission to be followed in 2006 with designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

During this process, the Garden Conservancy designated the Elizabeth Lawrence House and Garden as a preservation project based on its national historic and horticultural significance. A strategy was developed to ensure the protection of the house and garden in perpetuity.  A management plan is being developed to guide the rehabilitation and programming of the house and garden so that they can be actively used to continue the work of Elizabeth Lawrence.

New Faces at NPS
The National Park Service (NPS) Midwest Regional Office Historic Structures and Cultural Landscapes Program is proud to introduce three new employees and our summer 2008 National Council of Preservation Intern (NCPE). 

Gail Gladstone recently earned her Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin in December of 2007.  During her studies she was employed by the Forest Service as a Landscape Architect Intern under the Student Career Experience Program.  Gail started with the NPS on April 28, 2008 as a Historical Landscape Architect working with the List of Classified Structures and Cultural Landscapes Inventory programs.

Dan Jackson earned his Bachelors of Arts in History from Marietta College in Ohio.  He started with the NPS on March 17, 2008 as a Landscape Historian working primarily with the Cultural Landscape Inventory program.

Alesha Hauser completed her Masters in Architectural History course work this spring at the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Her thesis will examine the socioeconomic and stylistic factors of vanishing stone buildings in rural central Arkansas.  Working as a Landscape Historian, Alesha has prior NPS experience having been a NCPE in 2005 working on cultural landscape documentation for the NPS.   

Anna Thornton is the 2008 Summer NCPE with the inventory program.  Anna will be assisting the inventory program staff with the List of Classified Structures and Cultural Landscapes Inventory.   

Connecticut Starts Survey of Cultural Landscapes                                         
In 2005, after several years of work by many people, the Connecticut state legislature designated April 26 Frederick Law Olmsted Day in Connecticut, a day when “suitable exercises” would be held to recognize this Hartford native.  Three statewide conferences have been held to celebrate this day co-hosted by the CTASLA and the Connecticut Olmsted Heritage Alliance (COHA).  The mission of this newly formed non-profit organization is to preserve the Olmsted legacy of parks and landscapes in Connecticut by public education, research and advocacy.  This spring COHA has begun planning for a state-wide survey of cultural landscapes starting with those designed by Olmsted. 

We welcome suggestions and experiences from those who have done similar surveys.  For more information about COHA or Olmsted Day, please contact Norma Williams at 203 431-5866 or norma_williams@sbcglobal.net.

Rome Prize 2008-2009
The American Academy in Rome invites applications for the Rome Prize competition. One of the leading overseas centers for independent study and advanced research in the arts and the humanities, the Academy offers up to 30 fellowships for periods ranging from six months to two years.

Fellowships are awarded in the following related fields:

• Architecture
• Design (including graphic, fashion, industrial, interior, lighting, set, and sound design, engineering, urban planning, and other related design fields)
• Historic Preservation and Conservation (including architectural design, public policy, and the conservation of works of art)
• Landscape Architecture

The competition deadline is November 1, 2008. For further information or to download guidelines and application forms, visit the Academy’s website at www.aarome.org or contact the American Academy in Rome, 7 East 60 Street, New York, NY 10022-1001, Attn. Programs. T: (212) 751-7200, ext. 47; F: (212) 751- 7220; E: info@aarome.org. Please state specific field of interest when requesting information.

Humboldt Park Audio Tour
Chicago park historian and Alliance member Julia S. Bachrach has created an audio tour of Humboldt Park , a beautiful Jens Jensen-designed landscape.  Even if you don’t have the opportunity to visit the park to follow Julia’s tour, you may want to download the tracks or listen at your computer to learn more about this fascinating place.  Julia is joined by Jensen’s grandson, Bruce Johnson, who shares poetic writings and quotes by his illustrious ancestor.

Humboldt Park Audio Tour    

Please contact Julia by email: julia.bachrach@chicagoparkdistrict.com  for more information.  As Julia will continue to develop other audio tours through 2008, she is also looking for other good examples of audio presentations involving historic landscapes.  Feel free to let her know!

Creating a Broader HALS Network
The establishment of the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) in 2000 was like Kris Kringle receiving mountains of mail in Miracle on 34th Street.  The U.S. Government finally recognized historic landscapes as legitimate siblings of historic buildings and structures in the NPS family of Heritage Documentation Programs.  Suddenly, all of those buildings and structures floating in large format black and white photos with no visible means of support were poised to leap from the page in vibrant Technicolor with an entourage of plants and ponds, a network of roads and paths, and vistas stretching to the horizon.  In our dreams, maybe.

Using HALS
Now that we have HALS, what is it that we do have?  Another compliance tool for documenting historic properties before the road goes through?  Only if we let it be.  HALS has the potential to raise awareness of historic landscapes, provide baseline information for their management, and leverage significant funding for their preservation.

As part of the MOU establishing HALS, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) created a network of HALS Liaisons from each state.  Their work is overseen by a HALS Liaisons Coordinator selected by the chair of the Historic Preservation-Professional Practice Network (HP-PPN).  The state Liaisons are appointed by their respective ASLA chapter presidents, and charged with the following duties and responsibilities:

A Broader Network

Many members of the AHLP are actively promoting HALS, but we need to work with the Liaisons to create a broader network of advocates.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation has lent credence to landscape preservation recently, emphasizing site and context.  We need to enlist the Trust and other preservation partners like NCSHPO, and local preservation organizations and individuals in the campaign to implement and fund HALS.

To identify the HALS Liaison in your state, contact your local ASLA chapter http://www.asla.org/states/ChPr.htm
or go to http://host.asla.org/groups/hppigroup/directory.htm.  For more information, contact HALS Liaisons Co-Coordinators, Susan Crook at 435-773-7920/ scrookla@gmail.com, or David Driapsa at (941) 591-2321/ agarden@naples.net.


The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF)

Landslide 2008 - Marvels of Modernism
Do you know of a Modernist residential property that is in the path of progress? Perhaps a Post-War park or plaza that is scheduled for renovation? Or an abstract or geometric landscape design that is worth saving for future generations to study and take inspiration from? 

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) and Garden Design magazine are teaming up to call for nominations for the 2008 Landslide program – Marvels of Modernism. TCLF, established in 1998, is the only not-for-profit foundation in America dedicated to increasing the public’s awareness of the important legacy of our cultural landscapes and helping to save them for the future. Since its inception in 2003, the Landslide initiative has spotlighted significant public and private landscapes at risk, and this year’s theme will again do so by calling attention to our diverse and unique Post-War garden and landscape heritage.

Charles Birnbaum, TCLF President, says, “Shifting American tastes have, for the past two decades, resulted in the demise and demolition of many of our most innovative and cherished Post-War designs – but, thankfully, today Modern design is having a renaissance and this thematic list will shed light on this formerly forgotten collection.”

The deadline is in April.
For further information visit http://www.tclf.org/landslide/2008.

2007 'Landslide' List - Heroes Of Horticulture
They are the sole witnesses to some of the nation’s greatest people and most significant moments, some are hundreds of years old — the Horse Chestnut Tree that shaded suffragette Susan B. Anthony in the late 19^th century; Oregon’s 230-year old Pow-Wow Bigleaf Maple, a traditional meeting place for the Clackamas Indians; and Charleston’s Angel Southern Live Oak, a majestic living legacy from the antebellum South. They are among the Cultural Landscape Foundation’s (TCLF) 2007 Landslide selections, Heroes of Horticulture. The complete list of twenty-one Heroes of Horticulture sites, located throughout the nation, is currently featured on TCLF’s website (www.tclf.org), and will be showcased in an exhibition at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, opening December 1, 2007 and in the January 2008 edition of Garden Design magazine.

Landslide is a yearly designation of significant landscapes at risk of being lost. The designees are chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted from throughout the nation that highlight current issues in landscape preservation and interpretation. This year, TCLF and Garden Design have partnered with George Eastman House to produce an exhibition of original photography of the Heroes of Horticulture by internationally recognized artists on view in Rochester from December 1, 2007 through March 2, 2008, and traveling thereafter. The exhibition includes images by such celebrated photographers as Mark Klett, John Pfahl, Eli Reed, Louviere+Vanessa, and John Divola, which will also be featured in the January 2008 issue of Garden Design magazine.  

Along with the Eastman House exhibit of original photography, sites across the country will host the Heroes of Horticulture signboard exhibit at or near locations associated with the different Heroes. The signboard exhibit will provide the history of each horticultural specimen, the threat, information on how to support the feature, and associated historic and current photographs of each resource.

To see the twenty-one sites and to find more information about the Heroes of Horticulture, including exhibit venues, visit www.tclf.org/landslide/2007.

New Faces at LALH
Library of American Landscape History (LALH) recently welcomed three new trustees, a new adviser, and a new staff coordinator of the Warren H. Manning Research Project.

The new trustees—Ethan Carr, FASLA; John K. Notz Jr.; and Natalie W. Shivers, AIA—expand the board’s range in both geography and disciplines. Carr, an associate professor at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, is a nationally recognized landscape historian, preservationist, and author. John K. Notz Jr., of Chicago, Illinois, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is a lawyer who retired from Gardner, Carton & Douglas of Chicago in 1996. He has served as a trustee of Chicago’s Graceland Cemetery, as treasurer of the Society of Architectural Historians, and as president of Black Point Historic Preserve, Inc. Natalie W. Shivers is an architect, architectural historian, and author who works as Associate University Architect for Planning at Princeton University, where she helps to oversee the preparation of a long-range campus plan.

New LALH adviser James van Sweden, FASLA, a founding principal of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates in Washington, D.C., is an internationally acclaimed landscape architect and the author of several distinguished books about landscape design. 

Mackenzie Greer (mgreer@lalh.org) has joined the LALH staff as Warren H. Manning Research Project coordinator. Greer, a native of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts, is working on a dual-Master's degree in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Library of American Landscape History Celebrates Fifteen Years
In 2007 Library of American Landscape History (LALH) will mark its fifteenth anniversary. A journey that began in 1989 with a single book, Fletcher Steele, Landscape Architect, led to the founding of the nonprofit publishing organization in 1992 by Steele author and scholar Robin Karson. By the end of next year, LALH will have twenty books in print by leading historians in the field, and three touring exhibitions related to these titles.

Karson notes that LALH books and exhibitions are meant to educate general readers as well as scholars and professionals with the overarching mission of encouraging thoughtful stewardship of the land. "It’s been gratifying to see our books spark and guide landscape preservation projects all over the country," she says. "This is an important role in the field and we’re proud to be filling it." Recent examples of such projects include the restoration of several gardens by Ellen Biddle Shipman (1869­–1950), the rehabilitation of a streetscape designed by Warren H. Manning (1860–1938) in Gwinn, Mich., the rehabilitation of Fletcher Steele’s library amphitheatre in Camden, Me., and the nomination of John Nolen’s plan for Venice, Fla., to the National Register of Historic Places. "We’re grateful to all the LALH authors and supporters who have contributed to our work over the years," Karson says.

Visit www.lalh.org for news of special events throughout the coming year.


Manning Project Makes Strides
Staffing, funding, research assistance, and new web pages for a nationwide survey head the list of milestones passed by the LALH Warren H. Manning Research Project since it was announced in these pages last year.  The survey will eventually include the approximately 1,700 projects listed by landscape architect and planner Warren H. Manning (1860-1938), in preparation for a two-volume book.

• Reid Bertone-Johnson, a recent graduate of the masters degree program in landscape architecture at the University of Massachusetts, has become the project coordinator. His duties include mapping and supervising the entry of site surveys into the Manning database.
  
• Sixty volunteer research associates are currently conducting surveys of 250 Manning-designed properties around the country.
  
• This year’s work is funded by a $25,000 grant from the Viburnum Trilobum Fund of the New York Community Trust.

Visit www.lalh.org to learn more about Manning and the research project, to download Manning’s client list and LALH survey forms, or to support the project through a contribution. 

LALH is grateful to all the AHLP members who responded to the first call for assistance. We still need volunteer researchers in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Northern Michigan, and several other regions. For more information, please visit www.lalh.org/manning.html, e-mail rbertone-johnson@lalh.org, or call LALH at (413) 549-4860.

Member News

Mary Paolano Hoerner, BA, MA, JD, has developed workshops for teachers on teaching with cultural landscapes.  She has given programs for the Western Ohio OEA, Central Ohio OEA, and most recently at Wittenberg University.  The programs were developed with the support of Ohio Chapter, ASLA.  The programs have been well-received, and additional workshops for teachers are planned for 2008.

Hugh C. Miller, FAIA, Hon. ASLA, is the 2007 recipient of the James Marston Fitch Preservation Education Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of Preservation Education. Hugh began teaching historic preservation in 1970 at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.  While employed full time by the National Park Service  (NPS) as an architect/planner, he organized and presented NPS training programs for managers, professionals and trades mechanics in architectural conservation, landscape preservation and cultural resource management subjects.  At the same time he was presenting courses, seminars and workshops at universities and preservation organizations in the U.S. and internationally.  Since 1996, Hugh has been teaching preservation technology and supervising thesis at the Masters of Arts in Historic Preservation Program at Goucher College.

Call for Papers

March 2009
A Critical Examination Of Preservation & Sustainability
The Sixth National Forum on Historic Preservation Practice
Goucher College, Baltimore, Maryland

Historic preservation practice in the United States has become complex, professional, and inclusive, while reflecting an increasingly mainstreamed and popular public ethos.  This has, in turn, focused the attention of some preservationists far beyond traditional concerns for preserving individual historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods, to grappling with ways to integrate preservation with land use and transportation planning, smart growth, and management of resources; in short, seeking ways to make historic preservation a central part of the growing discussion of developing sustainable practices.

This series of National Forums, co-sponsored by a consortium of 11 graduate historic preservation programs, has focused on the changing perspectives of historic preservation practice in the United States.  The Sixth National Forum on Historic Preservation Practice, to be held at Goucher College, March 2009, will explore the challenges that preservation faces in becoming a critical component of the national debate about sustainability.

Historic preservation of existing neighborhoods and commercial districts embodies the concept of a sustainable society.  Preserving and continuing to use existing neighborhoods with their closely integrated network of houses, schools, parks, open spaces, streets, alleys, and religious institutions provides residents with an environment that encourages human interaction.  Preserving and continuing to use traditional commercial districts provides residents with a variety of locally oriented goods and services.

In particular, the Sixth National Forum is interested in receiving abstracts on the following topics:

• Interface between preservation and sustainable architecture and landscape architecture standards.
• How preservation practice can be used to create sustainable neighborhoods and commercial districts.
• Accommodating growth and preservation in existing urban and rural environments.
• Developing effective connections between preservation organizations and those promoting smart growth and sustainability.

Papers must be analytical rather than descriptive.  They should address new approaches to historic preservation and sustainability, and not be simply case studies.  Papers should focus on new material that brings fresh information and insight to the nexus between preservation and sustainability.

While the focus of the conference is on preservation practice and sustainability in the United States, papers may incorporate international perspectives for comparative purposes or in ways that bring domestic practices and issues to the fore.

Abstracts and any inquiries should be sent to:
David L. Ames, Conference Coordinator, and Director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
PHONE 302.831.1050    FAX 302.831.4548
davames@udel.edu

Abstracts may be submitted electronically or in hard copy.  Abstracts should be between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted no later than January 31, 2008.Abstracts should contain the author’s name(s), postal and e-mail addresses, and telephone and fax numbers at the top of the page.  Papers will be selected based on thoughtfulness, organization, and how well they address the focus of the conference.  The selection committee reserves the right to request modifications to proposals.

Inquiries and abstracts should be sent to David L. Ames, Conference Coordinator, and Director of the Center for Historic Architecture and Design, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716; 302-831-1050, FAX 302-831-4548, davames@udel.edu. Abstracts may be submitted electronically or in hard copy.

Calendar of Events

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Section 106 Courses
The only Section 106 course taught by the federal agency responsible for administering the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 review process, this two‑day course is designed for those who are new to Section 106 review or those who want a refresher on its basic operation.  The course explains the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which applies any time a federal, federally assisted, or federally approved activity might affect a property listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Click here for ACHP2008 courses.

September 5, 2008
2008 Historic Plants Symposium: ‘Fruits, Roots, and Leaves’-Revolutionary Gardeners and Heritage Harvests Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia This biennial symposium is sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants and features a daylong seminar, tours and an evening reception. The symposium precedes the 2008 Heritage Harvest Festival at Tufton Farm, which takes place on September 6. Visit www.monticello.org for more information or contact Peggy Cornett at (434) 984-9816.

September 16-17, 2008
Cemetery Landscape Preservation Workshop Natchitoches, Louisiana Presented by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) and the National Park Service, this two-day hands-on workshop in historic American Cemetery teaches the basics of proper cemetery landscape maintenance. Further details and registration are available at www.ncptt.nps.gov.

September 29 – October 4, 2008
Finding the Spirit of the Place: ICOMOS 16th General Assembly and International Scientific Symposium Quebec City, Quebec For more information, visit: www.hospitalite.com/Clients/icomos/en/02_nouvelles.htm

October 16, 2008
Edward L. Daugherty, FASLA, showcase and exhibition Atlanta History Center, Atlanta, Georgia The Cherokee Garden Library in partnership with The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) will honor the work of renowned Atlanta landscape architect, Edward L. Daugherty, FASLA. The evening will showcase TCLF’s Oral History project of Mr. Daugherty as well as the opening of the Library’s exhibition entitled Pioneer Landscape Architect: Edward L. Daugherty (October 16, 2008 - March 28, 2009). For additional information contact Staci Catron at (404) 814-4046.

November 13-15, 2008
Second Wave of Modernism in Landscape Architecture in America Chicago, Illinois The central motivation of the conference is in-depth consideration of the reappearance of modernist tendencies in current landscape architectural practices. This conference is being co-sponsored by The Cultural Landscape Foundation and the Chicago Architecture Foundation, with support from the American Society of Landscape Architects and Design Within Reach. Read more and register at www.tclf.org/secondwave.

Employment Opportunities

TBA