Gilmore David Clarke

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Gilmore David Clarke[1] (July 12, 1892[2] – August 8, 1982[3]) was an American civil engineer and landscape architect who designed many parks and public spaces in and around New York City.

Biography

Born in New York, Clarke went to

Westchester County
.

In 1934 he became a consultant for the

New York City Parks Department under parks commissioner Robert Moses. His works in the city include the Central Park Zoo, the Conservatory Garden, the expansion of Riverside Park, and many other public spaces. The following year, he teamed up with Michael Rapuano (1904 – 1975),[4]
founding the firm of Clarke & Rapuano. From 1935 to his retirement in 1950 he taught landscape architecture at Cornell University, where he was the Dean of Architecture from 1939 on.

Clarke designed the landscape architecture of the

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. For the 1964 exhibition, Clarke designed the Unisphere, and his company designed many of the fountains and statues in the park, as well as the "Garden of Meditation" exhibit.[5]

Clarke was also appointed the landscape architect and engineer for the Garden State Parkway. He had closely worked with Robert Moses and combined the examples of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Merritt Parkway to give the highway an efficient and beautiful appearance.

In addition to his practice in New York, Clarke was appointed in 1932 to the

Arlington Cemetery, and the construction of the so-called "Truman Balcony" within the south portico of the White House.[6] He was awarded the Frank P. Brown Medal in 1945 and was a member and Special Committee chairman for the American Academy in Rome from 1944 to 1945.[7] In 1944, Clarke was elected into the National Academy of Design
as an Associate Academician, and became a full Academician in 1946.

Clarke retired from his firm in 1972 and later consulted on the construction of the

United Nations Headquarters. He also became a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History
.

Clarke died on August 8, 1982, while aboard the ship

Royal Viking Star on a cruise off the coast of Denmark
.

References

  1. ^ See e.g. Columbia University Libraries, Columbia Center for Oral History: Reminiscences of Gilmore David Clarke : Oral History, 1959 for his middle name. URL last accessed July 24, 2018.
  2. ^ Rootsweb: Clarke, Gilmore David. URL last accessed June 30, 2006.
  3. New York Times, August 10, 1982, p. B19: Gilmore D. Clarke, 90, is dead; designed major public works
    .
  4. ^ Sculpture Review: In Memoriam: Michael Rapuano, Sculpture Review XXV(1) Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine; Spring 1976.
  5. ^ New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission: The Unisphere with its surrounding pool and fountains Archived 2017-03-01 at the Wayback Machine, May 16, 1995. Designation List 263; LP-1925. URL last accessed June 30, 2006.
  6. ^ Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Chapter 3; Carroll William Westfall, "The Jefferson Memorial: A Pyrrhic Victory for American Architecture'; and Appendix B, p. 542.
  7. ^ "Finding Aid". American Academy in Rome records, 1855-[ca.1981], (bulk dates 1894-1946). Archives of American Art. 2011. Retrieved 17 Jun 2011.

External links

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