Samuel Parsons

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the 18th-century lawyer and soldier, see Samuel Holden Parsons. For the 19th-century attorney, translator and banker, see Samuel Parsons Scott. For the American horticulturist, see Samuel Bowne Parsons.
Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr.
BornFebruary 8, 1844
New Bedford, Massachusetts
DiedFebruary 3, 1923(1923-02-03) (aged 78)
New York City, New York
EducationYale University, Ph.B. (1862)
OccupationLandscape architect
Spouse
Martha Elizabeth Francis
​
​
(m. 1842)​
5th President of the American Society of Landscape Architects
In office
1905–1907
Preceded byJohn Charles Olmsted
Succeeded byFrederick Law Olmsted Jr.
2nd President of the American Society of Landscape Architects
In office
1901–1902
Preceded byJohn Charles Olmsted
Succeeded byNathan Franklin Barrett
Head Landscape Architect of New York City
In office
1895–1911
Preceded byCalvert Vaux

Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr. (February 8, 1844 – February 3, 1923), was an American landscape architect. He is remembered as being a founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, helping to establish the profession.

Early years

Parsons was born February 8, 1844, in

horticulturist, who was the first to import Japanese Maples and propagate rhododendrons. Parsons 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

Greensward Plan for New York City's Central Park. The site of the nursery is within present-day Kissena Park, and Parsons Boulevard
, which runs through much of the family nursery's land, is named after him.

Projects

Parsons became Vaux's

Morningside Park. In collaboration with architect Stanford White, Parsons and Vaux also produced the Washington Memorial Arch in Washington Square Park and the Grand Army Plaza Arch near Prospect Park in Brooklyn
. Throughout their tenure together Parsons noticed that Vaux was a very passionate believer in naturalistic parks, but was reluctant to push himself forward.

After Vaux’s death, Parsons went on to design

new subway station
. New York City was the main beneficiary of Parsons' designs; they included numerous bathrooms, some designed to resemble Greek temples.

In 1899, Parsons founded the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) in conjunction with ten other well established practitioners 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 1901–1902 and 1905–1907, Parsons served as the President of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Parsons published numerous magazine articles and at least six books on landscape gardening throughout his life. He depended on media publicity to accomplish a goal only once; he sought 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

Union Square
.

Pinelawn Memorial Park

Parsons' most notable designs outside of New York City are Balboa Park in

San Diego, California, and Pinelawn Memorial Park on Long Island
.

American Chestnut Tree

American chestnuts

Before the early 1900s, one in every four hardwood trees in North America's eastern forests was an

Chestnuts sometimes piled so high on the forest floor that people would scoop them up with shovels. Both humans and a wide variety of animals relied on this abundant and easily gathered resource for food, particularly in winter.[1]

Chestnut trees also had significant economic value. American carpenters preferred chestnut over other materials for making certain products. Lightweight, rot-resistant, straight-grained and easy to work with, chestnut wood was used to build houses, barns, telegraph poles, railroad ties, furniture and even musical instruments.[1]

In 1876, Parsons imported

Cryphonectria parasitica. The disease chokes the trees to death by wedging itself into their trunks and obstructing conduits for water and nutrients. Asian chestnut trees evolved a resistance but their North American relatives were highly susceptible to chestnut blight.[1]

First discovered in New York State in 1904, the blight was soon spotted in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Within 50 years, C. parasitica killed nearly four billion chestnut trees. The species has been almost completely extirpated within its native range in one of the greatest ecological catastrophes in American history.[1]

Notable designs

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jabr, Ferris. "A New Generation of American Chestnut Trees May Redefine America's Forests." Scientific American, March 1, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  • Amero, Richard W. (Winter 1998). "Samuel Parsons Finds Xanadu in San Diego". The Journal of San Diego History. 44 (1). Retrieved 2006-10-30.
  • Raynor, Vivian (March 26, 1995). "A Landscape Artist Who Left His Mark". The New York Times. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
  • "American Architect's Biographies". Society of Architectural Historians. 4 February 1997. Archived from the original on 2006-10-01. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
  • "American Society of Landscape Architects". 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-10-25. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
  • Memories of Samuel Parsons; Landscape Architect of the Department of Public Parks, edited by Mabel Parsons, Putnam, 1926
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