Elist, C.W. II (1899-1993) Biographical does. Updated 4/5/85 Landscape Architect Planning Consultant +28 Charles W. Eliotznd 25 Reservoir St. 7/13) Cambridge 38, Mass. VITA 1899 Born November 5 in Cambridge, Mass., son of Samuel A. Eliot and Frances Hopkinson Ellot and Grandson of Charles W.Eliot and John P. Hopkinson 1928 Married Regina Phelps Dodge -Colorado Springs - 11/20/04 1/12/73 Children!: Charles W. Eliot II m.Johanna Garfield 1954 m 2 Jense Jennifer, Abigail, Rebecca, Stephanie 2. Carolyn Lunt Eliot m 1) Peter Carroll. 1950 Terrence, Brian, Philib m 2) John B. Ruckdeschel 1959 Holly, Jenny,Jason, Katie m 3) Doned d E. Hitchcock 1984 2 John Eliot - m Sylvia Hewitt 1959 John Cooper, Mary, Catherine 4. Lawrence Gray Eliot m Charlotte Teichroew 1971 Davids., PeterT. + Great Grands Education and Military Mixiam Constance Carroll 1905.10 Bucking ham School Wathaniel James Campbell 1910-12 The Misses Smith 1912-16 Browne and Mchols School 21/18 1916 Camp Terry. Military 10/26-1/17/19 1918-10 American Red Cross Ambulance Service - Italian Front - 5/14-9/12 6/15 "Croce di Guerra"- F.A.C.O.T.S. and 2nd Lt., U.S. Field Artillery Reserve, Camp Taylor, Kentucky. Bennest Proze Boyiston Prize Baldwin Prize. A.B-1920 1916- 1920 Harvard College Harvard Engineering Camp, Summer, 1920. DominoTories glu Club, College Chris, D.K.E. Hasti Pudding Speakers Out, Liberal Clob. HooverLe. 1920 - 1923 Master in Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School 25 Reservoit ST. of Landscape Architecture Harvard Glee Club European Trip, Summer, 1921-6/4 Office of Olmsted Brother: Landscape Auchitacis, Summer, 1922. work with L. Hubbard; Parker Master in Landocape Architecture 1923. 1923-24 Harvard Sheldon Travelling Fellow in Planning - in Europe including office of Thomas Mawson, Lancaster, England; Gothenburg Plan Conference, Street Design in Germany, Italian Gardens from Sicily to Lake Como, French and British Gardens, and study of Historic Preservation Procedures in Holland and Belgium Religion Uniterian - Member of 1st Parish in cambridge 1920 - Life Mentor Am ason 1927 2 POSITIONS and Experience 1924-26 Private Practice - Planning Consultant is Landscape Architect ,ex appleton St Res." Reservast ST 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. wards camer. acobs "Plan of Arlington, Mass" 1926 suchs their will Civic Center for Bedford, Mass. Foote -Kixes Zoning Plans for Duxbury and Yarmouth, Mass. Chris. Eliot Private Estates, Gardens and House lots. B+N School american City Organizer and Segnatory Haasuchusetts Com on Open Spaces Noyes Highland ht Assistant Editor "City Planning" - Quarterly Magazine of Institute. Reasoning Perry. Clement Cir Sortwell Harvard Univ. Traffic around Hervard Square with H.V.Hubbard. Field See. Sturgis Capeland 1924-26 Secretary, Maesachusatts Trustees of Public Reservations. Rice organiz er and Secretary, Mass. Governors Committee on open Spaces, Washington - 1926-33 Res Grometown 26-29 w 2501 Foxhall Rd 1930.13 had 1926-33 City Planner and Director of Planning - Washington, DC 1930-33 National Capital Park and Planning Commission - Major General my/ U S Grant 3rd ,Executive Officer. Charmen-GenJadwin+ F.A.Delano - andreports Responsible charge - plans for Regional Parks & Parkways w Capper-Cramton Act 1930 District Parks & Park purchases Regional Plan - Highways - Land Use Parking Survey (with Miller McClinteck) Public Buildings and Mall Development Plans (Shipstead act)1930 Etc.Etc Harvard Uhiv. Eliot House Planting 1931 1928-33 Landscape Architect - University of Maryland, College Park - Landon School for Boys, Bethesda Honeyword - Private Places in Meryland and Virginia Consultant - National Park Service - Boundaries of Rocky ReporTs Mountain National Park - Carnegie Institution of Washington - on on Restoration of St Augustine Association - Bar Earbor, Improvement Society on "The Future of Mt Desert Island" 1929 (Acedis, Net. Park) village 3 National Planning-1933-43 1933-39 Executive Officer - National Planning Board -FublicWorks Admin. 1933-34 National Rescurces Board 1934-35-Exec - off of Pnes. National Resources Committee 1995-39 " 1939-43 Director-Naticnal Resources Planning Board - Washington, D. C. Executive office of the President - Frederic A Delano, Chairman, Charles 2. Merriam Wesley Mitchell + GeorgeYantis. From 1933-43 responsible charge of staff for Assistance and organization of State & Regional Planning Agencies. Preparation of Plans, Surveys and Reporta, including: National Resources Development 1934, 1941, 1942, 1943 Public Works Planning Security, Work, & Relief Policies Drainage Basin Problems & Programs Regional Plans for Pacific Northwest St Louis Region New England Baltimore - Washington - Annapolis Alaska Upper Rio Grande Arkansas Valley, Etc. Transportation and National Policy Technological Trends Our Cities Structure of the American Economy Etc. California 1944-54 Res, 1944. 994720 50.San Refeel AvePasedema 1944 Lecturer - University of California - "City Futures" & "National Planning" Honorable Mention 1944 - Gru Drive - "Beston Contest" - Structure of the Metropolitan Ages. 2324 Figuron St 1944-45 Director, Haynes Foundation, Los Angeles.,2. Research & Education. Responsible charge preparation of reports "Local "Economic Government Survey Angeles Area" on: of the Los of Unincorporated Areas" "Coastline Plans and Action - LOB Angeles" "Waterlines. Key to Los Angeles Development" "Demobilization and Jobs" "Jobs and Security" "Citizen Support for Los Angeles Development" Etc. Radio Program - CBS - "Destination Tomorrow" with Chet Hontley 1945 - Chairman, Los Angeles County Citizens Com. Parks, Beaches and Recreation. 1948 - Member, Los Angeles County Democratic Com. (with Ronnie Reagon) 4. 1946-94 Plannine Consultant - Private PracTice from Pasadena Cahip. Riverside City - Master Plan: of LANA use. DON unity Design & Zoning Riverside County Planning Convision - Zoning and General Plans for Coachulla Valley and Santa Ana Valley Thurston County. Washington - General Planing Report Olympia City Planning Commission - Washington - General CITY Plan and Capital Lake Development Tumwater City, Washington - General Park Design Upland CITY Planning Commission - Master Plans of LEDO fee & Comunity Design Zoning & Subdivision Regil tions SIC. Colton City Plantis Constation - original Zoning egulations Highway Team .46 San Diego - La Jolla- General Plan Re:ort and Old Tom Historical Site oceanside CITY - Recreation, cent pront Zoning E1 Centro sitz Fleaming condition - Zoning to Subdev Master Plan: of retraction in Letills for Corona City Acceine danton - Master Plans or history: refrestion and La "nning Rediands City : Ismina Condicsion w Master Plans 'I' Richoose is Accounting rad & mains Covina Gardena Master Plans 15 Lear Use, Community Design. Reservation. Losing Clarement, & Subtrivision solutions, with F. R. Iwaska, Associate Laverne Yuma, Ariz. Riverside Parking 1952-53 Consultant and Director, Resources Program, Ford Founda- tion; is Development of Program and Organization of Resources for the Future, Inc. Cambridge 1954 - 6/10 at 25 Reservoir St. Harvard Graduate School of Design. 1955-59 Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture 5/6 or Harvard University Craduate School of Design 1959-66 Professor of City and Regional Planning - M.G.S.D. Recalled from retirement far 1967-68 Private PracTice - 1954- from 25 Reservoir st. is Plenning Consultant 33 55-59- 58164 62-64 65-2 Town plans T since 1957 - for Dover, Lincoln, Boxford Concord, and Groton, Mees. Homelton Middleton, ,Herverd, Witaum ston, Mass. Regional County planning studies - Greater Burlington .and Bedford Hills Garden Club '62 Chittenden County, Vermont, York County Maine; Ottaoquechee Valley,VT.63 Concord, Mass'65 Regional Open Spaces, National Capital Regional Planning Moose Hill-61-62 Council, 1957-58. storm King N.Y. Mentor Marsh - Erie County Planning Commission, 1961. NarraganseTT, R.1. 1964-66; Little Compton, R.1.1972- Landscape Architect Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission Projects on Charles River and Mystic Lakes, 1956-60. Preliminary P.pert on Banks of the Charles River, 1961. National Park Service, Grand Canyon, Desert View, 1958. 5 Public Service Boston Metropolitan Area Plannino Council - Exec Com1964-73 Gubanatorial AppoinTee 1964- LonngAward 1977. 15 Yr Service Award 1981 Back Bay Historic Dist, Study Com 1965-66 Exec.com 1964-74. Ch. Comps Plancom, Member-Reg. Organization +oTher Coms. Cambridge Historical Com. 1967- Gov's Adv.com. on Open spaces +Outdoor Recreation 1967-72 Gov's Adv. Com. on Planning 1966-72 (Revision of Enabling Acts) Cambridge Bi CenTennial Corporation 1974-77 Cambridge 350 anniv. Com. 1979.-81 - Award. Citizen of the Year 1981 Gov's Adv. Com on Bay Circuit Greenbelt 1985- Olmsted State Advisory Com. for Restoration of Olmsted Parks 1985- Mass. Conservation Courcil - Conservation Award 1975 Peddocks Island Trust Activities for LegislaTion Washington - Shipstead Act. 1928 . Arch. Control (Author) Capper- Cramton Act Regional Parks Potomac agst Power Mt. Vernon, genry Washington memorial Parkway NaTional Planning - Appropriations. 1933.43 Govt Reorpanization re Exec. Office of the President-1938-39 California- Revision of Planning Laws Mass. - HisToric District Act Ch. HOC. Petitioner 1956-60 Bay Circuit . Author Petitioner 1955-56 Ch:631 MAPC 1963 + + Lecturer, Conference Leader Institutes on Community Development - California U.C.L.A., 1945; Santa Barbara, 1946; Stanford Univer- city, 1940; Cleremont, 1947. Gov. Conf on YouTh 19408 Harvard Summer School, 1948, American Planning + 1950 Harvard Graduate School of Design, 1952, 1953, and 1954. University of Pennsylvania, 1951 1930,1932, 1933, Yale University, 1951, Chubb Fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1951 t 1967-68 University of Michigan, 1954. university of Rhode Island 1967-1968 Olmsted Nat. Park. se Charles ElioT-LA - 1984 Hubbard Educ Trust 1987 6 Societies and Organizations offices and Honors Fellow American Academy of Arts and Sciences . 1964- Fellow American Society of Landscape Architects, Member since 1926 Fellow 1938-2 "ASLA Medal" 1982 Past-President Boston Society of Landscape Architects, 1957-1960 Member since 19296 Organization MR 4917 with C.WE. Member American Institute of Planners, since 1928 Board of Governors, 1929-32, 1942-45 Awardre NRPB Distinguished Service Awards 1961+1967 American Society of Planning Officials, since 1934 Board of Directors, 1934-36 w Distinquished Service Medal 1972-4/18 Mass. Association for Olmsted Parks - Award 1985 National Mass. Federation of Planning Boards-Hon Member Award 1980 Nature Conservancy Society for Preservation of New England Antiguities Society for PropagaTion of the Gospel among Indians others National Parks & Conser vation Ass'n. 1920. B'd of Dir.1929-33 Sierra Club Wilderness SocieTy, Essex Co. Greenbelt ipswich His torical Society. .. ipswich Hirer Watershed Ass'n. Bunker Hill Monument Society 1924- Pres. 1959-1977 s Everities Cambridge Historical SocieTy. 1924. Pres. 1971-1979 Hubbard Educational Trost 195 Vice Pres 1959-1974 Mass Conservation Founal Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations - Life member. 1942 22 Owar de 1975 Secretary, 1925-26; Standing Committee, 1926-29, 1957-69 Mass Parks Admoory CooncH -1964. Conserval Tion Award 19269 Award 1989 Old South Meeting House AssociaTion. 1926 - Trustees Charles River Watershed Association 19 Wilderness Society Hancock Co, Trustees of Public Reservations, Maine 1928- Committee of 100 for the Federal City. 1926 - Natural Resourses Cooneil of State Planning Agencies w tion Member 1995- Defence Cancil Cosmos Club Washington -1928- Please Auduban Soc. "A" Award 1985 Rexford Tugwell award Formerly Essex County Greenbelt liwn. of So, Cal-1986 National Symphony Orchestra, 1938-43 Board of Directors Harvard 1920 Class Harvard Alumni Association, 1955-58 - n Assn. 1990 + 54. Los Angeles County Democratic Committee. 1948.54 (with Ronnie Reason) American Academy of Political and Social Sciences American Society of Public Administration National Institute of Social Science Pacific Southwest Academy Town Hall, Los Angeles Los Angeles County Planning Congress Visiting Committee, Harvard Graduate School of City Planning, 1931-36; Harvard College, Department of Government, 1936-55. 1929-33-? Harvard Clubs of BosTon Washing Ton So.California-)944-$4 Urban America 1966-72- Assoc. Member - British Town Planning Institute 1924. Footon Back B ay Historic Regional Science Assk 1954-1973 American Planning and Civic Association 1926 District Study Com 1965.66 Board of Trustees, 1956-1965 Distinguished Service Award, 1956 Roston Common Societr - secretary 1959-74 Associations of Charles W.Eeist with Rcadia National Park My life-long interest and concern for mr Desert Island and the Acadia Archipelago continues my family's involvement dating ack over 100 years. my Sand father - Charles W. Eliot, President Varvard University cruised the archipelago with his sons the 1870 s and they camped on Calf Island in Frenchmans say for several summers. In 1880my uncle Charles Eliot- regards the Champlain Society among his fellow. students IM Harvard College and, using the family yacht. Sunshine and amping equipment, camped on Somes Sound and at Northeast fastor while members of the Society conducted scientific studies of mr Osset Island during several summers :- Dotany .E Rand, ornith of logy-Charles Townsend, meteorology. g.a. Eust. etc, and on visits Prop feology ocean frontage facing Cadill ac Hastor and the Western Way at my unclis suggestion my grandfather bought land with ant" lots ) upthe ridge of Pasticou Hill - now Elist mountain. and including a strip a miletack (one of the original Bongham There Rebuiet a house in the winter of 1880.81 which was his summer resi dence until his death in 1926. He persuade my other go and gather John P. Hopkinson to also Quil d and in 1897. my P arents ~ Samuel Q. Eliot and Frances on part of the Dame property closer To Noube act Hartor, Hopkinson Elist built their house on the north aide of Pasticou Way. - the road between Northeast and Seal Harboro. that house is still owned by a family Trust and occupied every summer that descendants of may parents. In1899 my Father prepared a paper for the Strooklyn Historical Marasme Society which was putlished in the New England on August under the title "The Romance ofmr. Desert It recounted The story of the Island's discovery by Champlain and the rivalry between the French and British over the settlement, as well as the beginnings of the summer colony is ,the latter half of the 19th Century. four years later, at the R request the widow of Pev. george E.Street, and using Dr Street's r. tes and incomplete drafts 5 he wrote D went-Athetory 339 pp. 1905 which he up.dated in 1925 in a Mount and econd edition. other writings by my Father about mr. Desert History of the Hancock County Trustees of Public veluded an account of the Champlain Society-1931, and when was young - in the 1900s - we went To Northeast Harton each summer by the Bangor Boat - the "Bangor" and Rockland" and later the "Belfast" and Camden which left RowesWhouf in Boston at 500 PM with a first stop at dawn at Rockland where we transferred To the Mr. Desert or later to The "J.T.Morse". both paddle. wheel steamers. The Morse steamed from Rockland To Bar Hastor in the mornings and returned To Rockland in the after noons through the 1 slan ds which we now call "The Acadian Archipelago. In the earber years the route from Plackland was through Eggmogern Reach with stops at Dark Hartor on Deer lole, at Brooklyn on the main land and on To Touthwest ,Northeast, Seal and Bar Hartors. Later, it was by the Deer Island Thorofare To North Haven, Stonington and, as before in the Western Way (in the Center of the view from the Elior family Houses) To The Harbors on mr. Desert Island. The alternate way To reach mr. Desert in those days was by Train To Ellsworth and mt Desert ferry at the head of frenchmans Bay and thence by the ferry. toats succeeded by the "Norumbega n* and" Sapho To Sorrento and Through The Bay Islands to deliver passengers To Bar, Seal, nouheast and Southwest Harbors with Two, Three or even your Trips every day during the summerseason. Those journeys made us familiar with the Coast and its Islands the Tortuous channels among reefs and ledges, and the distant and closer views of the Camden Hills, Blue Hill, and the Desert Mountain of the" Blessed lole". and during The summers, eruises sacing adventures (in all weathers), and family picnics up the Sound, to Bakers, The Ceanterries. Soft Islands, and cruises around mr Desert aland - all added To our knowledge and love for the area. in 1901 Grandlather Eliot assembled a eroup of summer and 'jue mament residents of mr. Desert Island To discuss ways To Su their the protection and preservation of the special qualities of Yus. Desurt and the Orchipeligo for the enjoyment by future severation He had recently completed the took" Chaires Elist. Landscape with arecord of my uncle's professional career and his role un founding the Maas. Trustees of Parac Reservations in 1891. CHARLES W. ELIO 2nd: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Page 1 of 3 NOTABLE AMERICAN Is God Necessary? Unitarians NO! and YES! By Herbert FL Vetter Click to View on Amazon Recommended Reading Notable Unitarians Home Harvard Square Library Home CHARLES W. ELIOT 2nd: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT 1899-1993 Courtesy of Harvard University Archives I have indeed been fortunate in family affection and good friends, and in the opportunities to work in fields and for causes that were exciting, challenging, and satisfying. I just had an idea that planning-looking ahead-might be both fun and useful. About the only place in this country where one could get some training for planning in 1920 was the Graduate School of Landscape Architecture. Family and friends gave me opportunities and my thesis plans for a Spy Pond Park and the low rate of my first professional fees combined in convincing the Town of Arlington that I could make them a Town Plan. From that came chances to work in Bedford, Duxbury, and Yarmouth. Among these first jobs was a report on traffic around the Yard and Harvard Square for the Harvard Corporation-one of the many fruitless attempts to by-pass traffic around the buildings of the University. In the summer of 1925 came a telegram from Washington-Job here would have jumped for at your age-and so I began eighteen years as a civil servant. As city planner and later as director of planning for the National Capital Park and Planning Commission it was my job until 1933 to advise the commission on the location and boundaries of areas which were purchased for parks and playgrounds, on location of highways and public buildings, and all kinds of public improvements-including sewers. The high spots were the efforts to get the Potomac Valley reserved for park, the Parkway to Mount Vernon, an unsuccessful battle for adequate parking space in the Triangle, and a great deal of public speaking about future Washington. There is a tremendous satisfaction in being able to say (not just to oneself), I had a part in saving this stream valley, in laying out this street, or opening that vista. As I learned more about our country, the need and possibility of national planning became my chief interest. I tried to get the Hoover administration interested and when Roosevelt was elected, I thought I wanted to be an Assistant Secretary of the Interior in order to influence national conservation policy. Fortunately that didn't work out and instead, in August, 1933, I started ten years as executive officer-later director-of the National Planning Agency. The National Planning Board, headed by Frederic A. Delano, '85, was first organized as a part of the Public Works Administration and our first undertaking was a 'plan for a plan' which we presented to the President at Hyde Park in June, 1934. My http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/eliot_cII.html 3/14/2011 CHARLES W. ELIO I 2nd: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Page 2 of 3 nomination as director of the National Resources Planning Board went to the Senate and was confirmed. The principle tangible result of those ten years of work is a long list of printed reports which bring together data on our resources-natural, man-made, human, and institutional-as the basis for policy proposals. We printed so much material that I was accused of trying to outdo the Five Foot Shelf. The Resource Planning shelf is longer. With the outbreak of the war in Europe the board's activities were concentrated on defense planning and by special instruction of the President in January, 1940, we turned to post-defense or postwar planning. The trouble with an account like this one is that the really important things don't get proper place and emphasis-a very happy marriage, four vigorous youngsters, and decidedly an eventful life. I have indeed much to be thankful for! Abridged from the 25th Anniversary Report of the Harvard Class of 1920, courtesy of Harvard University Archives. REMEMBRANCE by Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director, Cambridge Historical Commission Charles W. Eliot 2nd was a product of his New England heritage, which gave him a strong sense of the power of place as well as the compelling role models who shaped his career. The Eliots were among the original Boston Brahmins. Catherine Eliot, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, established the Cambridge branch of the family in 1821 when she used her inheritance to purchase the Shady Hill estate, off Kirkland Street. Her husband Andrews Norton, the Dexter Professor of Sacred Literature, and her brother, Samuel Atkins Eliot, the future mayor of Boston, created Norton's Woods, a thirty-acre landscaped setting that nurtured generations of landscape architects. In 1858, Samuel Atkins Eliot and his family also settled at Shady Hill. His son Charles W. Eliot, shortly before he became president of Harvard University, helped finance their new house and lived in half of it until 1867. Here Samuel's grandson Charles Eliot the landscape architect was born in 1859. Young Charles Eliot "early developed a talent for sketching, a sense of locality, a fondness for maps, and an appreciation of scenery." After graduating from Harvard in 1882, he took a junior position with Frederick Law Olmsted, who had just established his office in Brookline, and then traveled in Europe. On his return, Courtesy of Harvard University Archives he established an independent practice in Boston and began an extraordinary career as an advocate of parks and public open spaces for American cities. He helped found the Massachusetts Trustees of Public Reservations, the first landscape preservation organization in America, and helped plan and implement the Boston Metropolitan Park Commission, which in a short time built a regional park system extending from the Blue Hills in Milton to Revere Beach. Eliot returned to the Olmsted firm in 1893 and participated in projects throughout the United States. His untimely death from meningitis in 1897 cut short a life of great potential. President Eliot wrote a biography of his son to memorialize his work and to express his unfulfilled mission. Two years after Charles's death, his brother Samuel produced President Eliot's first grandson. Eliot decided that he would also be named Charles and would become a landscape architect. With these inescapable expectations, the boy's career seemed predestined. http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/eliot_cII.html 3/14/2011 CHAKLES W. ELIU 1 2nd: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Page 3 of 3 Charles W. Eliot 2nd must have developed his strong personality in reaction to his grandfather, who became the dominant figure in his life. He entered Harvard College in 1917 but left the following year to join the American Red Cross as an ambulance driver on the Italian front. Returning to college, he graduated with his class in 1920 and received a master's degree in 1923 from the School of Landscape Architecture; according to Eliot, his grandfather had established the program in 1900 with him in mind. Like his late uncle, he studied Norton's Woods, apprenticed with the Olmsted firm, toured Europe, and on his return established an independent practice in Boston and became secretary of the Trustees of Public Reservations. After President Eliot's death in 1926, Charles left Boston to join the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, where he worked until 1933. He served as the director of the National Resources Planning Board from 1939 until Congress abolished it in 1943. He then moved to Pasadena, California, where he worked for private foundations in Los Angeles and for the San Diego City Planning Commission. Charles returned to Cambridge after his parents died in the early 1950s and moved into his childhood home at 24 Reservoir Street. He resumed his practice as a planning consulant and in 1954 joined the faculty of the Graduate School of Design as Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture. He joined the board of the Trustees of Reservations (its modern name) and served as president of the Cambridge Historical Society from 1970 to 1978. He fought to save the sycamores on Memorial Drive and to prevent the construction of an office building on Cambridge Common. He helped establish the Cambridge Historical Commission in the early 1960s and remained a member until his death. From "Rememberance," Essays on Cambridge History (Cambridge: Cambridge Historical Society, Volume 45, 1998). Click Here to view Supplemental Reading to CHARLES W. ELIOT 2nd on Amazon. Notable American Unitarians 1936-1961 By Herbert R Vetter Click to View on Amazon Notable Unitarian Home W Harvard Square Library Home http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/eliot_cII.html 3/14/2011 I Landscape Architecture 13, # I (1922): 27-37. THE INFLUENCE OF THE AUTOMOBILE ON THE DESIGN OF PARK ROADS* 11/03 By CHARLES W. ELIOT, 2d TH THE passing of the horse-drawn vehicle and the constantly in- creasing use of automobiles have made necessary a revalua- tion of the various factors in the design of park roads. Broadly speaking, park roads are roads to, through, or in parks. In some apparent cases, the automobile has not materially affected the factors of design, and SO we can immediately eliminate certain types from the discussion. For instance, the streets bordering a playground, garden square, or small park in the city have been affected only as all streets have been affected, and hence do not call for attention in this paper. Similarly, in parks of formal design, where roads are unquestionably a proper part of the scheme, the influence of the automobile upon the principles of design is of negligible importance, although the longer curve-radii and the greater road-widths necessary for automobiles may be said to have limited certain types of formal design. It is in the informal landscape parks of all sizes, and in the park- ways, that the automobile has notably changed the situation. The problem of road design in informal parks is the subject of this paper. In the landscape parks which were designed during the height of the "park movement", pleasure drives were appropriate elements of the schemes. The admittance of these drives into any particular unit of the park depended on the character, size, and enclosure of the landscape. Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, Senior, in his "Notes on the Plan of Franklin Park", says: Prepared as a report in connection with the courses in Town Planning at the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture. 3 27 28 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE The roads of the park have been designed less with a purpose of bringing visitors to points of view at which they will enjoy set scenes or landscapes, than to provide for a constant mild enjoyment of simply pleas- ing rural scenery while in easy movement, and this by curves and grades avoiding unnecessary violence to nature. The roads were thus designed to provide for a special kind of enjoy- ment, and particularly to allow those unable to walk or ride horseback to profit from the scenery, fresh air, and other such advantages to be found in the park. This adaptation of roads to landscape parks was based on the use of horse-drawn pleasure carriages of slow speed. The slow speed allowed more intimate enjoyment of the scenery, and allowed the road to be constructed with many curves and steep gra- dients, which in turn made it possible for the road to conform to the topography, and SO be less conspicuous in the landscape. The automobile has introduced several novel and very different elements into the problems of design of these pleasure roads. En- tirely apart from the new problems of road construction, the whole question of the suitability of automobile roads in parks must be con- sidered. The speed of automobiles has made a great expanse of open country accessible to the automobile owner. The whole country- side has become the motorist's park. It would seem fair under these conditions that the parks in the city should be designed primarily for the use of those to whom this open country is not accessible and that the pedestrian and horseman should have prior consideration. At the same time that the automobile has SO enormously in- creased the scenery and area accessible to the motorist, it has de- creased the apparent size of the park. The use of automobiles inside parks has changed the scale of the design. Where the landscape features are of small scale, or effects of wildness or remoteness are sought in the design, the admittance of automobile roads into the park would be disastrous. DESIGN OF PARK ROADS 29 One of the chief delights of automobile travel is speed, and speed is not conducive to the appreciation of scenery. Further, the speed of automobiles requires a change in the character and amount of police supervision, as compared with that necessary for horse-drawn traffic. Both the number of automobiles and their speed must be regulated for the safety of the automobilists as well as for the pedes- trians. The requirements of a good automobile road,-long radius curves and easy grades,-mean large construction, and involve great difficulty in subordinating these man-made feature to the natural or naturalistic. If landscape parks exist, as it is generally agreed that they do, pri- marily to give the relief of open natural scenery to the city man who is surrounded and beset with hard lines and man-made objects, then it is a poor design which makes the roads within the park conspicuous. Then too, the automobile horn or claxon is one of the plagues of our automobile civilization. Its noisy clamor impairs what ought to be the restful character of the park. While park roads in the days of carriages were incidental to the broad landscape effects of the park, and were subordinate elements in the design, the requirements of an automobile road are such that whatever may be done, it can not be made subordinate: it dominates its neighborhood. As a general principle, therefore, automobiles should be allowed inside informal city parks only when they do not materially interfere with pedestrians and horsemen, and only if the necessary roads can be SO placed as not to appreciably mar the quiet or naturalness of any considerable part of the park scenery. To prevent the interference of roads with the enjoyable use of the park by pedestrians and horsemen, it is first necessary to provide for the separation of these traffic elements. The replacement of the carriage by the automobile has emphasized the necessity of such separation, but the methods of accomplishing the desired results have 30 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE been little affected. The examples of traffic separation in Central Park, New York, and in Franklin Park, Boston, are still the standards of excellence in this regard. To SO place a road that the noise of automobile horns and gears shall not disturb the quiet of the park is no simple matter. There are, however, many ways in which this nuisance can be lessened. The separation of the traffic elements will reduce the number of times than horns need to honk. Careful design of road intersections and avoidance of blind curves will also help. By the use of only moderate grades, the sound that accompanies the use of low gear will be elim- inated. By starting the sounds upward instead of sideways, the noise will be less objectionable to people both near and far. For this pur- pose embankments with planting upon them are useful. The treat- ment of the transverse roads of Central Park and the blocking out of the railroad along the Riverway in Boston, are good examples of this sort of design. The prominence of the road in the views and landscape of any park or unit of a park is always greater than the relative size of the road would indicate. Man's eye is naturally attracted to evidently man-made objects, and the movement of vehicles on a road is sure to draw attention. Great care is, therefore, necessary to subordinate the road to the general view. The general methods of subordinating the road in the landscape have not been influenced by the automobile except to make every conceivable method of more importance. Mistakes in location are more than ever objectionable. Certain locations are to be avoided, such as the center of an open valley that is looked down upon, or on the side of a steep hill where a scar is the inevitable result of road building. Equally, there are certain locations to be sought, such as those in a wood or forest, or along the dividing line between landscape units where a road can be screened from both. Close conformity to DESIGN OF PARK ROADS 3I the topography and avoidance of "unnecessary violence to nature" are the first requisites to successful subordination of a road. To such conformity the color, curves, grades, and width of the road all contribute. The color of a road to most persons would seem an unimportant item, but anyone who has climbed a hill or tower will remember the striking way in which the white strips and ribbons stand out in the ordinary landscape. If the roads are to be sub- ordinate, they must conform in color value with the rest of the scenery. The width, curves, and grades of the road must ordinarily be deter- mined by the traffic demands, but it should be borne in mind that for economic and structural, as well as for aesthetic, reasons, close conformity to the topography and minimum width are desirable. The treatment of the edge of the road SO as to avoid a uniformly hard line will decrease the conspicuousness of the road and make it more attractive. In all these matters there are two sides to the story. The view- point and requirements of the pedestrian and equestrian should re- ceive prior consideration in determining the broad outlines of the park design, but when automobile roads are once admitted and located, they must be designed in accordance with the requirements of their users. Mr. Olmsted said, as quoted above, that the purpose of park roads was to "provide for a constant mild enjoyment of simply pleasing rural scenery while in easy movement". The automobile has not only influenced questions of road locations, but has also made neces- sary a broader treatment of the views. Intimate and confined views cannot be appreciated from a fast moving vehicle: simplicity and breadth are required. Different views must not follow too closely upon. one another, and the openings and vistas through bordering woods or shrubbery must be of far greater width. Every accent of the prospect and planting must be stronger because of the brief time in which it is seen. The apparent sizes of the different masses in the 32 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE views and plantations have been reduced, just as the distances in the park have apparently been reduced. The view ahead of the automobile, down the road, has become of greater relative importance, because of the greater attention to driving required by the speed of the vehicle. The road vista, the sinuosity of curves, and the enframe- ment of the view with suitable planting call for more careful design than was given in other days. The speed of the automobile calls for simplicity in the layout of the park roads similar to the breadth and simplicity required of the scenery. Aimless wiggles and sharp curves are seriously objection- able. Attempts to increase the apparent length of a road by in- directness of route, or to increase the apparent size of an area by increase in the length of the road about it, are worse than futile. The small amount of increase possible is not appreciable in an automobile, and if the subterfuge is discovered, the unnecessary length is annoying. The longer route is further objectionable in that it takes more area from other park purposes, and the cost of road construction is in- creased. The reasons for curves must be made more evident than in the days of horses or the rapid movement of the automobile will prevent the reason being appreciated. Not that straight roads are necessary, for curves which are functional in their relation to the topography are highly desirable. On the other hand, sharp curves are especially to be avoided, because of the dangers always associated with them. It should always be possible to see far enough ahead SO that, according to the speed which is allowed or anticipated, it will be possible to bring the car to a complete stop within a quarter of the sight-distance. Blind curves require very close attention to driving, and thus diminish the pleasure of the driver. If sufficient sight-distance is not provided, automobile horns will have to be used and that is objectionable from the motorist's point of view as well as from the point of view of other users of the park. In cases where ledges or other topographical DESIGN OF PARK ROADS 33 features interfere with the line of sight, it is a common practice to paint a white line down the middle of the road, to separate the traffic going in opposite directions and to prevent cutting the corner or swinging wide around the curve. Banking the curve is now a common practice. On main highways in some states a uniform cross-slope of I-2 inch to the foot is used for sharp curves. A uniform cross-slope is very dangerous if the pavement is slippery, and may be particularly SO because of the tendency of motorists on wet days to follow the lowest side of the road around the curve. The use of the painted line or a less steep banking in the center of the road to give the upper side vehicles more purchase may help this difficulty. The automobile has made necessary a harder and smoother pavement which in turn allows a lower crown to be used. This diminu- tion in the height of the crown of the road will, in part, offset some of the dangers from the slipperiness of the pavement. The impervious surface of the pavement will allow a greater variety of cross-section of the road-sloping to both sides, to one side, or to the middle. The design of road intersections involves all the difficulties we have already encountered in connection with curves. Blind inter- sections are even more dangerous than sharp curves, and therefore a clear view of the intersecting roads is most important. Road inter- sections should be kept as few in number as possible. Considerable expense is justified to avoid grade crossings of important automobile roads. Where a road intersection is unavoidable, it is now the practice to use a right angle crossing, or to send all traffic around a circle in the same direction in what is called the gyratory system. The increasing use of one-way restrictions on ordinary highways points the way to a new development in the use of park roads. Travel in one direction only will allow of much greater freedom in the handling of the roads as elements in the landscape and allow sharper curves and less width than under ordinary conditions. See articles in LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, Vol. 6, p. 61, and in Vol. 11, p. 111, by Mr. A. A. Shurtlen. ILL 34 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE The grades of park roads have not been affected directly by the automobile, but indirectly, through the change in requirements of the pavement. The tractive resistance offered by the pavement, and the likelihood of the surface washing out will control the grades of the road. Although the automobile can negotiate any hill which a horse-drawn carriage could climb, the desirability of moderate grades remains as before. The pavement or surface of the best park roads before the advent of the automobile was usually water-bound macadam. The automo- bile tore these roads to pieces. A hard smooth surface is now essential. Many cities have found it possible to utilize the existing pavements as foundations for more durable surfaces. The qualities of a pave- ment which are of chief importance for a park road are low original cost, ease of maintenance, hardness, smoothness, and cleanliness. The width of a park road should be determined by the volume of traffic. A reasonable estimate of the required width of pavement may be obtained by multiplying the number of lines of traffic desired by nine feet. Additional width will have to be provided at sharp corners. In general the width of a park road should be determined in the same manner as a main highway. Traffic roads across parks belong in the same category as streets. All of the considerations against allowing automobile pleasure roads in landscape parks apply with double force against general traffic roads. As has always been the case, their number should be kept as low as possible, and the separation of their traffic from that on the pleasure roads of the park should be complete. The only effect of the automobile on these roads has been in regard to their surfacing or pavement. Similarly, park service roads have not been influenced as to location or design. When the carriage disappeared, the concourse or greeting lost its place at the entrance to the park, and the need of a parking area superseded it. Whether or not automobiles are excluded from the DESIGN OF PARK ROADS 35 park, provision must be made for people leaving their cars at con- venient and unobtrusive places. Parking spaces should be located near each important entrance to the park, and if the size and scale of the park development allows of it, at other points where large numbers of people may wish to go. The size and arrangement of parking areas will depend on the number of cars which must be served, the limitations of the site, and the means available for screening it from the rest of the park. Ease of access and exit, definition of the area to be occupied by each car, and adequate turning space are the chief requirements. The amount and sort of supervision by police will, of course, affect these require- ments, but the most constant supervision will not prevent waste of space and confusion if the area is too small or poorly arranged. The border roads of a park have become of greater importance since the rise of the automobile and may, in many cases, be properly classified as park roads This is notably the case when automobiles are excluded from the park. The border road then occupies a position similar to that of the parkway, and should be planned on similar lines. There is this important difference, however, between a park- way and a border road, that whereas the location of a parkway is controlled by the use and requirements of the traffic, the border road location is determined rather by the size, shape and uses of the land- scape units of the park. The border road originally existed as a boundary line for policing purposes and as a firestop. It further served to accommodate the through traffic which was interrupted by the park, and to enable the abutting property to be developed facing the park. To these purposes we must now add that of allowing enjoyment of views of the park to the pleasure vehicles on the road. The border road was formerly screened out of the park; now, when the border road serves in part the purposes of a parkway, views of the park from the road are desirable. The purpose served by parkways and boulevards is, roughly, 36 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE to provide agreeable routes connecting parks with each other, the parks with the centers of population, and the suburbs and country- side with the congested districts. The first two purposes have long been established. The last is a recognition of the changed methods of travel introduced with the automobile. Parkways and border roads should be designed from the view- point of the automobilist. I have already discussed most of the factors in road design from that point of view. There are a few considerations to be added, however, and some differences in the applications of the principles previously discussed which obtain in the case of the parkway. For instance, with both border roads and parkways, provision must be made for access to abutting property. This may well cause a further separation of the traffic and be recog- nized by a separate roadway, distinct from the through traffic way. The parkway differs from the border road in the matter of views from the road. Although, as pointed out above, the views from the border road are important, they are limited by the requirements of the park. In the case of the parkway, the views can be designed to be best seen from the road, regardless of other considerations. The parkway, not being limited by the scale of the park, may properly be quite indirect if by SO locating it a pleasanter route is followed. Thus, a brook or ridge may be followed because of the attractiveness of the route. There is no question but that parkways should be designed pri- marily for the convenience and pleasure of motorists. By surrendering the parkways completely into their hands perhaps we can atone for the exclusion of automobiles from landscape parks except under rigor- ous conditions. The influence of the automobile on the design of park roads is typical of the general trend of our times. The rush of modern life is typified in the speed of the automobile. A premium has been put DESIGN OF PARK ROADS 37 on the obvious and broad handling of all subjects of design. Just as in the movies, the rapidity of the events pictured has made necessary gross exaggeration of details, SO the speed of the automobile now requires a coarse, broad treatment of scenery. The enjoyment of the intimate details of the scenery, acting, and other artistic productions is dependent on close observation, and in our times most people have neither the time nor the patience to seek out the finer and the less obvious beautiful things. The effects of this rush of life and its accompanying slurring of attention to the perfection of details, we have yet to discover. In this paper I have assumed the continuance of the present situation and have tried to show how one of the features of our parks may be brought into accord with it. I cannot help wondering, however, whether this may not be but another case where man in his inventions has outstripped his ability to control them. I cannot help wondering whether man has progressed far enough to be able to get along with- out careful consideration and attention to the details of life and of beauty. Are automobiles and the other concomitants of the rush of life to govern and control our art? DIAGRAM THE CARRIAGE ROAD ALLOWS INTIMATE ENJOYMENT OF DETAILS OF SCENERY THE AUTOMOBILE ROAD STANDS OUT AS MOKE IMPORTANT THAN THE SCENERY. APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY MASSACHUSETTS FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS BOSTON SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS MASSACHUSETTS CIVIC LEAGUE MASSACHUSETTS FISH AND GAME PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION FEDERATION OF NEW ENGLAND BIRD CLUBS MASSACHUSETTS FEDERATION OF PLANNING BOARDS MASSACHUSETTS FORESTRY ASSOCIATION SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF NEW ENGLAND ANTIQUITIES TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATIONS Co-operating Organizations in COMMITTEE ON NEEDS AND USES OF OPEN SPACES in Massachusetts CHARLES S. BIRD, JR., Chairman W. ROGER GREELEY, Vice-Chairman CHARLES W. ELIOT, 2nd, Secretary-Treasurer Members WALTER P. EATON NATHANIEL T. KIDDER AUGUSTUS P. LORING, JR. 9 PARK STREET, BOSTON, MASS. WILLIAM A. NIELSON December 14, 1925. Miss Ellen Bullard Boston, Mass. Dear Madam: Massachusetts once led the way in the provision of public open spaces, but progress has not kept pace with the changes brought by the automobile and with increasing density of population. The public is being excluded from private beaches, ponds, woodlands and hilltops instead of being pro- vided with adequate additional public areas. Duplication of effort, lack of cooperation, over- lapping organization and insufficient statistical information have handicapped public and private endeavor to meet this need. A Committee on the Needs and Uses of Open Spaces in Massachusetts has been organized to secure cooperation among existing organizations in this field. The purposes and activities of the Committee are described in the accom- panying article. This work is part of a State Plan. To complete the map of existing open spaces, To select and record desirable open spaces, To coordinate the efforts of individuals and organizations in the work for open spaces in Massachusetts The sum of five thousand dollars is needed. To employ an executive secretary, to defray expenses for professional advice, for drafting and secretarial services, we aim to secure 500 public spirited citizens who will give ten dollars each for these purposes. Will you help? Yours truly, Pinus DCR Historic Landscape Preservation initiative Page 1 of 2 Mass. Gov Governor Lt. Governor Secretary EOEA Search Deval Patrick Tim Murray lan Bowles Historic Landscape Preservation Initiative HERITAGE LANDSCAPE INVENTORY PROGRAM HISTORIC LANDSCAPE Heritage Inve PRESERVATION PROGRAM HISTORIC Inventory For CEMETERIES Order copies HISTORIC Land" LANDSCAPES IN MASSPARKS Current Proje PUBLICATIONS Essex County Survey HISTORIC LANDSCAPE Landscape surveys in Massachusetts can trace their roots back to Panoramic vi BIBLIOGRAPHY 1929, when Charles W. Eliot, II working with the Governor's Committee on Needs and Uses of Open Space, identified key areas for open space ANNOUNCEMENTS acquisition throughout the state. Only two types of landscapes were identified - those areas that were proposed open spaces and areas CONTACT US within which state forests should be acquired. This identification helped guide the Commonwealth and municipalities with some initial land LINKS acquisition guidance. Comprehensive efforts to identify significant landscapes in Massachusetts began in earnest in 1933, when The Trustees of Reservations, then known as PARTICIPATI the Trustees of Public Reservations, joined the American Society of COMMUNITIE Landscape Architects in sponsoring a statewide Landscape Survey. For the purposes of this survey, a set of categorical landscape types were chosen as " ...kinds of Massachusetts scenery that are believed to have special character of outstanding value..." These categories were: ocean beaches and dunes; moor and seashore upland; scenic highway roadsides; mountains, valleys and gorges; woodland; flooded lands in the coastal plain; and smaller areas of scenic or historical interests, which was broken down into the historical, the curious and unusual, and the restful. A number of places were identified in each category throughout the state, and best use recommendations for preservation of these landscapes were made. Acting on the identifications and recommendations made through the 1933 Massachusetts Landscape Survey, The Trustees, DCR (then known as the Department of Conservation) and other entities subsequently acquired many of these places for their protection and public enjoyment. In 1980, the challenge of again unifying the direction with which different interest groups should be approaching land conservation was raised, and this time DCR (then known as the Department of Environmental Management) took up the gauntlet, undertaking a statewide inventory of scenic landscapes. Adapting assessments utilized by the US Forest Service and the Countryside Commission of Scotland, the consulting team created a methodology that relied on three classifications of scenic quality: "distinctive", "noteworthy", and "common". Dividing the state into six physiographic regions and staying away from any densely settled areas, landscapes were evaluated based upon a set of scenic feature guidelines that were developed for each classification for each region. The assessment resulted in a well-received (and still heavily utilized) report in 1982 that was accompanied by a set of USGS maps used to record these scenic landscapes. Only two large-scale, statewide cultural landscape survey efforts have http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/histland/landSurveys.htm 5/24/2007 DCK Historic Lanascape Preservation initiative Page L or L since been undertaken, both of them thematically based. These are the 1982 survey of public landscapes designed by the Olmsted firm, sponsored by the Massachusetts Association for Olmsted Parks and the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and the 1995 survey of Civilian Conservation Corps resources sponsored by DCR (then known as DEM). Both of these initiatives started as pilot projects that were then implemented statewide and resulted in reports presenting the results. By the mid 1990s, it became clear that in order to be able to protect community character and promote an integrated planning approach, further identification of the overall cultural landscape of Massachusetts needed to be undertaken. Based upon a proposal prepared in 1997 by The Trustees of Reservations and PreservatiON MASS (then known as Historic Massachusetts, Inc.), DCR was able to secure funding through the legislature to develop the Heritage Landscape Inventory Program. 251 Causeway Street, Suite 600, Boston MA 02114-2104 Tel: 617-626-1250 privacy policy disclaimer home pa http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/histland/landSurveys.htm 5/24/2007 The Department of Landscape Architecture Harvard was the first University in this but given in other departments of the country to offer instruction in Landscape University. Architecture, an art which is very old and The aim of the Department is two-fold yet, in its modern development, compara- First, to train, young men to become land- 1900 tively new. In March, 1900, announce- scape architects; and second, to train a ment was made by the University of a much larger number in the purposes and four-year prescribed program of studies uses of Landscape Architecture so that leading to the degree of Bachelor of that may become better informed as Science in Landscape Architecture. In clients and citizens. In furtherance of the the spring of 1903 an endowed chair in latter plan, a popular lecture course, open Landscape Architecture was created, and to undergraduates without special prep- five years later a separate department of aration and counting for the bachelor's de- Landscape Architecture was established. gree, has been established. This has been For some years before the beginnings a most popular and useful course. of this department President Eliot, Dean But the main purpose of the Depart- Shaler and other officers of the University ment is to equip men for the practice of had felt the desirability of adding Land- landscape Architecture. The graduate scape Architecture to the list of subjects instruction is arranged to. meet the needs taught in the University. It was in the of two classes of men: Those who can minds of everybody at that time that the take the full training with the view of man preeminently fitted to take charge of obtaining the degree of M. L. A., and the instruction in that subject was Charles those who for satisfactory reasons can or Eliot, 82. His death in 1897 postponed desire to take only a part of the course. the whole project but in time Frederick The latter class are given every oppor- L. Olmsted, Jr., '94, was prevailed upon tunity to specialize. The special students, to undertake the organization of the work. however, are a small proportion of the In the spring of 1906 the instruction for total number registered in the department. the professional degree was placed on a The candidate for the degree of M. graduate basis. The former four-year pro- not only must have a bachelor's degree or gram in the Lawrence Scientific School evidence of its equivalent but also should was abandoned, and the degree of Master have certain special equipment. Before he in Landscape Architecture was offered. begins work in Landscape Architecture he Candidates for this degree were required should have ability to draw freehand in to present at the beginning of their study pencil and wash, experience in making and a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. In using topographical surveys and drawings the spring of 1908, as has been said, the of simple architectural and landscape separate Department of Landscape Archi- forms, and a sound elementary knowledge tecture was established. of physics, geology, physiography, botany, The growth of the Department has been and the fine arts. As most of the gradu- in every way rapid. The number of pro- ate students come from other institutions fessional courses offered up to September, than Harvard College, no uniformly rigid 1908, had never been more than five, but requirement is possible for entrance. It in the fall of 1909 twelve professional not infrequently happens, because of the courses were offered, and all of these are exceptional advantages in Harvard Col- now in active operation with an ever-in- lege for later professional study in Land- creasing enrollment. The scope of the scape Architecture, that an undergradu- professional instruction has been enlarged ate in Harvard who plans his College until it embraces most of the subject mat- work from the beginning with a view of ter formerly prescribed to the students studying in the Department is able to Google Original from HARVARD UNIVERSITY HARVARD ALUMNI BULLETIN 1911 323 finish his total course for the graduate de- voted to a thesis, which is made to simu- gree in a year less than is required of the late closely a problem in actual practice average graduate of other institutions and is the final test of the student's fitness even if he also has planned his under- for the professional degree. In this year graduate work with the same end in view. the students are concerned with problems The student who is equipped to enter relating to communities-from small parks the first course in Landscape Design and and playgrounds to the development and undertakes the work devotes his time ex- improvement of cities. Here, also, the clusively to professional study for a pe- course in Design is accompanied by one riod covering normally two years. His in Construction which takes up roads in problems are grouped under two heads: their relation to traffic and the life of the First, private residences and related prob- community, public water supply, sewerage, lems; second, public recreation areas and traction, lighting, etc. the larger subject of city-planning, with The growing importance of these larger all the special topics which these involve. public problems has led to the enlarge- In both fields the Department aims to give ment of the instruction in the science and not only training in Design but also all art of City Planning One of the most im- possible instruction which will aid the portant steps taken by the Department student in preparing effective drawings was the establishment of a course in the for the execution of his designs in the most Principles of City Planning. This course direct and economical way. is given by Professor Pray with the occa- The student in his first year, in addition sional assistance of Professor Olmsted. It to his work in Design, to which he devotes is essentially a research course, illustrated more time than to any other part of his by a critical study of examples, and in- training, has a course in Construction, an- cluding lectures and assigned reading, and other in Planting Design, and devotes also a thesis on some subject of individual about nine hours a week to freehand draw- investigation. The lectures cover in the- ing. The course in Construction deals with ory the general field of City Planning, grading, profiles, sections, draining, road show the more important causes that have construction and maintenance, masonry, determined the forms and arrangements foundations, contracts, and specifications. of city plans, and deduce certain princi- The course in Planting Design takes up ples of organization which are then ap- the problems of planting of residence plied to some of the problems of a modern grounds. Each problem in the Design city. course is made a real problem, based It is believed that the general and spec- on actual topography which the men ial equipment available to the students in can visit. Actual specifications with esti- the Harvard Department of Landscape mates of material and cost are prepared Architecture-such as museums, libraries, and used, and whenever it is possible to do photographs, plans, lantern-slides, etc.,- so a forecast of the probable cost of upkeep is unrivalled, and that the Department of- is made. At the beginning of the first fers the best opportunity now available for year, by special arrangement with the De- research in Landscape Architecture, par- partment of Forestry, the students have ticularly in the field of City Planning three weeks' work in the Harvard Forest That these claims are not unwarranted is at Petersham, where they acquire an intro- shown by the fact that among the students ductory knowledge of Forest Botany, Sil- in the Department have been men who viculture. and Forest Protection. have already had years of experience and The same methods are, as far as appli- practice and some who have attained emi- cable. used in the work of the second year, nence in the profession. the last half of which is ordinarily de- Professor Pray, who is chairman of the Google Original from Digitized HARVARD UNIVERSITY 324 HARVARD ALUMNI BULLETIN Department, keeps in personal touch not very serious accident to Mr. Carrère who only with the students but also with for- was thrown from his carriage by a col- mer and prospective students, and main- lision with an automobile in New York tains an employment service. The oppor- only a few days ago. tunities in the profession and the standing Professor Wallace C. Sabine, Dean of of the Department are clearly indicated the Graduate School of Applied Science, by the inability of this employment ser- whose important investigations on the vice to meet the demands made upon it for acoustics of buildings are well known to graduates of the Department or others architects, who is recognized as having for whom it could recommend. the first time put the knowledge of archi- tectural acoustics on a thoroughly scien- DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE tific and practical basis, and who has acted as expert adviser in the construction of Several important additions to the teach- many public halls, theatres, and churches, ing staff and the courses of the Depart- will. during the academic year 1911-12, ment of Architecture have been made for conduct a course in the Department of the College year 1911-12. The appoint- Architecture on this subject. It is ex- ment of Eugène J. A. Duquesne as pro- pected that this course will be given every fessor of Architectural Design has already other year. alternating with a course on been noted in these columns. The Depart- Heating. Ventilation, and Lighting, to be ment now announces that the following emi- given by Mr. Gifford LeClear. nent members of the profession have been appointed lecturers on Architectural De- PRIZES IN MUSIC sign: Mr. John M. Carrère, of the firm of Carrère and Hastings, New York; Mr. An annual prize of thirty dollars, in Frank Miles Day, of the firm of F. M. memory of George Arthur Knight, of the Day and Brother, Philadelphia; and Mr. Class of 1907, is offered for the best com- Robert S. Peabody. of the firm of Peabody position in instrumental music,-"pr and Stearns, Boston. erence to be given to compositions for These architects will join in a course string quartettes or trios, though works of lectures on Professional Practice and with pianoforte accompaniment may com- the Design and Planning of Special pete." The competition is open to mem- Classes of Buildings. to be given as part bers of the University. of the regular work of the school in con- Under the will of Francis Boott, '31, an nection with the work in design. The annual prize of $100 is awarded for the lecturers and the special subjects consider- best composition in concerted vocal music. ed will usually change in alternate years. This prize also is open to members of the The conrse will treat systematically of the University. practical conduct of architectural work, and of the special considerations involved THE NOBLE LECTURES. in the planning and arrangement of the more important classes of buildings. The Rev. John Neville Figgis, Litt.D., Hon- subjects to be treated of in 1911-12 will orary Fellow of St. Catharine's College, include Professional Practice, Municipal Cambridge. and Hulsean Lecturer for Planning. Government Buildings and Hos- 1908-09. will give four lectures on the Wil- pitals. In 1912-13 School Houses, liam Belden Noble Foundation, in Phillips Churches, and Domestic Planning will be Brooks House, March 7, 9, 14, and 16, at among the subjects discussed. Details of 8 P. M., on "Civilization at the Cross- the course will be later announced. Roads." These lectures will be open only This program may be disturbed by the to members of the University. Google Original from Digitized by HARVARD UNIVERSITY Ronald H. Epp,PhD. 5/22/2007 Crane Estate Great House : TOR Archives Ipswich MA Charls W Eliot 2nd Papers: A Sketch: Box 1,2, A-C. I. Two Tangy to lder Boxes Box I CWEII Car. 1925-1928 - See-Treasure - -Countities on Needs to Uses of OpenSpaces Address 9 Park st. Cor. c - -Warren H. llanning Haward Squam Cabridge. 1928. - Wm. C- Indicert is Treasurer of SPNEA , 1927. - Herbert Putner, Librarian of Coupon Boe 2 CWEII Carr, LES 1924-28 Cour. c - Foresters c Comm. otlass is Mt. Holyoke lad, F. - Plagground to fecreation Aoooc. Reports. Inc. Letter from Fletcher Steele office, 7/1/25 - Olmeted Brothers, 30 June 1925- - Allen Chankewlain ( 6/28/25) incl. be actual from BET , 4/25/25 u Blue Hill Resecurition beitton Holls trails. - B A Transcript 11/5/24 "Another Trail"- 4copies. I, Scores of requesto for map of open spaces in MA. - Bank Accepts.(checks. - -Manachusetts Forestry Arooc. - B.I acticle (7/2/28) on JohnB. Paine Sanctury in chation Harbor. 2 - BET 7/31/25 article on i BT 9/8/25 " " leilk Island Bird Sanctuary - BT 12/17/25 " 17 Plymouth Beach " " - BET 2/6/26 " " Brooks Family 84 acre (2/2/26) Hedford sitz, (Illustrated fall page) otherside: "AMC Half Centery Climb, 50th anniversary celebration, - Society For the Presenvation of Native new Englad Plants - Man. 7 sh t Gone Protective Assoc - - nat. geog. Soc. G. Grosvenor (12/9/25) - Warren H. Manning . 12/19/25 - Charles S. Bird, Jr. - Letter of acceptance tis serve on Young's Committee to Stimulate public intent on Need t Use 05-Oper spaces in MA." - - Theodore Rooswelt, response to, 7/31/26, CWELL letter from TR to TOR 7/12/26. 3 pp. on Natraid laferem on Outdoor Recreation stationary President's Commttes indus see. of Interior, Hebert work - -Nationd Conteresce on State Parks, Raymond H. Torrey, More than a dozen documents - To Allen Chanberlain (1/5/26). - Friends of our Native hands. Jens Jensen - New England Trail Cantereace - Walter P. Eaton, She ffield, MA. - Senate Resolectiz # 149 (1925) to preseur N. Alleaboro/ Plannville property Others as well. - Jeduatia of ten Burd Clubs of New England. 3 , CWE II - -Box A. -TOR Standing Committee Unites t ANNUAL TOR 1976, 1974. meeting 1977 - Moose Hill Property, 1962. -Puxbury Beed Study Comm. 1974. -Naushon Elig which Isl., 1973. - Old Tren Hill -world's End 1967. - Public Beach Access C.F.Van Want Record of governors Comm. on Need + Uses of open Spaces, Appt. 11/1/27 200-300 pp. of documentation 1927-1934. Ind. Legislative proporal/acts. CWE # - -Box B - Peehaps the fince CWEII letters (1/19/93) Memorial essay to CWE-II 1993. to Frederic W and rithoop To R re - 1980 to 1992, Can from CWE-II. Estimate Dotzs 300 pp. handwritten. -Visitation Repats following Inspection of Reservation Properties, 1952-69. Fletcher Steele 4 - F. Steele Reput (1959) re garden llain - Treasurer's Reports, Fax Forms, 1960's. Naumkeag. 6pp - Acti vities Reports 1969 -73 . - Explopret Policies - Report of thillan hands cape Survey, 1933. - Prospective Properties - Stady Comuce Minutes 1958-62. CWE: II - Box C - Scrapbook Est. 200pp. 1890- Begins c Waverly Oaks particle; Outlure of a Scheme; ANIC; Assorted actals on seevery presereration; model legislation fra Circulars an" "Preservation of Beautiful other States; Report of July 18te 1890 meet; and Histrical Maces in Massachusetts An Act to Incorporate the TOR; Boston's for Charle Ehot Dedication of Pack Graw Parkway Provencelando; Invitations blond nock; Protection of Adrondacles Lynn Wools; lletropolitan Connection; Palisades lloutain Park; Middlesex)alls Parkevey In 1896 scrapbook endo wite exception or couple of 1901 articles officests from National Twent Publication 5 - Chesterwood (incl Hetche Steele can). 200+ pp -steberew - Applladia July 1897. - 7.Steele re Choate - M. Choate to 7.Steele, 7/9/53. - M. Choat to N.W. Bates. 5/12/50 - C.S.Burd to M.Choat 7/14/47 11/5/47 of - M. Choatito L.B.7letcher. 9/25/47, 10/10/47; 122/06 u. Choate to C.S.Bird. 7/21/47 u.Choate to 7. Steele. 1/28/46 -B.William Resignation TOR Annual Conference 1950 1948, 1949, 1955 - Castle Hill Chronology t Mcscellary 1952 - Grapesrine Newsletter 1963 - Glendale Fam, Middlefield - TOR Fieldteeps, 1977 - Cape Page wildlife Refugi/Ment. Ace , 1990 - houll Holly Reserved 1952. c Beard Den - Mrs. Stavros. - Mabel B.Ward. - Rock. - Tuckerwich Is land - A. Lonns ubit - SC Members biographic ind.vita CWE-2 6 - Sederption back - Clipping - Appleton a Local History- 11 and Family - - Seven Gate Farm greenwood Dodge Res. by CWE-2 oct. 1974. - Charls 5 a Bird, Jr. - Arthu T. Lyman - Misallanan - B. harrance, Fletcher, Not Bates, Co. Van Wait 6. C. Shattuck, Intlures of the Antomobile on the Design of Pack Roads C.W.E II. Landscape Artitecture 13:28 TOR 5-30-07 CWEIT Papers. R.Epp. Box D. 1958- Fl - Notes t - ri Policies /Propertre'888: Zoning llap, thin ghanes, 1958 Establem the Bay Cercuit, 1956 Hag It and - 20 pp. confodatal doc Riopecties Scheduled a Beg ast 4/2/ 69.198p Areas Deseury Protection + Care, 10/3/1869. F2 - Charles Eliots original Notes. * PSB (K) ADPC maps & Inholdings, 5/22/1979 PSB, no date 20pp. maps of properties. Estimate: 60-80 ADPC 10/3/1969. Corr- c Gordon Abbott, Jr. Whitney Woods Master Plan Outline - Unhound mops. Estimate 60-80. Cansest Coloral Neating Burds at Cape Roge Wildlife Refuge+ Wasque Res. 1977.20 pp. F3 Tisbury Pond / Long Pond Wildlife Refuge Haster Plan. Dec. 1979. Est. 75 pp. Unbound clippingpregard Crane Reservation, 1970's. Terr Study Report, Crane Res. 1977 To R. 2 CWE-II Papers CW EII. lleno for TOR on Crave Reservation, Dec. 1949. 5 pp. F4 Stavros and Crave Properties 1977-1986. 20pp. Shepley Bulferich Richard son & Abhott mops F5 maps Estimate 40 T. unhound. C.W. Greiner, Howard U., 6/1/1966 37 pp report on "Open Apaces & the North Shore" Assorted correspondence i Abbatt, Conant. Ipswizh-Essen newsclips t meno. 1966-91. F 6 Crone Reservat: History, Long Range Plan 1980 89. Highly detail timeline on Crom Reserved History fim 1614 to 1982. 10pp. Committees / Anneral Reports Crove genealogy Crane Family Bequests. Maps Bibliography. Est. 45 pp. F7. Crone 1986-87. and Greenwood -Dodge Res. 1974. Est. 20 pp. F8 : Crave Reservation, StavRos Deed/CapuAn Coff. 1977-1981. Esb. 30.pp. F9 : Pattersous Island/Erdmon Trust. 1981. F10 : sex=Ipswick Marshes: Maps thecord 1950 - 60pm Eat.sopp 3 CWEII: Papers Box E Unutes of the Stenday Committee (MSC) FI Trustees 1967 (Fulf-Rec) MSC Annual Meet Report 1968. Duplicates F2 Exce. Camer } Animal Rpb. 1967-68.86 each! 150 pp F3 M.SC, 1964. F4 MSC, 1965-66. F5 MSC. 1960. F6 MSC 1967. F7 MSC, 1966 F8 MSC, 1956 F9 MSC 1958 F10 MSC, 1961. FII MSC 1963. F12 MSC, 1958 F13 MSC, 1959. F 14 MSC, 1962. F15 Open Space Cangaign Comm. 1961. Peoposd. Chap. 631. Comm-stMess. 1956 "Act Providing for the Estableshant ad Developed of the Massachusetts Bay Circuit." F 16 Governors Communi on Needs t Use of OpenSpaces 1927. Indeeds colored 5ft.x 3ft.map (in 3 copies of n eccellent codition for displey /exhibit) of Lust at SavinPlaces Writing of Presentation -c 1933 Bay Circuit Proposal Related Mass. Properties. 4 CWEII. Papers Box E ( Cont.) TOR Bay Circuit lap Three x four fast, colored. F17 Report of TOR Activities 1968. 3 Copies. Include CWE-II-letter to John Woolsey, Standy Comm. Clean, express Eliots "shoch" at beay that the SC had voted to sell an easent for electric transmission lines oth a 200' step at Notchurew Reservation llt. Ann Pack Des. Gloucester. Rpt 1968 Ruchy Woods Res Medfield. Rpt. 1968. F18. Exce. Conem. linutes 1968. SCM Reports, 1968 Director's Report (continential). 1968 Reports on Various properties Bal 956 Anneeal Report 68 pp. bound report. 2copia Gride to Reservations. Directra in green booklet Box F MS FI MSC, Jan/Feb. 1979. F2 Governor's Commission on open space + Outdoor Rec. Interni Report, Sept. 1968 J. W. Pairce. F3 Funeral Service (1974) for Francis R.Appleton, Jr. F4 Conservation Restrictions, Charles Rever May 1972 Est. 50 pp. F5 MSC, March 14, 1,1979 5 CWEII Papers Box F (Cont.) F6 scm, 4/17/1979. Master Highug Plan, Metropolotam Boston. No date F7 "To Soue th Essex Selt Harshes". Proposal. 1960. Many copies F8 : Ipswell - Essey Salt Marther. Handerrette +typed copies of CWEII report, July 1975. F9 : Drafts of CWEII's "Program to Protect to Ipsurch - -Essex Salt Marshes." Correspondence i Abholt, Shurdiff (cousin)etc. Est. 150 pp. F10 Salt Marshes 1968-1972. Ind. corresp. Est. 100pp. Fll Trustee Conservator Restuctions, 1976-77 F12 MSC : Euplicate. 1974 F13 Miscelleneures Docunts Historical summary. 4pp. 1965. Stewardshep 1965 publication (82pp.) tyte Open Space Action Comm. NYC. Natural need Calendar 1960 Neelclops. Com. F14 Salt Marches, 1974. Deeds, Con., drafts. Ed-100pp F 15 MSC, August 1975. F16 use. Dec 1978. F17 Tern Study Reports 1978. F18 CWEII Report of Activities, 1976. For C. Abbort F19 MSC Oct/Nov. 978 F20 1978 Reports: MSC, Director, Exee. Come. Est 200ppt / 6' CWEII Rapers Box F (cont.) F21. SCM Nov. 1977 - Feb. 1978. Eal. 200pp. F22 SCM 1970. Esl. 300pp. F23 Historical Notss of CWETT ré Treastesa. Include. chap. 18 on TPR from Charls Eliot, Landscape Architzch.. Pp. 316-50. Misc. correspondence = R.E. garrity (1966), W. S. Dakin (1966), L. Conant (1966) S. Sattarthwaite (1866), N. Dear, J.Rathhone -Indud Sattertherate letta to bathen Botes (20 Sept. 1965) re consenator award ponsibility for Sovernor-Baxter and CWE#FS history of the TOR in preparation for the - Cour. c R. H. Dougly on Treestee Succession" 75th anniversary - Papers Relating to Prounce Londo F24 Assorted newslips, weety annoureents property reports, newsletter from other land trusts, with separate needsdeps for Steves-Coolige, Report of the Manachesetts hand cope Survey (1933, rept. 1'969). Box G FI SCM July 7,1977. 2 copies. F2 SCM June- - Aug. 1977, includy CWEII "Notes + Connect on Completion of Existing Reservators March 1971. 9.pp. 7 CWEI Papers Box C (Cont) F3 - SCM Oct.12,1977 F4 - TOR Future Policy Committee. Drafts of Report. 1976. Third Draft Aug. 1976. 50 pp. Olargined notations versions, deleting by (WEII). So too 4th dieft, Oct. 1976. F5. - SCM ind Exec. Come Dr. Ppt April, May 1977 F6 Future Policy Camittee Reput Feb. 1977. 97pp. Inc. hadurills notes by CWEII on 1975 FPC meetings. F7 Foture Polig Canaltee Reput Adopted Oct. 12, 1977. "Next to final dauft. " 63pp. F8 Futur Polog 2nd Draft Rpt., June 1976. F9 Ll " 1st u u April 1976 Moose Hill 1962. 4'x4' F10 Future Doleg , Notes/Thafts, 197e FII Future Polog Com., 1968-75. F12 Medfield Rhodo sendronker. Sewer Issue. F 13 Future Police Can. 4th / 5th Drafts , Jan. 1977. F 14 SCM. Field Treps: May 9,1959 Rpt. Plymouth, Mastpree, ptolly Form properties. 2pp. CWEIL F 15 Activities Report 1969. Also 195 Reservation Carm Rpt. Cair. c F-Steele C.S.Brd etc. F16 Work payments Account due. 1965. 8 CWEIIPapers Box G (Cont) F17 SCM. May : June 1979. F18. SCM Aug / Sept. 1979 Include Field Reports to North Shore. Cour. cente Co. Abbatt. F19 SCM. Oct 10,1979 F20 SCM, Feb. 1980. F21 SCM, Nov/Dec. 1979 F22 SCM, March-May 1980. F23 SCM, June-August 1980. F24 SCM, Sept-Oct. 1980 F25 SCM Nov12, 1980 F26 Fund-Resisting Report Oct. Fessibility 1980. Cantidatial Completed Survey, May 30,1907 TOR- ARC 11/29/17 CWA II Papers. / Notes M Trustees History 1892-7966 B7.All Irsto of "Juggested Persuations," 1925 in CWEZ hand Property acquisition details, chronological 2897-1932. Sir Eliot's Charles Elist Lardocape Substant Ch. XVIII on Birth y Trustees 11 Pp. 316ff., includifinal pacapaphs on "A Similar assoc. in England." 8/4/166 ,CWE 2 letters HCTPR R.B.Govig own it. 9/20/65 CWE2 Sharfe Satterthwate lette to nathen W.Bater TOR me similar efforts in New Jersey on behalf of Wildlife Preserves I wants Revers more TOR often ready their reports. (1) "Hos the Trustess ever given their conservation award to Perceival Bayter now novels year agay somere who has does in his our solotay way, as much on anyone leng inthr country today to secure the permanent protection of a rebstanding tract of revery important for its natural, recreatively t most of all cultural values. Second, he delight in keay of CWE2 history form ln development. Thanks a photo grophic treatment of propetits is much needed 11/29/17 CWE2 Papers TOR-ARE Therd, the attach on the Appalache Rodge by extensive of existing readeresters, a "blight," a "sprawly of bogus higherays." Fourth, concern@ form magnet of Naesmberg Addren 40 Grand Voew Terrice, Tonafly WJ. A second lette for SS. 6/19/66.00 wella 2 pge list of Quetrons forth TOR." Sheafe Satterthwaite On Twistee Succession, undated 3pp.bf Richard H. Pough CWE2 better 9/19/67 to Sir John Wenni frith, The National Twent London- Handwritten draft iffers to conversation e homa at bench yesterday 6/30/65 to Sec of Natavel Teed My England evelopy a vero ion of a history of the prepared fa TOR 75th Anniversary wonts to know name of founder of National Trait Copied: 5 pron History of TOR fa Centernial 2 pp. lette to Natural Trust B.2.f. 11 2pp. Qustras from Shaefe S. for TOR 11/28/17 TOR- ARC CWE2 Paper 13.3, f.4. Treestee History (973) Reput of activities refect to efforts to "protecting the in tegrily of properties" (EKEC) B 10, f.3. Stady Comm Minutes 1968 - "The Choates at Naum Easy "by copy. Morgan Bulkeley No date 13 pp- typeoups Tuntees of Public Resewate 36th Annual Reput. copy 1926. Pshched in 1927. Pp. 8-10, 20 -22 Wesley T. Ward. "How Mr Elists Big Idea, " 110 Year hater, Coutines to Enspire 2/9/2001. Director of hand Consewot Developed at up of June hevitt, research fellow at Kanuedy School, for class he t Hank Foster are teady "Innovation + Entrepeneurship in Suironnected Organization if Unlike dy other consured organite in Mass FOR is "still obliged to open our properties to the public in order to larn our property tax exemption 11/29/17 TOR/ARC W. word Notebook-2 Distriguthy characteristic of The Treaters 1 see Messia statement Scenery, history, open to public, active main knews p.13 From 1929-58, Onnithologist housence Brown Fletcher senveda EXEC Secretary He is Pres. of Federation of Bird Clubs of N.Englad copy.- 1929 Report of the Commtter on the Needs Use of late. Open State pg-3L Eliotwa connected to reproved in the urban and retrapotito environs, Bootonsri paticular The Urban ethic dominished who he turned he attsut into the Metro Parks. "The has led to a strange kind of dual nyopian which has been barrier to the orgaystraw vioibility and groute." p.38 Core Valees Pension for hard / good maps 1 Comment to protection as stewardship Countnet to Excellence I Respect for Tradition/ Fugality / Accountability Sources Richard Cheek. hand of the Commonwelt Text by Ola Hapkins, Foreverty John Updike. TOR. 2000 Bevef, MA own Cronon, Wm "The Trouble c Wilderson, Uncanasn ground 1995. own Holleran, Muchal. Boston's Charging Times: 1998 (1880-1938) Letter fun Ray mond H. Torrey Sec. Notal caterence on State Parks 2.fet Stepher T. Mathey Vice - Chaw Bi John Barton Payne, Chan , Thanks CWEZ Fer report on thensuring Corr. e Torrey - 20t PP. Interstate See also Mayor W.K. Welch, Palisades Park See ann Natronal Conference on Outdoor Recreat Presidential Crattee 1925. Theodere foowell Honey Vice Char Habert work, Sea-Intern. Mangrownl of seeent a Assor f Area Around the lop or the Hill: Houses and Neighbors | I ne Cambridge Historical Society Page I of 15 The CAMBRIDGEHISTORICALSOCIETY HOME EVENTS ONLINE RESOURCES PUBLICATIONS LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE HOOPER-LEE-NICHOLS HOUSE GET INVOLVED GIVE ABOUT US Around the Top of the Hill: Houses and Search Neighbors Search this site: Search Submitted by Ken2 on Fri, 07/11/2014 2:28pm Donate Author: Charles W. Eliot 2nd Volume: 43 see We are funded 100% by individual donations and local Pages: 7-31 corporate support. Please demonstrate your commitment to Cambridge History and donate today! Years: 1973 Copyright: 1980 Donate Publishers: Cambridge Historical Society VISA Around the Top of the Hill: Houses and Neighbors BY CHARLES W. ELIOT, 2ND Newsletter T HIS past autumn the house in which my three brothers, three sisters and I grew up-and in Our fall newsletter is on its which Mrs. Eliot and I are now living-became one hundred years old. That prompted some way to you! research for a kind of "biography" of the house at 25 Reservoir Street and was a good ex cuse for a family reunion to celebrate the hundredth anniversary. Our reunion produced reminiscences and Thank you to our generous sponsors: anecdotes not only about the house, but also about our neighbors and the neighborhood. Cambridge Savings Bank* Over the years there have been numerous papers before this Society on other Cambridge neighborhoods-notably on Shady Hill and the Norton Estate (three papers), on Sparks Street (two Hammond Residential papers), as well as on Quincy Street, Berkeley Street, Coolidge Hill, North Cambridge, and other areas. 1 Like those areas, the Read February 4,1973 NINTH ART PRESSO Check out our last newsletter (The 110th Anniversary Issue) 1. "Francis Avenue and the Norton Estate," by Charles F. Whiting (vol. 41); "Shady Hill and Its Owners," by Charles W. Eliot (vol. 17); "Where the Old Professors Lived," by Esther Lanman Cushman (vol. 42); "The History of Coolidge Contact Us! Hill, by Rosamond Coolidge (vol. 32); "Quincy Street in the Fifties," by Lillian Horsford Farlow (vol. 18); "The Evolution of Cambridge Heights," by Laura Dudley Saunderson (vol. 38); "Gerry's Landing and Its Neighborhood," The Cambridge Historical Society by Mary Isabella Gozzaldi (vol. 13); "The History of Garden Street," by Lois Lilley Howe (vol. 33); "A History of Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street Berkeley Street," by Alice C. Allyn (vol. 21); "Old North Cambridge," by Thomas O'Malley (vol. 20); and "Sparks Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Street," by several authors (vol. 22), and "From Lover's Lane to Sparks Street," by Penelope Barker Noyes (vol. 41). 617-547-4252 info@cambridgehistory.org 7 Thank You Sponsors neighborhood "around the top of the hill" has a story of houses and their occupants which may Our Spring Benefit Sponsors interest you. include: THE FAYERWEATHER ESTATE I started my research with a review of our Society's Proceedings, where I found the record of the Hammond Residential early landholdings around the top of the hill in William Payson's "Notes on Some Tory Row Land Titles" (vol. 37, p. 12) with data on the Fayerweather Estate. It appears that in 1764 the Fayerweather Estate, around and north of the mansion at 175 Brattle Street, consisted of a 60- acre strip, varying in width from 600 to 900 feet and stretching from Brattle Street over the "top of the hill" some 2,500 feet to Vassall Lane. All but five acres of the estate immediately around the TRINITY PROPERTY Cambridge Savings Bank* MANAGEMENT, INC. Fayerweather house were sold in 1847 to William G. Stearns, who proce eded to lay out Escablished 1960 Fayerweather and Reservoir Streets with lots along them. http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/around-top-hill-houses-and-neighbors 2/9/2016 PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER Seventy-five years ago, a private corporation - The Trustees of Public# Reservations - was established by Chapter 352 of the Acts of 1891 of the Massachusetts Gentral Court, for the "purpose of acquiring, holding, arranging, maintaining and opening to the public under suitable regulations, beautiful and historical places and tracts of land within this Common- wealth." Since 1891 many other private trusts have been established for similar purposes in this and other countries, - some of then patterned directly on the Trustees. Thus, in 1894 "The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beautyn was created in England as an "Association" with a charter using much of the language from the Trustees Act. The success of that organization led to passage by Parliament of the National Trust Act in 1907 and prompted the establish- ment of our own "National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States", chartered by Congress in 1949. Another "sister" organisation - The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society in New York - is celebrating its Seventieth Anniversary this year. Still another extension of the influence of the Trustees and the cause it represents led to the organization of the American Outdoor Art Associa- tion in 1898 which later became the American Civic Assosiation, then the American Planning and Civic Association and most recently "Urban America, Inc." Here in Massachusetts other private associations and "Trusts" have joined in the work of preserving spaces including the Masachusetts Audtubon Society, the Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, Nature Conservancy, and The Fund for Preservation of Wild Life and Natural Areas at the State level, and Local Conservation Trusts and Village Improvement Societies in our cities and towns, And the number, influence and usefulness of these private trusts continues to grow! Throughout its seventy-five years The Trustees of (Public) Reservations has taken an active part in efforts to secure public action for the preservation of open spaces. In its first year it was commissioned by the General Court to make a study of the "Province Lands" which was then the largest State Reservation - now part of the Cape Cod National n Name changed to Trustees of Reservations by Act of the Legislature on February 4, 1954. PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER 2 - Seashore. The Trustees originated the proposal for a system of Netropolitan Parks around Boston and succeeded in establ- ishing the Matropolitan Park Commission in 1893, after its Secretary, Charles Eliot, had prepared a report on Open Spaces for the area. In 1924-5 The Trustees again sponsored a movement for Open Spaces, - this time on n State-wide basis - through "The Governor's Committee on Needs and Uses of Open Spaces". That Committee made an inventory of existing open spaces and prepared the first State Plan for Open Spaces which was published by the Trustees in 1927. This was followed by a Landscape Survey in 1933 which identified the best examples of different types of sceneby in Massachusetts as seen by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. The efforts of the Trustees to follow.up the recomend- ations of the Committee on Needs and Uses of Open Spaces helped to establish active programs for State Parks in the Department of Natural Resources and contributed to passage of the Bay Circuit Act - Chapter 631 Acts of 1956 - To establish an outer system of open spaces around Metropolitan Boston. The man who more than any other is considered to have been the founder of the Trustees of Reservations - Charles Eliot - "found in this community a generous but helpless sentiment for the preservation of our Ihistorical and beautiful places. By ample knowledge, by intelligent perseverance, by elequent teaching, he created organizations capable of accomplishing his great purposes and inspired others with a seal approach- ing his own. Those who were enlisted by Charles Eliot in the establishment of the Trustees were "Senator George F. Hoar, General Francis A. Walker, Professors N.S. Shaler and Charles S. Sargent, Mr. Philip A. Chase of Lynn, Mr. Frederick L. Ames of North Baston, and Mr. Leverett Saltonstall of Newton -- among the original incorporators. Dr. Henry P. Walcott, chairman of the State Board of Health, President Franklin Carter of Williams College, and Augustus Hemenway of Canton were among Vote of Standing Committee - March 1897. PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER - 3 - those soon added to the Board." From its very beginnings, the Trustees has commanded the services of leading citisens in the Commonwealth as de- monstrated by its roster of officers and members of the Corporation. The Organistion and role of the Trustees was compared in the early correspondence and circular letters of Charles Eliot to that of the Boston Nuseum of Fine Arts. Just as the museum held man-made works of art "free of taxes" and "for the use and enjoyment of the sublic", he argued that "if an association weawn were once established, generous men and women would be ready to buy and give into its keeping some of these fina and strongly characterised works of art." Property held by the Trustees is exempt from local tax- ation, and gifts to the Corporation are deductible under the relevant provisions of the Federal Income Tax or Fa- deral Estate Tax laws. Over the past seventy-five years many generous men and women have taken advantage of the "ready and trustworthy instrument" which the Trustees provided. The Trustees now hold for the public benefit 41 Reservations comprising some 6033? acres of land. The first reservation given to the Trustees was Virginia Wood - a tract of land in the Middlesex Fills which is now administered by the Metropolitan District Commission as part of the Middlesex Fills Reservation. The second reservation was Mr Ann Park in Gloucester, given in 1897 in memory of Henry Davis Minot; and the third was Rocky Narrows in Sherborn. The establishment of these reser- vations was followed in the next two succediting years by Governor Hutchincon's Field in Milton and Monument Moun- tain Reservation in Great Barrington. Pine Knoll in Sheffield was given to the Trustees in and Goodwill Park in Falmouth in - both since transfered to the care of the Towns in which they are located. In 1905 a # Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER reservation was established at Petticoat Hill in Williams burg. Activities of the Trustees were revived in the 1920 s with resulting additional gifts beginning with the William Cullen Bryant Homested in 1929. The pace and momentum of new acquisitions has been increasing ever since. ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER August 4, 1966 Mr. Robert E. Garrity, Secretary Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations Box #400 Bar Harbor, Maine Dear Mr. Garrity: I regret that I am unable to attend the Annual Meeting of Hancock County Trustnes at the Blaek House on Tuesday next; and am particularly sorry to again miss the opportunity to catch up on the affairs and interests of the organization. As you may know, the earlier organization, on which the Hancock County Trustess WBB patented, is this year celebrating a Seventy-Fifth Anniversary, - and I have rashly committed myself to writing a kind of history of the Mess. Trustees of (Public) Reservations and of the "movement" which it - and the Hancock County Trustess w represent. For the history of the Hancock County Trustees, I have, of course, my Father's account written in 1936 and 8 few of the printed Annual Reports, - with the latest for 1953. Are there later printed reports, or copies you could spare? And could you send me a copy of whatever report is to be made at the meeting on August 97 Any kind of summary of activities, officers and finances since 1936 would be greatly appreciated. I would like to "recognize" the Hancock County Trustees in what I am writing for all its accomplishments and influence, - and need your help to have the record complete and accurate. Sincerely yours, Charles w. Eliot, II CWE:inc PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTÉES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH 1967 Sir John Wennifully frien sup+3 42 Queen anne's gate SW.I. London, England Dear Sir John, following our very pleasant conversation at lunch yesterday, 1 have refreshed de my memory of the personalities involved Trust, The available information is from the book Charles Eleon handsca in the get founding of all Trustees of Reservations and you national Reliteet about my uncle: and from a letter and encloses kindly rent me Un July 1965 by Assistant Secretary J.D.Boles of you National Twen as 1 used you, my uncle Charles Elevi-(1859-1897). - studied for his profession in Butain and Ewripe in 1885.86 and had letters of introduction to people who may have later hear involved in the work of you national Trush two letters tell of visits with and Kemp-the handscape gardener Edward Thomas and Harry Melnar, antony Watere; as well as with the secielary of the Commons Preservation Society, with a Mr." "R"-secretary the Lakeland Defense Association un Keswich and with a Mr McRheson of the Scottish Footpaths Society , In a letter of august 7 1886 there is refer a reference to Mr Byces 'Scottish Mountains Bill" which intrigues me. Pames Bryce (Rater had Bryce) and his Lady were good friends of my grandparents - (and 1 am personally very much indebted to had Buyce for the inspiring interpretation nature which he provided on many walks at Mt Desert, Maine) Mr Boles sent me an article on "Open Spaces- Octavia till and the open Space movement" h Drothy m. Hunter ~ which refers to a meetine at the Bryce's home dn 16 February 1885 at which Sor Robert Hunter and Octavia All were present the same article also rders to the dynamic person of Canons # D. Rawnsley... from the noth Country" - perhaps the Mr "R" of the Lakeland Defense assin but \ have no copy of the original "Articles 1) Incorporation dated Mr Bokes also kindly sent me "the national Trust acts - 1907-1953; 12 December 1894 which would very much like to compare - word forward w with the Trustees Act 7 1891. Perhaps Mr. John (Rotton?) fedden can shed some light on these matters. In connection with the other subject of all conversation yesterday \ am mailing to you under separate ever a "Handbook of the Society for Propagating the Sospel among Indians and others in north america 1787 on page 20 of which you will find six generations of my family listed as members. PROPERTY OF THE In that TRUSTEES same OF RESERVATIONS, backestions ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH HIGHNEE CENTER visluets Act (which authored) and in which you expressed an interest And let me again thank you for a very enjoyable and helpful meeting Lets keep unstouch! Sincerely Charleses. Eist Chafter 40 C. giveral Jaus, Cc Charles Streetland Trustees 7 Reservations PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER An Urgent Need for Coordination Report of Governor's Open Space Commission Calls for Top-level Board of Environmental Advisors "The recommendations in this document," said His Excellency, "should be invaluable in helping to formulate our program for the environment " On November 26, 1969 in Boston's historic State House, Governor Francis W. Sargent met with 14 members of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Open Space and Outdoor Recreation to officially accept the Commission's report. "In fact," continued the Governor, "we have already used the report as one of the main sources of our proposal to establish an Environmental Quality Control Council to represent citizen interest in the area of the environment." Maintaining and improving the quality of the environment will be one of the chief concerns of the Sargent Administration in the months ahead. "I would like this Commission to stay active," said the Governor, "employing its special talents, energies and ideas, not only in the areas of open space and outdoor recreation, but in an ways which will enhance the quality of life here in Massachusetts." The Governor's Advisory Commission on Open Space and Outdoor Recreation was originally proposed in 1967 by The Trustees of Reservations following a conference entitled The Parkland Crisis in Greater Boston. Its duties and responsibilities are outlined in the report itself reproduced below. Members of the Governor's Advisory Commission on Open Space and Outdoor Recreation were chosen for their interest in and knowledge of these key areas of the environment. Included is a former Chairman of the Standing Committee of The Trustees of Reservations; the President of the Massachusetts Au- dubon Society; an Appalachian Mountain Club Council Member; the Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Williams College; Chairman of the Massachusetts-Rhode Island A.M.C. Trail Guide; a leader in the state's Catholic Youth Organizations, real estate developers, whose imaginative and responsible use of land and related resources have demonstrated a deep concern for the environment; the President of the Boston Society of Architects; the President of the Housatonic River Watershed Association; two landscape architects, both distinguished members of the faculty at Harvard University's School of Design, as well as lawyers, busi- nessmen and an expert in urban affairs. Former Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Thaddeus Beal, was appointed Under Secretary of the Army on March 8, 1969. Commission members are Chairman, Dr. Andrew J.S. Scheffey, Secretary, Mr. Gordon Abbott, Jr., Mr. Harrison L. Bennett, Mr. Richard Borden, Mrs. Robert T. Capeless, Monsignor John T. Carroll, Professor Charles W. Eliot, II, Mr. Richard T. Fisher, Mr. Robert P. Fitzgerald, Mrs. Bernard H. Flood, Mr. Emil Hanslin, Mr. Thomas M. Horan, Professor Peter L. Hornbeck, Mr. Robert Livermore, Jr., Mr. John W. Peirce, Mr. William L. Putnam, Mr. Antonio J. Tambone, Mr. Harold L. Vaughan and Mr. John M. Woolsey, Jr. Open Space Report is formally presented to Governor Francis W. Sargent. Commission members from left are Harold L. Vaughan, Mrs. Bernard H. Flood, Mrs. Robert T. Capeless, Peter L. Hornbeck, Antonio J. Tambone, John W. Peirce, Harrison L. Bennett, Charles W. Eliot, II, Gordon Abbott, Jr., John M. Woolsey, Jr., Emil Hanslin, Richard T. Fisher, Robert Livermore, Jr. and Richard Borden. PROPERTY OF THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER We must be able to identify which areas and features should This will be our Master Plan. be preserved; we must be able to describe what environmen- There will be refinements in this new Survey of Landscape tal qualities they possess; and we must be able to list what Values. Criteria, categories and terminology will be modern- priorities for action they should be assigned. ized and adapted to meet the needs of today's demands. In 1933, The Trustees of Reservations, in concert with the But the basic framework and objectives of this really extra- American Society of Landscape Architects, completed an ordinary document will remain the same - to preserve the inventory of outstanding open space areas. special features of our landscape. The Report of the Massachusetts Landscape Survey, written Already the partnership we mentioned earlier is at work. In by Bradford Williams, landscape architect and long-time recent meetings this proposal to inventory the Common- member of the Standing Committee of The Trustees of wealth's outstanding natural areas won enthusiastic reaction. Reservations, shows a rare and preceptive appreciation of the pressures which are shaping the landscape of the seventies. Support has been promised from two leading resource agencies and organizations, the state Department of Natural Resources Many of its recommendations and proposals have become and the Massachusetts Audubon Society. realities. Today, Plum Island is a wildlife sanctuary, its ecol- ogy protected by the United States Fish and Wildlife With the approval of the Standing Committee of the Trustees Service. of Reservations, work can begin immediately. Bartholomew's Cobble is a garden of wildflowers preserved Since that initial landscape survey now some 36 years ago, by The Trustees of Reservations where botanists can observe the number of properties protected by The Trustees of Reservations for public use and enjoyment has grown from more than 700 species of plant life. eight to half a hundred. In Windsor, bordering the winding waters of the Westfield An impressive record and one which, hopefully, will help set River, Windsor Jambs State Park is now maintained for pub- the pace for the future. lic use and enjoyment by the state Department of Natural Resources. Its beauty is viewed by thousands each year. We no longer have, however, the luxury of time. Our inven- tory will take a year or more to complete. And although There are other areas, however, mentioned in the 1933 report present acquisition efforts will, of course, continue, land which have not yet been acquired for environmental purposes. values are skyrocketing and development maintains its steady And, equally important, there are still other areas around the erosion of the countryside. Commonwealth which, because of the exigencies of time and Let us then concentrate this effort to preserve and protect travel in those depression days, were not subject to survey. these special features of our landscape in the decade of the These must be formally identified and added to the list. seventies. Working together we can achieve our goal. The Future Policy Committee proposes that The Trustees of Again, let us emphasize this is a preliminary report from the Reservations, as a first step in its campaign to preserve and Future Policy Committee. Others will follow in the areas of protect special areas of the Massachusetts landscape, bring the property management and use, for example, membership, 1933 Report of the Massachusetts Landscape Survey up to regional organization and finance. date. Charles W.Eliot, II Receives 1969 Conservation Award Professor Charles W. Eliot, II, landscape architect, city plan- "Your association and your activities with The Trustees of ner and long-time member of the Standing Committee and Reservations spans a long period of history. Nephew of our Advisory Council, was presented the 1969 Conservation founder Charles Eliot, grandson of our early President Charles Award at The Trustees of Reservations' annual award cere- W. Eliot, you joined the Standing Committee in 1924. You mony and dinner on December 3, 1969. served as Secretary of The Trustees of Reservations from 1925 to 1926 and since then on the Standing Committee Some 210 persons attended the event held in the Executive Dining Rooms of the New England Merchants National Bank and on the Advisory Council. on the 49th floor of the Prudential Center. "As a Planner and a Landscape Architect, your energies, Host for the evening was Mr. Charles R. Strickland, President ideas and interest have helped chart the course of our organ- of The Trustees of Reservations. ization's aims and accomplishments over some 45 years. "Tonight," said Mr. Strickland, "this is a family affair. We "At meetings and in discussions, your continued emphasis are delighted to honor one of our own, and at the same time, and clarification of our original ideals have helped maintain recognize the outstanding record and accomplishments of The the integrity and stature for which The Trustees of Reser- Trustees of Reservations over the past 78 years. vations are rightly known. "With warm pleasure and affection," continued Mr. Strick- "Your distinguished professional career as Director of the land, "The Trustees of Reservations present their Conserva- National Resources Planning Board in Washington and as a tion Award this year to Professor Charles W. Eliot, II for Professor of City and Regional Planning at Harvard Univer- distinguished service in the field of conservation and the sity's School of Design, have helped preserve environmental environment. values across the country. page 10 of "As a planing consultant you have contributed ideas to Speaker for the evening was Mr. Pa communities throughout New England which have furthered and widely known and respected co the wise use of land and related resources to benefit our is a Director of the Sierra Club, ren own and succeeding generations. and articulate defense of the nation "For all these achievements and more," Mr. Strickland con- Vice President and Editor-in-Chief ( cluded, "too numerous to mention here, it is with the (just retired), Mr. Brooks was assoc greatest of pleasure that we present you with The Trustees Carson in the publication of Silent of Reservations' 1969 Conservation Award." famous writers in the field of natur canoeist, hiker and outdoorsman, M This year, "because of special and pleasant circumstances," contributor to the Atlantic Monthly the Standing Committee chose to withhold announcement of himself of Roadless Area which wo the winner of the Conservation Award until the moment of Award for the best nature writing o presentation at the dinner itself. Earlier in the evening Mr. Gordon / "I began to have some suspicions," said Professor Eliot with The Trustees of Reservations, prese a twinkle, "as to whom the recipient might be soon after on the recommendations of the Fut the invitations arrived, from friends' smiling remarks that which are reprinted in this newslett they would see me at the dinner, but I had no idea of the extent of secret efforts to alert family and special friends At the head table were Mr. Charles until the day before the dinner and the delivery of a gor- The Trustees of Reservations; Mr. a geous corsage and boutonnier (from son Charlie and his Loring, (Mr. Loring is Chairman of wife Jere) during the afternoon before the dinner. 1 was of The Trustees of Reservations); M grateful for some 'warning!' Mason, Jr., (Mr. Mason is Vice Pres Reservations); Mr. and Mrs. Richard "Larry (Eliot) 'reserved' two seats for us near the head Frothingham is Treasurer of The T1 table during the cocktail hour, and I was particularly pleased Miss Amelia Peabody, (Miss Peabod that so many students and former students attended, as well President of The Trustees of Reserv as fellow workers in 'the cause' from Ipswich and from as member of the Advisory Council) a far away as Williamstown ,, Brooks. The Trustees of Reservations 224 Adams Street Milton, Massachusetts 02186 of Histoes A Bulletin of News, Comment and Opinion in the Field of the Environment January, 1970 CHARLES W. ELIOT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT PLANNING CONSULTANT 25 RESERVOIR STREET CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 02138 TELEPHONE: KIRKLAND 7-3714 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GARDENS AND ESTATES CITY A ND REGIONAL PLANNING PARKS AND RECREATION AREAS Mr. Robert E. gavety Secretary Hancock County Trustees by Public Reservations August 81969 Bar Harbor, Maine Dear Mr. garrity, The notice the meeting 51 the Hawlock County Trustees arrived Yesterday, and 1 am sorry that on such short notice 1 shall not he able to attend. That is particularly regrettable because \ would very much like to hear and participate n-the dis cussion of an item of n "huseness" which I am asking To he included un the agenda, if it shot already there. that item concerns the continuing Responsibility of the Trustees To safeguard properties committed to their care. as you are daihless aware, the National Park Service and the Rockefaller family are currently negotiating an "exchange" of properties, other properties would he taken our the Park. One of the pieces proposes under which Day Mountain would he added to the Park and several the snitheast portion of the "How Lot." accordine to my father's history the to the given to Mr. David Rockefeller in this "exchange" is Mitchell Hill in Trustees. my standfather and Mr Steffens raised the money To have that of the Trustees, the How Lot was one of the first Tracts acquired by land held inTrust" for the purposes 7the Trustees. although the Trustees long ale transferred the How Let.To the federal Government, it seems to me that there is an obligation of the Trustees to those- living and dead- who contributed to the cause, to maintain the integrity of then "trust" in the creamination accordingly I would urge the Trustee dech adopt a resolution protesting the violation Trust involved we the abenation from the Parte of any part of the lands gwen to oracqured by the Trustees for any other use or purpose than those stated in the Charter of the Trustees. P.S. Hope this is legible Notyput available Sincerely yours D M of 1995 The Trustees IPSWICH-ESSEX SALT MARSHES of Reservations 224 Adams Street Milton Summary Record -- Proposals, Programs and Actions Massachusetts 02186 Telephone From papers of Charles W. Eliot - July, 1975 617-698-2066 During the summer of 1955 I started exploring the owner- ships of the salt marshes in Ipswich and Essex, prompted by concern for the preservation of the views from our house on Argilla Road, and by my long-term interest in the Crane Reservation and The Trustees of Reservations. I had been involved in the negotiations with Mrs. Richard T. Crane, Jr. which led to her gift of Crane Beach in 1945 and her bequest of Castle Hill in 1949. I listed some of the marsh owners from the Assessor's Records. In September, 1956, after discussions with Cornelius Crane and several of our neighbors along the east side of Argil- la Road, I drafted a memorandum on "possible procedures for the preservation of the salt marshes" and a form for statement of intent to donate marsh properties along the Castle Neck River with places for signatures of the owners. That summer of 1956, the New England Power Company pro- posed the construction of a high-voltage transmission line across Ipswich and Essex to Gloucester by a route across the Ipswich River marshes, Labor in Vain Creek, Castle Neck River, Essex River and West Gloucester marshes. From the notes I had compiled on marsh ownerships, I listed those whose properties or views would be affected by the pole line and sought the assistance of Henry H. Meyer (Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster) in opposition to construc- tion of the projected power line across the Ipswich, Castle Neck or Essex Rivers and associated marshes. My notes include a list of some 70 names as "signers of letter to Henry H. Meyer accepting his offer of legal representa- tion in opposition to location of the power line across the Ipswich-Essex Marshes." Successful opposition to the power line established a con- tinuing interest in the preservation of the marshes and useful contacts for furtherance of that cause in Ipswich, Essex and Gloucester. In October 1957 The Trustees of Reservations' Committee on Res- ervations met at Cornelius Crane's house (the Brown House) on Castle Hill for inspection and discussion of policies for the Crane Reservation. Mr. Crane announced his purchase of Patter- son and Ours Islands with associated marshes, and his intent to donate them to The Trustees of Reservations. It was from that meeting and "Correy" Crane's expressed interest that a Committee was organized to "Save the Ipswich-Essex Salt Marshes." "Organized" is not the right word to describe the very informal arrangements and shifting attendance or membership of the group which met during 1958-59-60 at irregular intervals under Corney Crane's chairmanship and at his house. Among those involved were Kathryn Cox, Cornelius Crane, David Crockett, Charles W. Eliot, Nelson Hardy, Henry Meyer, Endicott Putnam, Frederick Richardson, Richard M. Russell, Sidney Shurcliff, A. W. Smith, Charles Storey, Dana Story, Carol Swaney, Roger Tyler and Sam Warren (principals underlined-.10/6/59) For the Committee, I researched the records (1915 maps) in the library of Rackemann, Sawyer & Brewster for ownerships (court- esy Henry Meyer, Partner) --the firm that handled most of the Crane purchases and title work, and Mr. Crane authorized his employee, William Boice (now Massachusetts Department of Natu- ral Resources) to produce a full listing of marsh owners as of November 1959, from the Essex Assessors' records. That gave us 11 pages of owners' names, address, name of area and size for 47 owners- invaluable record considering that the Asses- sors' lists have since been lost. In January, 1959, my wife Regina and I began exploring the ways in which we might give to The Trustees of Reservations a restric- tive easement over our salt marsh with reservation of rights to maintain or expand the causeway to Pine Island and to build and maintain duck-walks to the river or creek. The "draft agree- ment" we drew up became the basis for a "Proposal", in which we were joined by Homer White, for the "Committee" to approach the owners of the salt marshes on the Ipswich side of the Castle Neck River seeking their signatures on a "statement of intent" as previously attempted in 1956. The Proposal also called for meetings with selectmen, listing of owners and production of draft deeds, maps, and SO forth for which funds would be needed. This "Proposal" was approved by the Standing Committee of The Trustees of Reservations- on recommendation from the Informal Marsh Committee--at its meeting on March 19, 1959. The need for funds to cover expenses of a campaign to protect the marshes prompted an appeal for contributions, first by me to Corney Crane who gave $200 in November 1959 and $500 in -2- January 1960, and then, with David Crockett's expert assistance, to others. All cash received went into a special account, and then into a savings account which now, in 1975, amounts with interest to $1,050+. There have never been any withdrawals from the account and I have personally paid all expenses, as part of my contribution. My records indicate that there was a meeting at Corney Crane's house on October 23, 1959, after which I drafted a brief state- ment of the problem and a "return" to be signed by owners indi- cating their "interest" and salt marsh ownerships. I had pre- viously started work on a large map with information on owners and property lines. Next came the drafting of a possible leaflet of four pages to be printed with illustrations, photos and map: page 1, Need for Action; page 2, Special Qualities; page 3, Methods of Pro- tection and page 4, Intent to Act for Signature. This was the product of a Sub-Committee consisting of Crockett, Eliot and Shurcliff, appointed at the October meeting. Corney Crane thought page 2 was "corny"--"too poetical" and should be "pract- ical". The "Marsh Committee" met on January 9, 1960 at the Cranes'. Present were S. N. Shurcliff, Richard Russell, F. W. Richard- son, A. W. Smith, Swigert, Boice and Eliot. I had a seven-item agenda. 1. The proposed leaflet--several revisions and suggestions-- incorporated in format mimeographed as of 1/10/60. 2. Sponsorship and Committee organization--lots of dis- cussion of names for an Essex Marsh Committee, roles of owners, officials, business interests, clammers, duck-hunters, "natives", newcomers, and SO forth. Agreed not to duplicate, or absorb, or interfere with the "Essex Preservation and Improvement Association" organized by Carroll Swaney to fight the power line-- at least, while the power line still threatene--but many of same people inevitably involved. No agreement on who should sign or what return address. Fred Rich- ardson agreed to take the lead in contacts with Essex owners and officials. 4. Forms of deeds -- waiting for Laurence Channing's advice. 5. Solicitation--Those present agreed to contact owners, each to visit or write owners of their acquaintance. -3- 6. Budget--no action. 7. Next meeting open. My letter report on that meeting to Corney Crane produced his $500 contribution and his signature on the Statement of Intent (February 16, 1960) to preserve the salt marshes he then owned. There was a February 13, 1960 meeting of the Marsh Committee of which I have no record. But I have February 1.8 letters of support from Page Bourne and Henry Meyer, and a draft letter to owners by F. W. Richardson dated March, 1960. The summer of 1960, Mrs. Eliot and I were in Europe and on our return I found little had been going on to preserve the marshes. The Committee next met on November 26, 1960 to hear and support Fred Richardson's efforts to organize an Essex Marsh Committee to consist of Edwin (Cy) Perkins, Dana Story, Daniel Goodhue, Paul Mugford, Jesse Fuller, Sherman Jones, Fred Richardson and Richard Russell. Mr. Russell submitted a new draft on methods or procedures. Besides Messrs. Richardson and Russell those attending that meeting were Crane, Crockett, Eliot and Shurcliff. The follow-up of that November, 1960 meeting is represented by only three items in my files: 1) a December re-draft of F. W. Richardson's letter to owners in Essex, 2) a letter, May 4, 1961, from Fred Richardson reporting Bryant Burkhardt as chair- man of the Essex Committee and that the Committee had decided "to approach quietly the various large land marsh holders" before proceeding on a "wider and more publicized basis", and 3) a letter, May 5, 1961, from Sidney Shurcliff reporting on his contact with Dr. William Warren Babson--"100% in agree- ment with us" --Babsons own 55 acres and rent Fessenden 42-44 acres. I do not know what came of Fred Richardson's efforts to or- ganize an Essex Committee. It was not long after that November 1960 meeting that he moved from West Gloucester to some place in the Ohio Valley. The Eliots were on the North Cape cruise the following summer and Corney Crane died in 1962. I have no further notes or records concerning the original Marsh Com- mittee. Maybe there is more in The Trustees of Reservations files. The next actions for preservation of the salt marshes were by "the Ipswich Marsh Committee" authorized by the March Town 4 Meeting of 1962 and particularly active in 1963. The chairman was Mrs. David M. Cudhea and the secretary, Mrs. A. W. Smith. Other members were Mrs. Daniel Lunt and Mrs. Harris Smith, Charles Cobb, Arthur Noon and Chester Patch. The Committee produced an illustrated 10-page printed pamphlet, "The Ipswich Marshes", and worked hard to secure Town ownership of tax- delinquent and tax-title marsh properties. In December, 1965, Regina D. Eliot gave The Trustees of Res- ervations fee title to 10.45 acres of salt marsh adjoining the Crane Reservation Patterson Island property; and in January, 1966 Regina and Charles Eliot gave The Trustees a restrictive (negative) easement over all their remaining holdings of salt marsh. It is referred to as a "negative easement" because instead of prohibiting building or filling, it authorizes re- moval of any structure or fill, except for the causeway to Pine Island and designated duck walks. Also in 1965, the first Coastal Wetlands Act was enacted, and followed in 1968 by an Inland Wetlands Act. Under the Coastal Wetlands Act, the Commissioner of Natural Resources is auth- orized to adopt and record "orders" limiting the uses permit- ted on designated coastal wetland and adjacent upland. In January, 1968, the required public hearing for a proposed "order" applying to the salt marshes in Ipswich was held with strong support recorded by the Ipswich Marsh Committee, League of Women Voters and several of the owners involved, particu- larly along Fox Creek and Castle Neck River. The "order" was recorded on March 21, 1968. In July, 1959, a similar "order" was presented for application of the same restrictions to the Essex salt marshes and letters in support, and referring to previous activities (1955-56 and 1959-61) were filed by Sidney and William Shurcliff and by me. I have not got the date of the recording of the Essex "order" but know it was recorded and is "in effect". On August 11, 1969, Governor Sargent signed the Conservation Restriction Act, now Section 32 of Chapter 184 G.L., and in May, 1970, the DNR put out a four-page description of the purposes and procedures in that Act. The provisions of Chapter 184 opened up new, positive and perpetual ways of protecting and preserving particular "values" in open spaces, including salt marshes. I participated in its drafting and in the ef- forts for its enactment; and, of course, hoped restrictions could be applied to the Ipswich-Essex salt marshes. Renewed interest and activity for salt marsh preservation -5- developed in 1970 with the support of Gordon Abbott, Jr. Di- rector of The Trustees of Reservations. In October, I got maps and information from DNR on the Essex marshes and in sessions with Shurcliffs, Sidney, Bill and Charlie, discussed a new campaign and a new "younger generation" committee. The Crane Local Committee met on November 1, 1970, and Charles H. Shurcliff agreed to serve as Chairman. In January, 1971, Charles H. Shurcliff presented a "report" or project statement. 1. Marshes Invaluable; 2. Inadequacy of Coastal Wetlands Orders; 3. Threats (with a map and text on what "development" might be by 2020 A.D.) 4. Recommended Gifts of Fee or Conservation Restrictions; 5. Why Trustees?; 6. Meaning of "Preservation"; 7. Mechanics; 8. Pros and Cons, with numerous appendices. Policies for The Trustees of Reservations' handling of con- servation restrictions were proposed by the Executive Committee in March, 1971 and.in April, at a Special Meeting of the Corp- oration, it was voted to expand the corporate purposes of The Trustees of Reservations to allow "acquiring, holding, main- taining and enforcing conservation and preservation restric- tions." The Standing Committee then adopted a policy for those purposes on May 12, 1971. Early in June, 1971 Charlie Shurcliff had maps and a "page mimeo statement with which he personally interviewed owners of marsh along the Castle Neck River. By June 20, 1971 he had "signed statements of interest" from 12 owners, Pereira, Goodale, C. Storey, Lowell, Wheeler, Alice, Sidney and William Shurcliff, Jennings, Coolidge, White and Richardson. He sum- marized the questions and issues to be faced, mostly concerned with legal problems. Shortly thereafter, John Carter Vincent, Jr. was persuaded to join the Marsh Committee and contribute his legal counsel and by October, 1971 he was working on the procedures and drafts of conservation restrictions which were reviewed by the Marsh Committee (C. H. Shurcliff, C. W. Eliot and J. C. Vincent) on November 6 and November 25, 1971. Several extensive papers came from these efforts by Jack Vincent in 1972, including a "Form" for Conservation Restriction which was approved by the Local Committee on May 20, 1972. By an important amendment to Chapter 184 G.L., the Conservation Restriction Act, Chapter 719, Acts of 1972-July 1972 requires recognition of the existence and terms of conservation restric- tions in the assessment of properties (December 1972, Ipswich -6- Conservation Commission letters to selected owners) For 1972, my papers provide no other evidence of action. I must have turned over what I had to The Trustees of Reserva- tions' Milton office or just lost them. January, 1973 marked the beginning of major efforts. The Crane Reservation Local Committee met January 6, 1973 and approved 1) letters to marsh owners previously signed up by Charles Shurcliff; 2) preparation and mailing of a "Program" and "Technical Steps" and 3) personal contacts by committee mem- bers--all owners assigned to one or another member. The gift of three marsh parcels in Ipswich by Colonel Francis R. Apple- ton was announced. The next day, I produced a follow-up memo re meetings with Ipswich and Essex Conservation Commissions, and need for information on tax titles, zoning, property maps, and SO forth. Then I went to work on A Program to Protect--8 pages and three Appendices and CHS's map dated January, 1973, which was mim- eoed by The Trustees as written, but without the map. That draft was then corrected and greatly expanded by the other members of the "Ipswich-Essex Salt Marsh Committee", Charles H. Shurcliff, Sidney N. Shurcliff, John C. Vincent, Jr. C. W. Eliot and Gordon Abbott, Jr. -and circulated. This re- vised "Program" was accompanied by a six-page statement on "Technical Steps in Granting a Conservation Restriction" and four pages of a "Sample Conservation Restriction" prepared by Mr. Vincent. Also in January, 1973, before I was hospitalized for a "total hip operation", I attended a public meeting at Ipswich Town Hall on an "Ipswich Wetlands and Watershed Conservancy Dis- trict" proposed by Sally Wetherall, Chairman, and Fred Winthrop of the Ipswich Conservation Commission for inclusion in the Ipswich Zoning By-Law. My next "paper" is dated May 11, 1973 and proposes a number of changes and additions to both the Program Statement and the Vincent Technical Steps. In June, Charles Shurcliff revived his record of contacts made in 1971 and I have a memo with names of those who had agreed to follow-up with individuals who had shown interest, presum- ably as a result of a meeting of the Local Committee on June 9, 1971. In July, 1973, there were meetings with the Bill Shurcliffs and Goodales to follow-up their expressed desire to make gifts of -7- restrictions, and I tried to get more information from the Essex Assessors, which I reported to the Shurcliffs (July 3 and 4) and in a general memo July 7. That was when I found the old records lost and a new system of records. During the summer and autumn of 1973 I got to work on Part II of the Program--to protect the marshes northwest of Argilla Road. With the cooperation of the Assessor, I obtained maps and parcel numbers with total and marsh acreages for six units which I described in a draft Statement as 1. Fox to Treadwell Creek, 2. Goodale Pond, 3. Labor in Vain Farm, 4. Ipswich River to Labor in Vain, 5. Thompson-Vickery and 6. South and West of Vickery to Labor in Vain Creek. On August 2, 1973, the Arthur Phillips hosted a well-attended gathering of Argilla Road neighbors for discussion of proced- ures and special problems of different marsh owners. General agreement and even enthusiasm for early action. Follow-ups at August 5 meeting at Sidney's. During the rest of August, attention was concentrated on the holdings of the Crane heirs, Estate of Cornelius Crane and Florence C. Belosselsky, with my listing of priorities for The Trustees of Reservations sought by Gordon Abbott. John Vincent worked out an agreement in late August and early September, 1973 with Dunbar Holmes for legal work on deeds, and SO forth. Packets of informational material were sent to all owners on the Ipswich side of Castle Neck Creek and to White, Story and Richardson on the Essex side. Before the end of 1973, nine deeds were signed and four more by March, 1974, followed by Jennings in December, 1974. A progress report in October reflected the complications in working out the wording of Homer White's restriction, with consultations by me with Homer, Abbott and Dunbar Holmes, and in Crockett's proposal of fee title gift of Fox Creek Marsh holdings. Follow-ups of Pereira, Coolidge, Jennings and Warner were arranged. In November, Alice Shurcliff reported McLeod interested in sale of all his holdings. Further pro- gress reports from Holmes on November 7 and Charles H. Shur- cliff on November 11 reviewed status of Parker, Osbornes, Warner, Richardson and Story. A meeting of the Ipswich-Essex Salt Marsh Committee at the Eliots' on December 1, 1973, was attended by Gordon Abbott, C. W. Eliots, L. G. Eliot, Goodale, C. H. Shurcliff, S. Shur- cliff and Homer White, and discussed status of program for -8- all owners, again with follow-up assignments. Holmes was asked to proceed with owners on Essex side, Story, Richardson, White and Manchester Trust, and urgent need for meeting with Essex Conservation Commission was stressed, as well as follow- up of tax-delinquent and tax-title lands in Ipswich. In connection with the latter, I supplied Bob Goodale, member of the Ipswich Conservation Commission, with procedures fol- lowed in Wilmington to give its Conservation Commision control over tax-title, tax-delinquent and "owners unknown" properties, identified by lot numbers. By January 30, 1974, eight deeds had been executed, and by April 17, a total of 14, when Gordon Abbott wrote all signers about proposed procedures for signatures by Selectmen and the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources. On July 16, Abbott, Eliot, Hickling, Vincent and Winthrop met to dis- cuss presentation of the restrictions to the Ipswich Selectmen, and I wrote out a Restatement of the "Ipswich Salt Marsh Pro- tection Program" with a request for formal action by the Town Manager and Selectmen. That was duly typed for preliminary talks with Dale Vincent, Ipswich Town Counsel. There my Notes end except for several squibs of "reminders" of unfinished business. The Selectmen of Ipswich signed the restrictions and Commissioner Brownell also signed for the DNR before leaving office. The restrictions were recorded on December 31, 1974. The Trustees of Reservations Annual Report for 1974 speaks of 236 acres along the Castle Neck River being protected by conservation restrictions. No word yet about the tract index. -9- or inc TRUSTEES or RESERVATIONS, ARCHIVES AND RESEARCH CENTER is CHARLES W. ELIOT Will you join in LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT 25 RESERVOIR - PLANNING ST. cor pressure for action? CAMBRIDGE 38, MASS. KIRKL AND 7-3714 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING NOV 30 REC'D Mr Susan Ziegler - Mass Dept. of Environmental Manageme 225 friend St. BooTon Maso Dear Ms Ziegler - The enclosed copies of the BosTon globe 1100,W canvum - "Woodland neclace and of my Nov. 27 letterin response call for the State To grasp the opportunity ...To create the Bay Circuit freenbelt. What is the State Dept. of Environmental management doing or proposing To do To carry out plans for the Bay Circuit greenbell Does the governor's advisory Committee on The Bay Circuit greentelt still exist? (lastmet in 1987 according To my files) and who are the members? (my siles include names of potential members but no list of those actually appointed) What came from The 1985-87 acturties on The project? w from the grants for municip al planning from your work, and other uses of the 43m appropriation? Has the DEM Planning Division up. dated the Map and Plan for the Bay Circuit greenfelt What funds and staff now available for work on The project? How and when can we get moving on the actual creation of The Bay Circuit Green belt? after 65 years since first proposed it- It us time for Action Charles W. Elior Yours Truly Charles W. Ellot, zna 351 Charles Eliot 2 He, my grandfather, followed through all the way along as I was growing up. He took me to a meeting in Boston before 16 From the backyard garden to the whole the ACPI was first organized - the American City Planning Institute. USA: a conversation with Charles W. Eliot, It was a lunch occasion, and F. L. Olmsted, Jr, Alfred Bettman, 2nd George Ford, and all those original founders were there, and it was at that session - I don't know if it was that day or the next - that they decided that they were going to have a professional organization. K. What year was that? Donald A. Krueckeberg E. 1917. Well then, you wanted to know in particular about how I got Charles W. Eliot, 2nd, was born on November 5, 1899. He was involved with the Journal, so I got out these first volumes, 1 to 6, that I steered into landscape architecture and city planning by his had bound years ago and was looking them over in preparation. My grandfather along the path of his uncle who had died in the prime of professor at Harvard who was really the inspiration for my his career as a landscape architect. After graduation from Harvard enthusiasm about the planning aspects of the landscape profession Bro and a brief practice in Boston, young Eliot went to Washington, D.C, was Henry Vincent Hubbard: In the Fall of 1924, when I came back to work for the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, soon serving as its director. In 1933 he became the executive officer from a traveling fellowship in Europe, instead of going to work for of Roosevelt's National Planning Board (successively renamed another professional office I set up for myself, with my grandfather's National Resources Board, National Resources Committee, and help, in the same building where my uncle had had his office, 9 Park National Resources Planning Board) where he served until it was Street, Boston) I had very little to do at first. I did work for the Trustees abolished by Congress in 1943. Then, after several years in California of Reservations that my uncle (Charles Eliot) had founded, as kind of a as a lecturer at UCLA and a planning consultant to various communities and foundations, he returned to Cambridge, field secretary with my expensespaid and I did a lot of small jobs that I Massachusetts, in 1954, to teach planning at Harvard as Charles Eliot! got because of family, and things like that. Prof. Hubbard said, "Well, Professor of Landscape Architecture and later as professor of city and you've got lots of time on your hands, why don't you join me now and a regional planning, and to continue private practice. It is clear from see what we can do on a magazine?'' So the headquarters of the what follows that he is, at the age of eighty, still an active force in magazine was established in my 9 Park Street Office. He gave me very planning affairs in greater Boston and that he cares very deeply about free rein. I can't find any files and think they are probably at the his field of service. This conversation of March 23, 1979, is part of a series recorded while conducting research on the history of the APA Graduate School of Design because the files when Brad Williams died Journal. (See JAPA, January 1980.) were sent out here in a big file cabinet and dumped in the basement. Later I turned them over to the Harvard School of Design Library. At least that's the best that I can recollect as to what I did because I Getting started searched upstairs in my so-called drafting room and study and know K. Did you study landscape architecture as an undergraduate? that they are not there. So I think they are at the library because I have E. Oh yes. When I was a freshman I lined up my courses - all directly given most of my things to them and because that was the appropriate related to landscape architecture. Then I had a message from my place for them, considering Hubbard's relationship to it. So for the first grandfather, who was then retired from being president of the volume in 1925 I did almost all of the correspondence. For the university and living up here on Fresh Pond Parkway, to come and contents, Hubbard must have suggested, "Why don't you write to so see him. So I went, and he wanted to know, "What courses are you and so." I assembled most of the materials; that was my role. going to take, Charles?'' So I told him. I thought he would be pleased, K. Why was it published by a company, separate from the Institute? but instead, "Absolutely wrong, Charles! There is enough time to E. Darned if I know. On the title page here is the City Planning Pub- specialize when you get into Graduate School. Your responsibility lishing Company. I do know that Carl Parker was a partner of Hub- now is to get a broad general education." So part of this story that I am bard's over at the Olmsted office, and Brad Williams, who shared the able to tell you now begins with my grandfather's intent that I should office with me and later took over the office when I went to Wash- be a landscape architect and continue the work of my uncle ington, was a year behind me at the graduate school at Harvard.3 zna 353 was no instruction or degree in planning at that time, that didn't come until 1929 - Brad Williams was a landscape architect all of his life. When I went to Washington he took over several of my activities - as with the Trustees of Reservations and so on. My other office sharer CITY PLANNING Regional Planning- Rural Planning-Town Planning OFFICIAL ORGAN AMERICAN CITY PLANNING INSTITUTE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CITY PLANNING QUARTERLY Vol. I APRIL, 1925 No. 1 CONTENTS Editorial I A Letter from Secretary Hoover 2 Perseverance in City Planning CHARLES H. WACKER 3 Ideals of the New York Regional Plan THOMAS ADAMS 5 Survey of City and Regional Planning in the United States, 1924 THEODORA KIMBALL HUBBARD 7 A Greeting from the President of the International Federation EBENEZER HOWARD 30 Park Scenery for City Dwellers. Quotation from F. L. OLMSTED, SR. 32 A Letter from President-Emeritus Eliot 33 The Responsibilities of Realtors in City Planning J. C. NICHOLS 34 Architectural Imagination in City Building HARVEY WILEY CORBETT 37 Interest of the Engineer in City Planning M. N. BAKER 41 The Chamber of Commerce and City Planning JOHN HILDER 43 Two Years of Regional Planning in Los Angeles County HUGH R. POMEROY 47 Legal Notes: City Planning Law in 1923 and 1924 F. B. W. 52 Current Progress G. B. F. 59 Zoning Round Table E. M. B. 60 Institute News--International Conference Program F. S. 62 Plate 16.1 Charles W. Eliot, 2nd, as a young man. Book Lists and Book Reviews: List of Plan Reports, 1924 T. K. H. 65 Published Quarterly at Augustz, Maine, by Now these other people here are contributing editors; you know of CITY PLANNING PUBLISHING CO. course who all of those are. TK (Theodora Kimball Hubbard), as we BUSINESS OFFICE: 9 PARK ST., BOSTON, MASS. always called her, was the librarian of the school before she married HENRY VINCENT HUBBARD, EDITOR. CHARLES W. FLIOT, 2KD, ARSISTANT EDITOR address Hub. Looking at these early editors I was delighted to have some of CONTRIBUTING EDITORS EDWARD M. BASSETT FRANK B. WILLIAMS GEORGE B. FORD these things recalled, but that's about the extent of what I can tell you FLAVEL SHURTLEFF THEODORA KIMBALL HUBBARD about the origins. I don't know why they set up a special separate CARL RUST PARKER, Business Manager BRADFORD WILLIAMS, Adcertising and Circulation Manager publishing company. 75 cents a copy, $3.00 a year (Foreign $1.00 a copy, $3.50 a year) K. Were Carl Parker and Brad Williams both landscape planners? Copyright. 1925. by Carl Runt Parker. Application made for entry as second class mail, E. Yes, they were landscape architects. Parker was definitely a partner of the Olmsted brothers' firm of landscape architects and Brad - there Plate 16.2 Contents, City Planning, vol. 1, no. 1. was Robert N. Cram who was definitely a landscape architect. My Washington, assigned from the Corps or planning activity from that office was in 1925, same year that this office and he said, [Journal] got going. It was to prepare a plan for the Town of Arlington Well, there is no such thing as your position in the civil service, so we have got to just west of here. That came about because I read in the newspaper invent a new position and we will just call it city planner. You go down the hall that the Arlington Town Meeting had appropriated a sum of money for and there is a door on the left and a private room there. You sit down there and you the preparation of a town plan. I found that the chairman of the compose a civil service exam that you are sure to pass among the top three. Planning Board was Cyrus Dalin, the famous sculptor. His son was Which is what I did! classmate of mine at school. So I went out to see Mr Dalin and said K. Did you take it? You know, for this amount of money you are not going to get much of anything E. Those were the days! Yes, I think I had the second best score, but they But if you will employ me, I am more than willing to devote my full energies to.it could choose from the top three. That was the reason I had to be sure and you will get everything that I can possibly give you for this particular sum of to pass among the top three. So I was city planner for a couple of years money. Furthermore, I used as my thesis for my MLA degree the park treatment and then they made me director. I had that job until the New Deal of the part of Arlington adjoining Cambridge - Alewife Brook, Spy Pond, etc. so you've got the park plan for eastern Arlington already done! under Roosevelt, and then I decided that I wanted to expand and get into the field of national planning. I felt that a lot of the principles of I got the job! planning that we had been working with were applicable in a much K. You started your office here in what year? bigger field. So I got hold of my father-in-law who was an old friend of E. 1924. I had one summer at the Olmsted office in the summer of 1922 Harold Ickes who, it had just been announced, was going to be the and then when I came back from a year and a half in Europe on a Secretary of the Interior, and asked him for a letter of introduction. Sheldon Traveling Fellowship I started my own shop. When I went to the Secretary's office, I told Mr Ickes that I would like to be Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of planning for the "Job here" - Washington, D.C. public domain. Do you really want all these stories? K. Sure! Yes. E. The family relationship with the Olmsteds was always there in the E. O.K. When you get an old man going, it's dangerous. He (Mr Ickes) background, and in the summer of 1926 I had a telegram (I was living looked at me and he said, "Do you realize that I am the first Secretary here with my parents) from Washington. "Job here. Would have of the Interior from East of the Mississippi, and I come from Illinois! jumped at your age. Meet me Cosmos Club, breakfast, Monday morn- You couldn't be confirmed! You come from Massachusetts!" I said, ing," signed Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. So I borrowed some money $ "Well, I think I could be confirmed." He said, "Of course you from neighbors and got on the Federal Express and went down. He couldn't!" I said, "Well, do you mind, Mr Secretary, if I go up to the met me at the door of the club and said, "I suppose you want to wash Hill and see what chances I might have?" So I went up and I sent in up?" I said, "Yes, sir." So we went into the men's room and he my card to one senator after another from the anteroom of the Senate, immediately launched with, and I got thirty senators to say that, yes, they would endorse my nomination. Of course that wasn't enough, but that was just one don't want any misunderstanding about this thing. Congress has just authorized the establishment of a National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The afternoon. So I went back to see Mr Ickes and told him. And he said, President has appointed me as one of the members of that commission. We've had "Too late. Too late. Yesterday I appointed Oscar Chapman." our first meeting. The law authorizes the Commission to employ a "Director" for So instead I got to work with the so-called "Brain Trust" - Ray this new commission We have offered it to all the people that we think are Moley and Rex Tugwell and the rest of them - when we were qualified and they've all turned it down on the grounds that it doesn't pay enough involved in the NRA, the PWA, WPA, and all of the rest of the New So, we have decided to change the title, cut the salary in half, and offer it to you. Deal alphabetical agencies. The next thing was that Ickes was named I said "Accepted, Mr Olmsted!" head of the PWA, the Public Works Administration. So I thought, So I went to Washington. A very extraordinary experience. After well, they need planning, certainly, checking all of these project breakfast we went down to the office that they had just established applications from the cities and states all over the place. So I got hold The executive officer as he was called, was a major with the name of of Mr Delano (Frederick A. Delano, who was chairman of the U.S. Grant, III. He was in charge of public buildings and grounds for National Capital Park and Planning Commission) for whom I had been working, and he arranged for us to see Ickes again, and propose classmate of my father's in college and a fraternity mate, and when I a planning process. So it was that the National Planning Board was went to Washington at Olmsted's telegram I stayed with Uncle Fred established as part of the Public Works Administration. From there at his house. Frederic. A. Delano was an important proponent of plan- on it was national planning. ning, as you perhaps know, from way back in Chicago in 1908-9 and then with the Regional' Plan in New York. More than anybody but Planning the nation Norton and Adams, he was really the person responsible for getting it going. He did the same, when he was chairman of the Committee of K. For about ten years? 100 for the national capital, in getting the legislation for planning of E. Yes, ten years. Until I was fired by an Act of Congress in 1943. One of the national capital. I was very devoted to him. We had a wonderful the reasons that the Board was abolished and I got fired in 1943 was thing to remember. At one of the White House receptions he took my that the board was attacked for three or four different reasons by dif- wife; I couldn't go for some reason. And when the reception line ferent groups, politically. Of course there were always the extreme reached Eleanor Roosevelt, Uncle Fred said, "Eleanor, I want you to conservatives among Republicans and Southern Democrats who meet another niece of mine," and then didn't give her name. Eleanor were edgy about this being a wicked, socialist-communist activity was nonplussed, but when they got to FDR, he said, "And who are and all of that kind of junk, and they were particularly thrown off you young lady?" And she said "Regina Eliot," "Oh," said FDR, with because our Board actually advocated national health insurance in a hearty laugh. 1942. Now just think of that! It was just, oh, so absolutely outrageous! K. Well, there's no doubt about the great contribution that decade of And we also were putting out reports saying that it was absolutely work made to planning. essential that the federal government support various educational E. Yes, when the Board was abolished I was one of about six people in kinds of programs and grants. That was interference with, I don't the history of the country that were fired by an Act of Congress. That know, religion or something. It was awful! And then the main opposi- was in August 1943 and I was instructed to dispose of all of the tion came from the rivers and harbors block in the Congress because records and personnel and everything of the organization before the in our plans for the wise use of land and water resources we had made end of the year. They meant that I should really dispose of them. Of it essential for the Corps of Engineers to justify every dam project in course, all the official files, records, minutes, reports, etc. went to the terms of its relation to the whole river basin, not just to the con- National Archives, but I did what I could to get the extra copies of our gressional district in which it was located. Of course, what tickles me reports to the university libraries all over the country! So then I had to now is that here is President Carter in the same boat exactly. And get another job and this opportunity came in California. some of the candidates are still advocating national health insurance! K. Well, it must have been an exciting place to be at the time. E. It was indeed. Another aspect of the attack was that in wartime this was an absolutely unnecessary organization and all efforts of the Moving west nation should be put on winning the war and not on some kind of plan- K. To teach at UCLA? ning stuff. So of course our response was - what's going to happen E. Yes. So on January 1, 1944, my wife and I packed the four kids, the when the war is over? Are we going to have another depression when nurse, and the dog in the station wagon and drove across the con- all of the defense industries close down? We were working on postwar tinent. That also has a silly story attached. Of course there was a war planning. Well, that didn't matter. And the final real background on, and we had to have gas rations. So in preparation I went to the element, that I think was one of the significant causes of the reason for ration board and said that I needed to go across the continent and we our defeat, was that Frederick A. Delano was the chairman of this thought the best way to do it was to take the whole family in the car. National Planning Agency. He was the uncle of the President and here The woman said, "You have to prove to me that you have a job at the was a way for those "hate Roosevelt" people to attack the President other end. This is wartime!" I said, "Will this letter from the and hurt him personally, which it did. There is no question about that. Chancellor of the University do?" She said, "Yes, but you also need a I was in a very difficult situation because, yes, Delano was President letter saying that you are no longer necessary for your job in Wash- Roosevelt's uncle, but he was also "Uncle Fred" to me. He was a ington," I said, "Will an Act of Congress do?" She said, "You don't 358 The American Planner Charles W. Eliot, 2nd 359 understand. All you have to do is get a letter from your boss saying Teaching planners to plan that your services are no longer necessary." "But," I said "that's not exactly practical. My only boss at the moment is named Franklin E. I insisted on a half-time basis at Harvard, on the grounds that when Delano Roosevelt and I don't think in the middle of a war it is appro- teaching a profession you have to keep in touch with current priate for me to go and ask him for such a letter." She persisted, "You activities. This has been a major issue at Harvard in the last year with don't understand, young man, all you have to do is get a letter from the present dean insisting that people should be full time. I think it is your boss." So I went back to the office and dictated: "Dear Mr Eliot: absolutely wrong. In fact, I heartily disapprove of much that has been Your services are no longer necessary in Washington," signed it going on in the planning department at the school.4 Charles W. Eliot, and when I took that back, I got my gas rations. K. Do you have primarily studio kind of teaching? Whoo - red tape! E. Not primarily, but we have studios. We don't have a school of design K. Let me follow through on what happened after you were out in Cali or architecture so it is more difficult to teach design under those con- fornia. Was it then that you set up practice in Los Angeles? ditions. E. At first, while I was lecturing at UCLA, I served as director for the You have to have some kind of "design." I had never done any Haynes Foundation. Then I opened my office for private practice, teaching except being an assistant to Professor Pray in the city operating out of Pasadena but in the Los Angeles area. I had quite a planning course, in the third year of graduate school but I came, of variety of experiences, including planning for Old Town San Diego course, from a teaching family. So when I started here in 1955, I ran Riverside, Upland Claremont, Coachella Valley, etc. I was doing so my studio course on the basis that we would take a project that is a called Master Plans. Then in 1951 or 1952 Paul Hoffman, who lived possible actual planning project in some community near Boston. The in Pasadena, was named as first head of the Ford Foundation and he students would collect the basic background material and then, in asked me to join the original Ford Foundation staff as director of rival teams, prepare alternate solutions. Then I would arrange in the Resources Programs, as it was called, with the idea that we would community - with the board of selectmen or the city council or the try to solicit requests for grants from people concerned with con- planning board - to allow them to make a public presentation, with servation and with planning and all of this kind of thing. Through the public invited, so they had to explain and go through the kind of that I got Resources for the Future organized. I did most of the thing that a consultant has to do, in school. They would have the organizing. actual experience of doing this. I still think, and many of my students K. When was that? still say, that this was a major contribution. E. 1952 or 1953, I don't remember. Then the Foundation moved to New K. Yes, most of our studios do that. I just taught one this last semester, York and I was left back there. I was on a part time basis with the which I had not done for a while, and it was very stimulating to me as Foundation, so I was still carrying on some of my professional jobs. well as to the students. K. This was still in California? E. Yes, it is quite exciting. In a local community we get the reactions and E. Yes, Pasadena. I had a contract that went for a couple of more years, see which students are able to get their ideas across and what par- but they did the old business trick. First, they removed the rug from ticular kinds of maneuvers and ways of expressing things register and my office. Then they moved something else and then they moved my which don't. It's quite fascinating. office to a very small little cubby hole. Then they took away my K. It really is. secretary, you know, and they just got rid of me. I could stand it no longer. Bob Hutchins was also left behind. I don't know why; he didn't want to move. He stuck it out until he got a major grant for his The Hubbard Education Trust Santa Barbara Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. So K. Do you know why Hubbard stopped editing the Journal in 1935? then the Eliots moved back East because our four children were in E. No I don't. college or school hereabout. few months after we took over this K. The one thing that occurred to me is that I noticed that that is about house (in which I grew up seventy years ago), Harvard offered me the the time Charles Eliot Professorship in Landscape Architecture at the Gradu- E. That T.K. died? ate School of Design. K. I thought that maybe that was part of the reason. 360 The American Planner Charles W. Eliot, 2nd 361 E. Which we reprinted. Yesterday they were talking about reprinting Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect. They say now that copies are hard to get and sell for about $70. K. Is that right? Fortunately I already have one. E. I have only one, over there. I've got to give a lecture on his work May 3rd before the Society for the Preservation of New England Anti- quities, which is suddenly getting interested, quite appropriately I guess, in the preservation of outdoors as well as structures, which is good. That was one of the things about the tape of my career that caused some of the people to raise their eyebrows, because of course I stressed in the tape that I had expanded the idea of the role of the land- scape architect to planning for the whole United States. They thought that was extreme - going from the backyard garden to the whole USA. Father and family K. What did your father do? E. My father was a Unitarian Minister, president of the American Unitarian Association for twenty-seven years, and minister of Arlington Street Church after that. He and my mother had seven children. That is why we had such a big house as this. He was off every Sunday somewhere preaching, although he didn't have his own parish because he was working for the association, as head of it. Plate 16.3 Charles W. Eliot, 2nd, about 1960. K. What was his first name? E. Samuel. Same as his grandfather and great grandfather. You are E. Well, I wouldn't be surprised. sitting in the chair that was in my grandfather's college room in 1851. By the way, I was at a meeting yesterday of the Hubbard Educational K. What was your grandfather's training? Trust which was founded in his memory and which now finances, E. He was a chemist and, right out of college, was an instructor and with very limited income, various projects about the profession, assistant professor here (at Harvard). And then, when he was denied particularly a series of audio-visual recordings. Have you heard of promotion, he went to Europe. When he came back they were just them? You might be interested in some of them. They made one of me starting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was that goes for two hours, unfortunately. They set up the lights over there made a professor of Chemistry as MIT began. Shortly after that and Sidney Shurcliff sat where you are and I sat here and it was an Harvard needed a new president and they elected him. interview such as we are having now but with all the bright lights and K. After not giving him tenure? visual business as well. That was the first of a series. We have Gilmore E. Yes! Clarke (landscape architect, primarily), Frank Church of California, K. Isn't that ironic. and Norman Newton (who used to be president of the ASLA), and E. So he was president for forty years. Too long! My younger brother various others now on tape with the stories of their careers. The idea is Thomas H. Eliot was chancellor at Washington University in Saint try and give students in the field some idea of the variety and kinds of Louis, and when ten years rolled around, although he was still under work that a career in landscape architecture and planning can involve retirement age, he resigned. K. That's a nice idea. We are a teaching family, all right. All of my brothers and brothers- I ran across a copy recently of the Hubbards' textbook on landscape in-law, except one, somehow or other are professors or college architecture published by the Foundation. presidents or something. 362 The American Planner Charles W. Eliot, 2nd 363 Thoughts on Planning Being practical FLORID fifty Years of acture Practice and Teaching Charles Eliotzue E. But I have all that I can do. I am very, very busy with the Trustees of June 1979 Reservations and historical things and the Metropolitan Area Planning is Design The interrelation of forces to produce a Planning Council, of which I am one of the founders and have been a desired result Every program or project for which a Plan is gubernatorial appointee from the beginning. It was established as an designed involves many forces or ingredients; each with its independent agency. It is very important that a planning agency own measure of values or importance. There are always physical or natural forced social considerations, economic factors, and should have some degree of independence. Another trouble is aerthetic or spiritual aspects To be evaluated as well as (maybe you have run into some of this in your teaching) I find that purpose, Timing and other considerations Different individuals, more and more planners are interested only in planning things for groups and peo oples, in different times and countries measure each immediate action. That the things that are going to happen must be of These forces in different ways. and for each project each of the forces involved has a different value weight or signize cance Furthermore-time and inevitable change cause whatever relative values may have been assigned To different forces To also change anthat what was once a good plan becomes "out. dated and inappropri ate Almost all of the forces" involved in planning foll ow the giant syndrome of life Birth partially off. set by care and rehabilitation but finally 5) Death or or Beginning 2) growth and Development 3) Full fillment, 4) Decay - Restruction. Values reflect the stage in This syndrome of each of loseforces Planning Therefore re queres understanding and projection of Trends in value changes in and amone the forces involved on any particular project or pro gram One then can a plan fullfill another deginetic on Planning is The Guidance of Change. Plannine No Proposing St art by proposing the Best (not the practical or what has the fest chance of approval and early accomplishment - as too many planners now consider the mark of success) There are certain To be compromises, reductions and limitations on any proposal during its review and before its approval and implementation, - and 9 amunumum or practical proposal is presented Those incirTable compromises may turn a good project into a tad one. To mobilize support for any Plan the Proposal must be worth lighting for, and it doesnt attract support, it probably doesn't deserve approval People respond To a Challenge not To a whimper. Plate 16.4 Thoughts on Planning. K. Did you teach from the time you came back from California? E. While my grandfather was president of Harvard they established the rule that the year in which you become sixty-six is your last year of full time teaching. You can be continued on a kind of a part time arrangement after that. I am always as old as the year, so in 1966 was "out" at the end of that college year. Yes, I went back to give lectures and things but that was the end of that. So from there on I devoted myself to private practice. But it has gotten thinner and thinner, with fewer and fewer jobs. Plate 16.5 Charles W. Eliot, 2nd, at home on his eightieth birthday. planned, yes; but the idea of the long range, or the idealistic, is pretty Saying goodbye much out and everyone seems to be concentrating on only working E. Where are you going next? on things that might get done in the next five years. Well, that leads to K. This afternoon I am going to Lexington to see Roland Greeley. these complications with people like the governor wanting more and E. Roly Greeley, oh good!- Roly serves with me in the work of the more control, if that is what they are going to be doing. Instead, all of Trustees. He is head of our Reservation Management Committee and the so-called master plans of these cities that I have ever worked on -1 I see him at least once a month that way. But he also worked for the some done years ago - contain recommendations, many or most of National Resources Planning Board as head of the staff for the which are still to be done. regional office here in New England, so my association with him goes K. Yes. I think that you are right. That is very characteristic of the back then. And his father had the office next to mine on the top floor times. of 9 Park Street when I started out. He was very kind to me - William E. Trying to be "practical," as they say. But I don't think that it is Roger Greeley. And his older brother Dana Greeley succeeded my practical, in the long run. I think that we have to nail a flag at the top father at the Arlington Street Church and the American Unitarian of the mast, something to shoot for, not something that is just going to Association. A very close family. I think that you will enjoy him. get done next week. K. Well, you certainly have a full life. K. Do you still follow the Journal? Do you read it? E. Well, at the moment I'm absolutely swamped with the details of my E. Oh yes, sure! There is too much on statistics for my taste. And it is wife's estate.6 very difficult for an outsider to understand the significance of it? K. I do appreciate your taking the time. I have enjoyed your company There is a Board of Review? very much. K. Oh yes. At least two other people in addition to the editor read the E. Well, It is a relief for me to think about something else. papers. E. I think that is the only real criticism that I have of it. The statistics. Author's note That kind of material isn't adequately interpreted in the articles to The author wishes to thank Marilyn Watterson and Vera Lee for their kind and make it really useful. able assistance in preparing the interview for publication. Thanks also, of course, K. I think that is fair enough. to the generosity of Charles W. Eliot, 2nd, for his timely thoughts and careful E. Of course I am delighted that finally we have got the various organiza- review of the finished product. tions united because I tried hard to have it happen long, long ago. In fact, when ASPO was first set up - working with Brownlow and the Notes people at Chicago, who were chiefly responsible - I protested then 1 Eliot's grandfather Charles W. Eliot was president of Harvard University from that they ought to be combined with the existing AIP. So I am 1869 to 1909. delighted that this has finally come about. 2 Eliot's uncle died in the prime of his career. His work is memorialized in a I do think that there ought to be a strictly professional kind of sub, biography mentioned later in this conversation, Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect, Boston, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1902, written by the father, Charles organization that has strictly professional aspects. W. Eliot. K. Yes, there will be the American Institute of Certified Planners as it is 3 Eliot is commenting on the masthead of the magazine which shows that Carl going to be called. Parker was its business manager and Bradford Williams was its advertising and E. On the other hand, I've vigorously opposed these bills for "registra; circulation manager. Eliot himself was the assistant editor. tion" of planners because to segregate out people who are called 4 On October 15, 1979, seven months after this conversation took place, Harvard's President Bok announced the appointment of a new dean of the "certified planners'' is a denial of the very purpose of planning. Graduate School of Design, and on December 5, 1979 recommended the The whole thrust of our profession should be to bring together the transfer of the City and Regional Planning Program from the School of Design to engineers, the landscape architects and the architects, the real the Kennedy School of Government. estate experts, and all kinds of other economic and social people. It 5 Roland Greeley was managing editor of the AIP Journal from 1944 to 1952 while isn't a kind of speciality in which competence can be judged by an serving on the planning faculty at MIT. He then served MIT as Director of Admissions until his retirement. exam. 6 Eliot's wife of fifty years, Regina, died in January, 1979, just two months before K. No, it is very difficult. this interview. 1/5/2016 Charles W. Eliot Il Papers I The Cambridge Historical Society TheCAMBRIDGEHISTORICALSOCIETY HOME EVENTS ONLINE RESOURCES PUBLICATIONS LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE HOOPER-LEE-NICHOLS HOUSE GET INVOLVED GIVE ABOUT US Charles W. Eliot II Papers Search Search this site: Search Extent: .83 linear ft. Processor: Daniel Becker Date: March 2014 Donate Acquisition: There are no formal acquisition records for this collection. It is assumed that it was donated to the Cambridge Historical Society by Charles W. Eliot II during his presidency, ca. 1976. We are funded 100% by individual donations and local corporate support. Please demonstrate your Access: There are no restrictions on this collection. commitment to Cambridge History and donate today! Permission to Publish: Requests for permission to publish from the collection should be made to the Executive Director. Donate Copyright: Records are in the public domain. VISA KANK Historical Sketch Charles William Eliot II was a city planner, landscape architect, government official, professor, and, in his retirement, president of the Cambridge Historical Society. Born in Cambridge in 1899 into a family with strong Harvard pedigree (his grandfather, Charles William Eliot I, served as the university's president for 40 years in the early twentieth century; his uncle, Charles Eliot, was a landscape Newsletter architect and the person for whom the professorship that Charles W. Eliot II would later occupy was named), his education followed the expected path of bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard. Our fall newsletter is on its Eliot began his professional career as a city planner in Washington, D.C., however, and then moved way to you! to the New Deal-era National Planning Board and National Resources Planning Board, both of which formed part of the Public Works Administration. He returned to Cambridge after World War II and Thank you to our generous sponsors: taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1955 to 1966. He lived in Cambridge until his death in 1993. Cambridge Savings Bank Partly due to his background as an urban and regional planner and partly due to his role as president of the Cambridge Historical Society, Eliot became involved in a half grassroots, half official group formed to prepare events and festivities for the Bicentennial of the American Revolution in the city of Hammond Residential Rest Cripte Cambridge. These informal efforts morphed into the Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation, which was established in 1974 to coordinate and oversee Bicentennial activities in 1975-1976. Eliot served as one of the directors of a 20-member board composed mainly of community leaders and headed by NINTH ART PRESSO Robert Moncreiff, a former city councilor, and Jane Reed, the administrative director. The Corporation worked in concert with several other local bicentennial organizations, particularly Check out our last newsletter Boston 200, its Boston counterpart and the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission, as well as local (The 110th Anniversary Issue) historical associations such as the Cambridge Historical Society, the Cambridge Historical Commission, and certain units and individuals of Harvard University. Contact Us! Among the various bicentenary events and celebrations organized by the corporation were the ceremony for the dedication of Dawes Island in Harvard Square on Patriot's Day (April 19, 1975), the The Cambridge Historical Society anniversary of George Washington's taking command of the Continental Army in the summer of Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 1975, and the Fourth-of-July parade in 1976. 159 Brattle Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 The corporation voted to dissolve and closed its offices in December 1976. 617-547-4252 Source: info@cambridgehistory.org Lambert, Bruce. "C. W. Eliot 2d, 93, An Early Advocate of Urban Planning." New York Times, March 19, 1993. Scope and Content Note Thank You Sponsors The collection consists primarily of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, and other notes concerning the planning of the local Bicentennial celebrations in Cambridge. The material was Our Spring Benefit Sponsors collected by Eliot as his own personal collection rather than as an official record of the corporation. It include: is therefore slightly tilted toward those among the corporation's activities that suited Eliot's interests more closely, such as background research on various historical events and aspects of city planning raised by the bicentenary celebrations and events in Cambridge. Of particular interest are the meeting minutes and correspondence with the bicentennial committees Hammond Residential Real Sweate in Boston and Massachusetts, which not only document the local activities in Cambridge but also shed light on the interplay of local, regional, and state planning efforts for the Bicentennial. In addition, select exchanges with such personalities as Archibald MacLeish and John Updike, as well as with significant local institutions such as Harvard University, are included. Folder titles were created by the processor. The collection is arranged alphabetically. For papers http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/charles-w-eliot-ii-papers 1/3 1/5/2016 Charles W. Eliot II Papers I The Cambridge Historical Society related to Eliot's professional work, see related collections. TRINITY PROPERTY Related Collections Cambridge Savings Bank MANAGEMENT, INC. Established 1460 Cambridge Historical Commission Maryellen V. Fitzgerald Cambridge Bicentennial Collection. R-LEAVITTA http://www2.cambridgema.gov/Historic/fa_fitzgerald_bicentennial.htm Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Archives MOUNT AUBURN HOSPITAL Revolutionary War Bicentennial Commission. Committee files, 1967-1978. http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/80301564 Revolutionary War Bicentennial Commission. Sound recordings and visual materials, 1961-1976. THE BULFINCH S+H COMPANIES. INC http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/84429628 construction SINCE 1936 QUALITY-ITECRITY-MALUE Harvard University - Frances Loeb Library Papers of Charles William Eliot II. http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/#/loeblibrary/collections/special-collections Harvard University - Harvard University Archives Harvard University. Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Records of the Harvard University Bicentennial Exposition on the American Revolution, 1974-1976 (inclusive). http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/76973561 Harvard University. Vice President for Government and Community Affairs. Records of the Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, 1971-1974 (inclusive). http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/76972607 Library of Congress - Research and Reference Services Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation (Cambridge, Mass.) records, 1974. http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/collection/data/70981238 Library of Congress Subject Headings American Revolution Bicentennial, 1976--Massachusetts--Cambridge Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation (Cambridge, Mass.) Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899-1993 Cambridge (Mass.)--History--Revolution, 1775-1783 Cambridge (Mass,)--History--20th century Container List Folder Title 1.01 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Communications with Boston 200 - Office of the Boston Bicentennial, 1973-1975. 1,02 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Communications with the Cambridge Historical Commission, 1974-1975. 1.03-1.04 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Communications with the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission, 1971-1975. 1,05 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Communications with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), 1973-1974. 1.07-1.09 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Correspondence, incl. Harvard University, Archibald MacLeish, John Updike, 1973-1976, n.d. 1.10 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Founding Documents, 1973-1975. See Folder os 2 for Proclamation of the Establishment of the Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation, April 15, 1974. 1.11-2.01 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Internal Correspondence, Memoranda, and Publications, 1974-1976. (3 folders) 2.01-M Cambridge Bicentennial sticker. 2.02 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Meeting Minutes, 1974. 2.03 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Meeting Minutes, 1975. 2.04 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Meeting Minutes, 1976. 2.05 Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation: Personnel Matters, 1973-1974. 2.06-2.07 Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission: Publications, 1973-1976. os 1 Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission: Publications, 1973-1976. 2.06 Photographs, 1975. 1.01 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. "Phila Troupers who rode from Philly to Camb. Behind. Red jackets with pants in which couldn't sit down." 1,02 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1,03 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1.04 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1.05 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1.06 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1.07 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. 1.08 CWE - Pageant, Cambridge Common, 1975. http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/charles-w-eliot-ii-papers 2/3 1/5/2016 Charies W. Eliot II Papers I I he Cambridge Historical Society 1.09 CWE - Parade, Cambridge Common/Garden Street, 1975. 1.19 CWE - Parade, Cambridge Common/Garden Street, 1975. 1.11 CWE - View of the Charles River from Memorial Drive/Magazine Beach, 1975. "Compliments of Councillor Daniel Clinton." 2.09-2.11 Research Material, Notes, and Writings Concerning Bicentennial Events, 1973-1975, n.d. See Folder os 2 for maps, flyers, clippings removed from folder 2.11. os 2 Items removed from folders 1.10 and 2.11. Separated Materials The following items were transferred to the Cambridge Historical Society Book Collection: The 1776 Guide for Massachusetts. New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1975. ISBN: 060904135 Boston: The Official Bicentennial Guidebook. Introduction by Cleveland Amory. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1975. ISBN: 0876901461 The following items were transferred to the Cambridge Historical Society Newsletter and Periodical Collection: Newsletters/Calendars of the "Cambridge Forum" organized by the United Ministry at Harvard and Radcliffe, 1975 (3). The following items were removed: The New England Spy: America's Bicentennial Newspaper, vol. 1, no. 5 (November, 1974). Several issues of Bicentennial Times, published by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (vol. 1, nos. 9-10; vol. 3, no. 1). Several issues of the newsletter of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission (Bicentennial Era/Bicentennial Newsletter), 1970-1973. http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/charles-w-eliot-ii-papers 3/3 12/5/2014 Papers of Charles William Eliot, 1933-1943 (bulk). - Harvard University HOLLIS- MENU BETA Guest My Research My Account / Renew Sign in Research Guides Feedback Help HOLLIS & Articles HOLLIS Articles Advanced Search Ellot , Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- New Search Search Browse HOLLIS by Limit to: All items exact phrase author Papers of Charles William Eliot, 1933-1943 (bulk). Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899-1993. Locations & Availability Details Send to Title: Papers of Charles William Eliot, 1933-1943 (bulk). Links Author: Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899-1993. View in HOLLIS Classic Summary: Consists of Eliot's papers pertaining to the National Resources View in WorldCat Planning Board, and predecessor agencies, the National Planning Board, the National Resources Board, and the National Resources Committee, Includes ten series; Minutes, 1933-1943; Circulars, 1933- 1943; Bulletins, 1934-1943; Status of Work Reports, 1936-1943; Orders, 1934-1943; News Releases, 1934-1943; Staff Memoranda, 1937-1939; Speeches, 1932-1936; Newspaper Clippings, 1934-1942; and Miscellaneous Material, 1932-1943. Notable correspondents are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, NRPB members Harold L. Ickes, Frederick A. Delano and Charles E. Merriam. Also includes 199 reports issued by the NRPB. Subject: Delano, Frederic A. -- (Frederic Adrian), - 1863-1953.; Eliot, Charles W. - (Charles William), -- 1899-1993.; Ickes, Harold L. -- (Harold LeClair), -- 1874-1952.; Merriam, Charles Edward, -- 1874-1953.; Roosevelt, Franklin D. - (Franklin Delano), - 1882-1945.; United States. - National Planning Board.; United States. - National Resources Board.; United States. - National Resources Committee.; United States. - National Resources Planning Board.; Regional planning -- United States.; United States -- Social policy.; United States -- Economic policy. Other subject: Occupation: City planners.; Occupation: Regional planners.; Description: 40 linear ft. Language: English Finding aids: Published guide available; Bain, J. Paul, Mitchell F. Ducey and Michael J. Matochik, editors. A Guide to the Microform Edition. Microfilming Corporation of America, 1982. Notes: Available on microfilm (18 reels, 35 mm.) and 470 microfiche at repository and from Microfilming Corporation of America. Cite as: Charles W. Eliot Papers. Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. History notes: Planner, landscape architect. Educated at Harvard University (A.B. 1920; M.L.A. 1923). Landscape architect, Boston, 1924-26; city planner for Arlington, Mass. and other towns; National Capital Park & Planning Commission, Washington D.C., 1926-30, director of planning, Washington and environs, 1930-33; exececutive officer National Planning Board, Public Works Administration 1933- 34, National Resources Board, 1934-35 and National Resources Committee, 1935-39; director National Resources Planning Board, 1939-43; director of Haynes Foundation, 1944-45; planning consultant in private practice since 1945; Charles Eliot professor of landscape architecture and regional planning, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, 1955-59; professor of city and regional planning, from 1959. Creation Date: 1933 HOLLIS Number: 000603294 Permalink: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/aleph/000603294/catalog Source: HVD ALEPH Back to results list Previous Result 12 Next http://beta.hollis.harvard.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=detailsTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=HVD_ALEPH000603294&indx=12&reclds=H... 1/2 12/5/2014 Charles W. Eliot Il Papers I The Cambridge Historical Society TheCAMBRIDGEHISTORICALSOCIETY 7803 HOME EVENTS ONLINE RESOURCES PUBLICATIONS LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE HOOPER-LEE-NICHOLS HOUSE GET INVOLVED GIVE ABOUT US Charles W. Eliot II Papers Search Search this site; Search Extent: .83 linear ft. Processor: Daniel Becker Date: March 2014 Find us on Facebook Acquisition: There are no formal acquisition records for this collection. It is assumed that it was donated to the Cambridge Historical Society by Charles W. Eliot II during his presidency, ca. 1976. Cambridge Historical Society Access: There are no restrictions on this collection. Like 1,797 Permission to Publish: Requests for permission to publish from the collection should be made to the Executive Director, Copyright: Records are in the public domain. Newsletter Historical Sketch Charles William Eliot II was a city planner, landscape architect, government official, professor, and, in Check out our latest newsletter sponsored by his retirement, president of the Cambridge Historical Society. Born in Cambridge in 1899 into a family Cambridge Savings Bank. with strong Harvard pedigree (his grandfather, Charles William Eliot I, served as the university's president for 40 years in the early twentieth century; his uncle, Charles Eliot, was a landscape The theme: Area 4/The Port neighborhood. architect and the person for whom the professorship that Charles W. Eliot II would later occupy was named), his education followed the expected path of bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard. Eliot began his professional career as a city planner in Washington, D.C., however, and then moved Cambridge to the New Deal-era National Planning Board and National Resources Planning Board, both of which Savings formed part of the Public Works Administration. He returned to Cambridge after World War II and Bank taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Design from 1955 to 1966. He lived in Cambridge until his death in 1993. Partly due to his background as an urban and regional planner and partly due to his role as president of the Cambridge Historical Society, Eliot became involved in a half grassroots, half official group formed to prepare events and festivities for the Bicentennial of the American Revolution in the city of Cambridge. These informal efforts morphed into the Cambridge Bicentennial Corporation, which was Cambridge, Massachusetts established in 1974 to coordinate and oversee Bicentennial activities in 1975-1976. Eliot served as one of the directors of a 20-member board composed mainly of community leaders and headed by The Cambridge Historical Society Robert Moncreiff, a former city councilor, and Jane Reed, the administrative director. Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street The Corporation worked in concert with several other local bicentennial organizations, particularly Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Boston 200, its Boston counterpart and the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission, as well as local historical associations such as the Cambridge Historical Society, the Cambridge Historical Commission, and certain units and individuals of Harvard University. Preserve Cambridge History Among the various bicentenary events and celebrations organized by the corporation were the ceremony for the dedication of Dawes Island in Harvard Square on Patriot's Day (April 19, 1975), the Public support allows us to maintain our museum, and anniversary of George Washington's taking command of the Continental Army in the summer of make our collections accessible. 1975, and the Fourth-of-July parade in 1976. Donate The corporation voted to dissolve and closed its offices in December 1976. Source: VISA BANK Lambert, Bruce. "C. W. Eliot 2d, 93, An Early Advocate of Urban Planning." New York Times, March 19, 1993. Scope and Content Note The collection consists primarily of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, and other notes concerning the planning of the local Bicentennial celebrations in Cambridge. The material was collected by Eliot as his own personal collection rather than as an official record of the corporation. It is therefore slightly tilted toward those among the corporation's activities that suited Eliot's interests more closely, such as background research on various historical events and aspects of city planning raised by the bicentenary celebrations and events in Cambridge. Of particular interest are the meeting minutes and correspondence with the bicentennial committees in Boston and Massachusetts, which not only document the local activities in Cambridge but also shed light on the interplay of local, regional, and state planning efforts for the Bicentennial. In addition, select exchanges with such personalities as Archibald MacLeish and John Updike, as well as with significant local institutions such as Harvard University, are included. Folder titles were created by the processor. The collection is arranged alphabetically. For papers http://www.cambridgehistory.org/content/charles-w-eliot-ii-papers 1/3 THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS OF SECURITY OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES 1957 WM. ROGER GREELEY, President LAURENCE B. FLETCHER, Vice President and Secretary 3ur AUGUSTUS P. LORING, Treasurer 34 1891 STANDING COMMITTEE 1yr SUPPORTED BY PRIVATE SUBSCRIPTION MAURICE M. OSBORNE, Boston, Chairman PRIVATELY ADMINISTERED CHARLES S. BIRD, Walpole A TRUST TO PRESERVE FOR PUBLIC ENJOYMENT RICHARD BORDEN, Concord BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC PLACES IN MASSACHUSETTS LAURENCE M. CHANNING, Brookline DAVID C. CROCKETT, Ipswich CHARLES W. ELIOT, Cambridge SIXTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT LAURENCE B. FLETCHER, Cohasset 2x0 - WM. ROGER GREELEY, Lexington yrs CONTENTS EA N) - AUGUSTUS P. LORING, Beverly PAGE CHARLES E. MASON, JR., Chestnut Hill 2 Officers and Committee FLETCHER STEELE, Boston 3 1 The Trustees JOHN M. WOOLSEY, JR., Cambridge 2 Sixty-sixth Annual Report of the Standing Committee 5 Luncheon Conference 10 ADVISORY COUNCIL Properties Held by THE TRUSTEES 16 Reservations Secured through THE TRUSTEES 18 JOHN S. AMES, North Easton Management of Reservations 19 EDWARD L. BIGELOW, Boston Cooperating Societies 35 THOMAS D. CABOT, Weston Founders 37 HENRY M. CHANNING, Sherborn Life Associates 46 WILLIAM ELLERY, Boston Subscriptions and Donations 50 LAWRENCE K. MILLER, Pittsfield Financial Statements 61 WILLIAM PHILLIPS, Beverly Act of Incorporation 64 WILLIAM P. WHARTON, Groton By-Laws 65 COMMITTEE ON INVESTMENTS Cover: WESTFIELD RIVER GORGE AT CHESTERFIELD, MASS. AUGUSTUS P. LORING (Chairman) ONE OF THE TRUSTEES' RESERVATIONS ALVA MORRISON DWIGHT P. ROBINSON, JR. Courtesy of the Chesterfield Board of Selectment HENRY A. WOOD, JR. OFFICE OF THE TRUSTEES Council Member, The National Trust LAURENCE B. FLETCHER, Secretary for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty ARTHUR T. LYMAN, Executive Director in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland NATHAN W. BATES, Assistant to the Director CHARLES S. BIRD 50 Beacon Street, Boston 8, Massachusetts CApitol 7-4490 1 HOLLIS FULL CATALOG - List of Records Page 1 of 3 P Your Account I Start Over Help Comments Full Catalog I Journals Reserves E-Resources HOLLIS CATALOG Previous Searches I Results List Display Options Harvard University Search I Expanded Search I Command Search Harvard Libraries RESULTS LIST: FULL CATALOG Results for Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899-; sorted by : Year, then Author Click "Confirm Selections" first! Select All I Deselect All Save/Mail Create Subset Add to List View List Last Browse Modify Search Previous Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- Authors, All Current Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- Next Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926 To change sort order, click underlined column heading. Records 1 - 20 of 165 Confirm Selections Jame tu # Next Page # Author Title Year Format 1 Shurcliff, Sidney An Interview with Sidney N. Shurcliff on Arthur A. Shurcliff : [in] 1992 BK Nichols, 1906- 1980 / 2 Eliot, Charles True story of the Mass. Bay Circuit Greenbelt / 1987 MX W. (Charles William), 1899- 3 Shurcliff, Sidney The Career of Arthur A. Shurcliff, FASLA-AIP videorecording : an 1980 VM Nichols, 1906- interview with Sidney N. 4 Shurcliff, Sidney The Career of Charles Eliot, 2nd, FASLA-AIP videorecording : an 1975 VM Nichols, 1906- interview with Charles Eli 5 Eliot, Charles Planning for Harvard, Massachusetts; comprehensive general 1970 BK W. (Charles development plan. William), 1899- 6 Eliot, Charles Tools and methods for the preservation of open spaces. 1968 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- 7 Eliot, Charles The face of three centuries. 1966 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- 8 Eliot, Charles Objective measurement, aesthetic values in 1966 BK W. (Charles roadsides; bibliographical notes. William), 1899- 9 Eliot, Charles Comprehensive planning for Middleton, "the master plan": part 1966 BK W. (Charles 4, subdivision regulations. William), 1899- /NFQ7Q5N96I2116JDTD1PQ6181A9LSXC2PRXXD9MSQ55NPIF8EL-55814?func=find-a2/11/2003 HOLLIS FULL CATALOG - List of Records Page 2 of 3 10 Eliot, Charles Planning for Wilmington; preliminary report. 1966 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- 11 Eliot, Charles Planning for Narragansett; preliminary report. 1966 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- 12 Eliot, Charles Planning for Middleton, Massachusetts; towards a preliminary 1965 BK W. (Charles general plan. William), 1899- 13 Eliot, Charles Comprehensive planning for Hamilton, "the master plan": part 1965 BK W. (Charles 4, subdivision regulations. William), 1899- 14 Eliot, Charles [Can the natural environment be saved?] 1965 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- 15 Eliot, Charles Comprehensive planning for Hamilton, "the master plan": part 1965 BK W. (Charles 5, planning for Hamilton;&nbs William), 1899- 16 Eliot, Charles Planning for Middleton, Massachusetts; "the master plan," 1965 BK W. (Charles comprehensive general development pla William), 1899- 17 Eliot, Charles Planning for Hamilton, Massachusetts; comprehensive general 1964 BK W. (Charles development plan, "the master plan. William), 1899- 18 Eliot, Charles Planning for Hamilton; towards a preliminary general plan, 1964 BK W. (Charles Hamilton, Massachusetts. William), 1899- 19 Eliot, Charles Planning for Hamilton, Massachusetts; comprehensive general 1964 BK W. (Charles development plan, "the master plan. William), 1899- 20 Eliot, Charles Boston: three centuries of planning. 1964 BK W. (Charles William), 1899- Confirm Selections * FORM Next Page Click "Confirm Selections" first! Select All I Deselect All Save/Mail Create Subset Add to List View List Last Browse Modify Search SEARCH: FULL CATALOG Browse an Alphabetical List: Browse for: Author (last name first) Browse Clear ../NFQ7Q5N96I2116JDTD1PQ6181A9LSXC2PRXXD9MSQ55NPIF8EL-55814?func=find-2/11/2003 FULL CATALOG - Full View of Record Page 1 of 1 Harvard University HOLLIS CATALOG Search Results List Expanded Search Previous Searches C TAS Command Search Display Options Full Catalog Find Articles Journal Titles Digital Resources R Full View of Record : FULL CATALOG Print/Save/Send Add to List View List Last Browse Back to Results List Choose format: Full view Short view | MARC Record 153 out of 166 Previous Record Next Record Author : Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- Title : The influence of the automobile on the design of park roads. Locations/Orders Availability Location : Loeb Design i , Analytic [To locate, search for the title of the journal in which it appears.] Holdings Availability Notes : Prepared as a paper at the Harvard School of Landscape Architecture. In : Landscape architecture, Oct. 1922; vol. 13:1, p. 27-37; with diagr. HOLLIS Number : 003805855 Previous Record Next Record SEARCH: FULL CATALOG Search type: Search for: Keywords anywhere Title beginning with Title keywords Author (last name first) Search Clear Author keywords / Scroll down for more choices New: Download LibX search tool About the HOLLIS Catalog E-RESEARCH (ARTICLES) CITATION LINKER RESEARCH GUIDES OTHER CATALOGS LIBRARY INFO HARVARD LIBRARIES HA Copyright C 2006 President and Fellows of Harvard College http://lms01.harvard.edu/F/ERFII887TJGEY7F63XXAH6IXI3LMR49V352VXJCQI3QK.. 5/23/2007 HOLLIS FULL CATALOG - Full View of Record Page 1 of 2 H Your Account Start Over Help Comments Full Catalog I Journals Reserves E-Resources House CATALOG Previous Searches I Results List I Display Options Harvard University Search Expanded Search I Command Search Harvard Libraries Full View of Record : FULL CATALOG Save/Mail Add to List I View List Last Browse Choose format: Full view I Short view MARC Record 2 out of 4 Previous Record Next Record Author : Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- Title : Papers of Charles William Eliot, 1933-1943 (bulk). Locations/Orders Availability Location : Loeb Design 0 Holdings Availability Description : 40 linear ft. History notes : Planner, landscape architect. Educated at Harvard University (A.B. 1920; M.L.A. 1923). Landscape architect, Boston, 1924-26; city planner for Arlington, Mass. and other towns; National Capital Park & Planning Commission, Washington D.C., 1926-30, director of planning, Washington and environs, 1930-33; exececutive officer National Planning Board, Public Works Administration 1933-34, National Resources Board, 1934-35 and National Resources Committee, 1935-39; director National Resources Planning Board, 1939-43; director of Haynes Foundation, 1944-45; planning consultant in private practice since 1945; Charles Eliot professor of landscape architecture and regional planning, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, 1955-59; professor of city and regional planning, from 1959. Summary : Consists of Eliot's papers pertaining to the National Resources Planning Board, and predecessor agencies, the National Planning Board, the National Resources Board, and the National Resources Committee. Includes ten series: Minutes, 1933-1943; Circulars, 1933-1943; Bulletins, 1934-1943; Status of Work Reports, 1936-1943; Orders, 1934- 1943; News Releases, 1934-1943; Staff Memoranda, 1937-1939; Speeches, 1932-1936; Newspaper Clippings, 1934-1942; and Miscellaneous Material, 1932-1943. Notable correspondents are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, NRPB members Harold L. Ickes, Frederick A. Delano and Charles E. Merriam. Also includes 199 reports issued by the NRPB. Restrictions : Written application to Librarian required. No access to unprocessed materials. Notes : Available on microfilm (18 reels, 35 mm.) and 470 microfiche at repository and from Microfilming Corporation of America. Provenance : Gift of Charles W. Eliot. Cite as : Charles W. Eliot Papers. Frances Loeb Library, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. ...LS191E8QQARI9NVYFYYAKPR5F1D8GLBTFPK57SD1DVIJNFEATF-14966?func=ful1/26/2003 HOLLIS FULL CATALOG - Full View of Record Page 2 of 2 Indexes : Published guide available; Bain, J. Paul, Mitchell F. Ducey and Michael J. Matochik, editors. A Guide to the Microform Edition. Microfilming Corporation of America, 1982. Subject : Delano, Frederic A. (Frederic Adrian), 1863-1953. Eliot, Charles W. (Charles William), 1899- Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952. Merriam, Charles Edward, 1874-1953. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945. Subject : United States. National Planning Board. United States. National Resources Board. United States. National Resources Committee. United States. National Resources Planning Board. Subject : Regional planning -- United States. Subject : United States -- Social policy. United States -- Economic policy. Occupation : City planners. Regional planners. HOLLIS Number : 000603294 Previous Record Next Record SEARCH: FULL CATALOG Browse an Alphabetical List: Browse for: Author (last name first) Browse Clear Keywords from: Search for: Keywords anywhere Search Clear Copyright © 2002 President and Fellows of Harvard College /LS191E8QQARI9NVYFYYAKPR5F1D8GLBTFPK57SD1DVIJNFEATF-14966?func=ful1/26/200 HGSD MAX-JUNE, 198 Charles W. Eliot II, former professor of landscape ar- chitecture and city and regional planning Frances Loeb Library ning for the National Capital Park and Plan- Receives Gift from Former ning Commission, proposed to Secretary Ickes the establishment of a national plan- Professor Charles W. Eliot II ning organization. Charles W. Eliot II (AB '20, MLA '23), Included among the activities of the agen- former professor of landscape architecture cies were planning and programming public and city and regional planning at the GSD, works, coordinating federal planning activi- recently donated to the Frances Loeb ties, stimulating city, state, and regional Library reports, correspondence, informal planning, defense and post-war planning, minutes, and other documentation of the and research. The last resulted in the print- National Resources Planning Board (NRPB) ing of more than 350 reports on topics such and its predecessor agencies during their as transportation, industry, and housing. ten-year existence from 1933-43. Eliot served as an executive officer with these In thanking Eliot for his gift to the GSD, agencies as well as director of the NRPB, Dean Gerald M. McCue said. "No mere the only comprehensive, national planning listing or enumeration conveys the impor- organization ever established in the U.S. tance of this unique record of planning ac- tivities during Roosevelt's administration. The donation, in the form of original papers The value of this collection to future and microfilm, includes correspondence be- generations of scholars is inestimable." tween President Franklin D. Roosevelt and such distinguished members of the agen- The papers and microfilm donated by Eliot cies as Eliot; Harold Ickes, Secretary of the constitute one of three original sets of Interior under Roosevelt; Frederic Delano, records in existence. The others are a leading public servant, planner, and uncle housed at the National Archives in of Roosevelt; and Charles Merriam, pro- Washington, DC, and at the Roosevelt fessor of political science at the University Memorial Library in Hyde Park, New York. of Chicago. Among the authors of the NRPB reports are such notables as John Eliot, who has received numerous awards Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman, and and citations throughout his distinguished Malcolm Toon. career, was honored with the American Society of Landscape Architects' Medal at The creation of these planning agencies the Society's annual meeting held last year came about as a direct result of the greatly in Honolulu. This first gift to the Loeb expanded public works program instituted Library is part of a larger donation planned by Roosevelt at the outset of his administra- by Eliot that will include records of his pro- tion. Foreseeing the need to coordinate fessional activities and some of his per- these projects, Eliot, then director of plan- sonal papers and library. SPECIAL PLACES A Newsletter of The Trustees of Reservations Spring 1993 Charles W. Eliot 2nd On my visits to his book-filled home in Cam- bridge, I often felt as nervous and ill-prepared as a graduate student facing a tough thesis advisor. If I and his continuing legacy dwelt too long on our latest successes in membership growth, new reservations, or public policy, Professor Wesley Ward, Director, Land Conservation Center Eliot would turn the discussion firmly back to the more difficult subject, the need to make greater The interwoven lives of three Charles Eliots have progress in securing "inholdings," the unprotected spanned the entire 102-year history of The Trustees parcels adjacent to our properties. of Reservations. All three were practical idealists, From a precarious stack of file folders perched on builders of institutions, critics of mediocrity and the end table near his favorite chair, he would heedless development, and staunch defenders of the extricate a thick sheaf of color-coded maps of our natural and historic landscape. They have left an properties and their adjoining parcels. I always inspired legacy that has contributed greatly to The wondered how he could expect me to know the Trustees' unique style, record of success, and status of every nearby parcel standing in the way of promise for the future. complete protection of "whole natural units." That The Charles Eliot who founded The Trustees of was his term for the extent of landscape we should Reservations was one of the most highly regarded of be working to protect at each of our properties, the architects who followed directly after Frederick regardless of the human, institutional, or Law Olmsted. He established The Trustees in 1891 financial barriers we faced. Unwilling sellers? and Boston's Metropolitan Park System, the nation's No problem. "Have the Local Committee visit them," first regional open space network, in 1893. Charles he'd advise. "Without staff members!" Disconcert- Eliot died suddenly four years later at the age of 37. ingly, he could recite from memory the entire history The second Eliot in our history was our founder's of The Trustees' contacts with important neighbors, father, Charles W. Eliot, 1834 - 1926, the great Har- going back some 50 years. vard president who led the governing body of The Continued on page 3 Trustees of Reservations for several years following his son's untimely death. Our third Eliot was Charles W. Eliot II, grandson of his namesake and nephew of our founder. Born three years after his uncle's death, he was strongly encouraged by his grandfather to become a land- scape architect. A graduate of Harvard's Graduate School of Design, he became a nationally respected regional and community planner and a staunch advocate for open space protection. He was the first paid employee of The Trustees, a dedicated volun- teer, long-time board member, and the conscience of the land preservation movement in Massachusetts. He died in Cambridge on March 16, 1993 at the age of 93. Most people knew him as Professor Eliot; for 13 years he occupied the Harvard chair of landscape Charles W. Eliot II and an early working version of his proposed architecture named for his uncle. The title suited him. Bay Circuit greenway. Special Places Page 3 Continued from cover reliance upon grassroots volunteers to make conservation happen and to care The Bay Circuit for protected lands The Bay Circuit greenway is a good example of emphasis on the use of conservation Professor Eliot's 60-year commitment to making his restrictions, which control development vision of landscape protection a reality. First sug- but leave land in private hands gested in 1929 by a committee of The Trustees, the staunch defense and ecologically sensitive Bay Circuit was meant to be a 100-mile band of management of the lands in our trust protected but accessible green space about 20 miles encouraging people from all walks of life from downtown Boston. to enjoy our rich heritage of natural beauty Eliot promoted the Bay Circuit in 1929 and 1930, and ecological and historic significance but the Depression and World War II blocked further In 1937, The Trustees appealed to the legislature in progress. After 25 years in Washington, DC and these words: "We have devastated the forest, California, Eliot came home to Harvard and again metropolitanized the village and motor-slummed the took up the Bay Circuit quest. He wrote legislation wayside." The Trustees of Reservations and the Bay and deftly secured its adoption in 1955. Unfortu- Circuit are living memorials to the long line of men nately, no acquisition funds were voted and the and women who, like the three Charles Eliots, were victory seemed hollow. Twenty-eight years later, at determined not to accept those trends. the age of 83, Eliot saw the Bay Circuit funded for the In honor of this legacy, we have established the first time with a surprising allocation of $3.5 million Charles W. Eliot 2nd Land Conservation Fund, in the open space bond act of 1983. primarily to support The Trustees' work in protecting "whole natural units." A fund of $100,000 would Eliot's vision is enable The Trustees to hire one or two qualified turning out to be interns annually to focus on the "inholdings" and more realistic than critical lands important to our properties. We anyone but he could have imagined - The Eliot Fund, The Trustees of Reservations, 572 although it must be Essex Street, Beverly, MA 01915-1530. said that he was not comfortable with some of the changes in the concept as it Legacy for Tomorrow evolved. The Bay Circuit Alliance, of Since its founding in 1891, The Trustees of which The Trustees Reservations has benefited from the farsighted- are an active spon- ness of its supporters who have provided for sor, is working to The Trustees in their estate plans. complete a 200-mile The Bay Circuit today: designated trail from The first bequest came in 1902 and set an a vision becoming reality Newbury through example that has been followed by many. Concord and on to These gifts have played a critical role in sup- Duxbury, threading together thousands of acres of porting the efforts of The Trustees to preserve protected open space, including several of our finest special places of scenic, historic and ecological properties. significance. That objective-much too limited in Eliot's view- In addition to bequests, there are many is well underway; in the process, the trail is drawing planned giving opportunities that can provide hundreds of volunteers and perambulators into the donor with current tax benefits, enhance conservation work. The strategy is to use the good retirement income, or provide for children's and will and energy generated to build public support for grandchildren's futures while also providing permanent open space protection within the Bay support for The Trustees Circuit, using the conservation tools with which The Trustees and cooperating organizations are expert. Jf you would like confidential information or Like the Bay Circuit effort, The Trustees' way of assistance regarding planned giving, contact: doing business in general has been forged to a great Ann F. Powell extent by Professor Eliot's approach to conservation: Deputy Director for Development close cooperation among a wide range of The Trustees of Reservations public agencies and private organizations 572 Essex Street calling upon the good will, generosity and Beverly, MA 01915-1530 commitment of landowners, whenever possible 508 921-1944 Obituaries Charles W. Eliot 2d, 93; planner who led design school at Harvard By Edgar J. Driscoll Jr. SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE Charles W. Eliot II of Cam- bridge, nationally known regional planner, landscape architect and re- (DUP) tired head of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. died Tuesday in his Cambridge home. He was 93. The grandson and namesake of Harvard's president from 1869 to 1909. Mr. Eliot played a major roie aimling. in-town. city. state, regional and na- tional planning during a distin- guished career spanning more than half a century. Born in Cambridge. which nis an- cestors helped found. Mr. Eliot at- tended Browne and Nichols School and saw service in World War I in UNDATED FILE PHOTO the American Red Cross Ambulance CHARLES W. ELIOT 2d Service in Italy and in the US Army Field Artillery. He graduated from When the Resources Planning Harvard College in 1920 and, three Board was dissolved in 1943, he went years later, received a master's de- to California as director of the gree from the Harvard School of Haynes Foundation, which was in- Landscape Architecture. volved in planning for the Los Ange- After a year of additional study les region while maintaining a pri- in Europe, he hung out his shingle in vate practice. Boston and drafted plans for Arling- In the early 1950s, Mr. Eliot re- Ctan, Bedford, Duxbury, and Yar- turned to Harvard where, in 1954, he mouth in Massachusetts before leav- was made Charles Eliot Professor of ing for Washington, where he served Landscape Architecture and Region- as planner and director of the Na- al Planning and head of the Gradu- tional Planning Commission, which ate School of Design. The chair is was charged with the expansion and named for his uncle, another land- development of the capital. scape artist who was chiefly respon- From 1933 to 1943, Mr. Eliot was sible for the Bay Circuit, a green executive officer and director of the belt for the Metropolitan Boston National Resources Planning Board park system. in the Executive Office of the Presi- Mr. Eliot served on the board of dent. As such he set. up state plan- numerous organizations. including .ning agencies throughout the coun- the National Parks Association, the try and played a major role in state, National Symphony Orchestra, the regional and national plans for con- American Society of Planning Offi- servation and development of nation- cials, the Harvard Alumni Associ- al resources. ation and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. He leaves three sons, Charles W. 3d of Rockland, Ill., John of Silver Spring. Md., and Lawrence G. of Ipswich: a daughter, Carolyn E. Hitchcock of Fort Washington, Pa.; a sister, Frances E. Fremont-Smith of Cambridge: a brother, Theodore L. of Belvedere, Calif.; 15 grandchil- dren and seven great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a later date. THE BOSTON HERALD, FRIDAY, MARCH 19, 1993 59 OBITUARIES Charles W. Eliot II, 93, regional planner Charles William Eliot II of vard's Graduate School of Cambridge, nationally known Design. The chair was regional planner and land- named for an uncle, who was scape architect and retired a landscape artist. head of the Harvard Gradu- He was a 1964 fellow of the ate School of Design, died American Academy of Arts Tuesday at home. He was 93. and Sciences and a 1932 fel- Born in Cambridge, Mr. low of the Boston Society of Eliot graduated from the Landscape Architects. He Browne and Nichols School in was a past president of the 1916. In 1920, he graduated Boston Society of Landscape from Harvard College. He re- Architects, Bunker Hill Mon- ceived a master's degree from ument Association and the the Harvard School of Land- Cambridge Historical So- scape Architecture in 1923. ciety. He was a member of Mr. Eliot was named for the American Institute of his grandfather, the presi- Planners, the Trustees of Re- dent of Harvard University servations, the Cambridge from 1869 to 1909. Historical Commission, the He drafted plans for Ar- Metropolitan Area Planning lington, Bedford, Duxbury Council, the Association for and Yarmouth in Massachu- Olmsted Parks and the setts and then served as plan- Friends of Acadia National ner and director of the Na- Park. tional Planning Commission During World War I, Mr. in Washington. Eliot served with the Ameri- From 1933 to 1943, he was can Red Cross Ambulance executive officer and direct- Service in Italy and with the or of the National Resources Army Field Artillery. Planning Board. He estab- He is survived by three lished state planning agen- sons, Charles W. III of Rock- cies throughout the country land, Ill., John of Silver and was involved in state, re- Springs, Md., and Lawrence gional and national plans for G. of Ipswich; a daughter, conservation and resource Carolyn E. Hitchcock of Fort development. Washington, Pa.; a sister, He later served as director Frances E. Fremont-Smith; a of the Haynes Foundation, brother, Theodore L; 15 which was involved in plan- grandchildren; and seven ning for the Los Angeles re- great-grandchildren. gion. A memorial service will be In 1954, he became Charles held at a later date. Eliot Professor of Landscape Arrangements are by J.S. Architecture and Regional Waterman & Sons Funeral Planning and head of Har- Home, Boston. and the sailors and their officers apparently resist- enough of a politician to overlook such grousing, name belongs on it.) ed no impulse to remind him that it was his first- although Gortney may never make admiral. There will always 1 ever encounter. who see his name as a The next few years may well be difficult ones Clinton did his best, even "rolling out a snappy of sorts. Why don't W for the military. There should be - and will be - salute and talking like a sailor," according to The the example of the R cutbacks in the defense budget, there may be more who are busy destroyir New York Times. But according to The Washing- participation in UN operations, some under non- monuments to past ton Post, there was "an undercurrent of mockery." US commanders, and there will be the issue of ho- and renaming others? There were "Hillary jokes and Chelsea jokes," and mosexuals in the armed forces. But senior com- RICHARD E. CROC there was one about a protester who threw a beer manders should realize that crude jokes and disre- at the president - "Not to worry. It was a draft spect are not a substitute for reasonable debate. beer. Clinton dodged it." A coin calamity The UN's threefold mission A recent story called the fact that more than 10 Ten years ago, a UN secretary general would pect of a great expansion of human freedom. of the House cosponsore bring back a $1 coin, a me never have delivered the speech that Boutros Bou- "Today, UN operations may take place where apparently is supported tros-Ghali gave last week. But the world has there is no peace to keep," he said. "New forms of groups. changed, and the United Nations is no longer con- action may be required." With the end of the Cold signed to the margins of international affairs. War, UN intervention has become a necessity in- The story went on to S Boutros-Ghali, in Boston to receive an award stead of a rarely utilized luxury. accepted, paper dollars m from the World Affairs Council, stressed the link- Without development, peace will be in jeopar- en out of circulation as t ages between peace-keeping, economic develop- dy, he said. "The young will be restless and resent- introduced, analysts say. ment and democracy - an unmentionable combina- ful. Land will not be productive. People will fight the coin calamity of 1979 tion when the secretary general had to juggle the for resources." He acknowledged that even as the the country soundly reject sided Susan B. Anthony do interests of nations estranged by ideology. Soviet model failed, capitalism has had only imper- be repeated." fect success. The award was named for Christian Herter, "Democracy is essential if development is to I don't know who thes secretary of state in 1959-60. In Herter's time, succeed over the long term," he said. And nations are, but I'll bet anyone 10 newly independent nations were just as likely to are increasingly relying on the United Nations to that the reason the count: copy the communist political model as the demo- manage their transitions from tyranny. rejected the dollar coin cratic ideal. Boutros-Ghali's three catchwords present an was because it was too el In 1993 Boutros-Ghali is free to say that enormous challenge for the United Nations, but to a quarter. Who needed what a refreshing change from past paralysis. The aggravation. of having to 'peace-keeping, development and democracy are your coins as you appro being redefined and extended in the post-Cold United Nations and its secretary general are at tollbooth or T turnstile? War world." Even as the collapse of the Soviet bloc the center of an uncertain world filled with enor- unleashes violent nationalism, it offers the pros- mous promise. Wake up Washington scientistry this is not. LARRY BE Charles W. Eliot 2d He was the most persistent of planners, whose of the Bay Circuit, Eliot's has been a consistent Readers of all a advocacy of a green belt around Boston, proposed voice for its completion. 64 years ago, is bearing fruit today. Charles W. In the '30s as head of Franklin Roosevelt's enjoy Brett's bc Eliot, New Deal official, Harvard professor and planning office, he had the thankless task of per- The Globe's account lifelong preservationist, was a proponent of sensi- suading states to devise ways to channel economic Brett, author and illustr ble planning as the antidote for mindless growth. growth that seemed to have vanished. Back home children's books, leav Eliot came by his talents partly by inheritance. in 1955 to a professorship at Harvard, he im- impression that her V His uncle was the driving force behind the creation mersed himself in the affairs of Massachusetts. In only for children (Ma: Living/Arts). But her of the Metropolitan District Commission, with its the early '60s he was a member of a commission can be read on many cluster of parks in the city and the near suburbs. that again called for the creation of the Bay Circuit and are cherished by I In the 1920s, Eliot began to extend that idea even as the spread of suburbia made its completion of all ages. farther out. Perhaps his membership in the Trust- difficult. As long as there a: ees of Reservations, which preserves land all over In retirement since the 1970s, he continued his dren and adults who lo the state, or his work as planner for distant Dux- vigorous advocacy of planning and preservation. A dren, Jan Brett's wo bury convinced him that the rural domain of cows, few months ago, as the Bay Circuit began to take works will be read and horses and sheep would soon require saving from shape at last, he urged organizers to "hurry up and Her storytelling and he the depredations of man. get it completed, because I am 92 years old." trations are timeless r Credit for the concept of a "Bay Circuit" - a When Eliot died last week at 93, Wesley Ward pieces. belt of parkland stretching from Plum Island to of the Trustees of Reservations called him the DAVID REE Duxbury Beach - is shared with Henry Channing, "conscience of the open-space preservation move- another member of the Trustees of Reservations. ment of Massachusetts." Completion of the Bay Ever since a state commission proposed creation Circuit would be a splendid tribute to his memory. 6/11/2015 XFINITY Connect XFINITY Connect eppster2@comcast.net + Font Size Eliot Family documents From Ronald Epp Thu, Jun 11, 2015 10:18 AM Subject : Eliot Family documents To Tim Garrity Cc : Maureen Fournier HI Tim, What I am trying to determine from the Eliot Family documents is the existence of correspondence, drafts, or reports from Charles W. Eliot, Samuel Eliot, or C.W.E. II concerning: 1. a new edition of Street's history of MDI; 2. Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations; 3. Charles Eliot on early explorers of the New England coast, but only if there is mention of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts; and 4. Charles W. Eliot II on matters relating to his recollections of the N.E. Harbor home of his grandfather but more importantly his writings about the park boundary disputes that would occupy his attention from 1950-1987. Note: regarding item 4, I do not need correspondence and interviews with architect Arthur Shurcliff, "The Boundaries of ANP: August 1950", subsequent boundary documents from 1976 and 1985. Non Champlain Society documentation. Tim, on boundary matters I assume you are aware that CWE II documents on this issue are not only at Harvard but in the archives of Woodlawn, ANP, and the N.E. Harbor Library. I'm developing these for an article I hope to have ready for the next issue of Chebacco. I'm also working with Josh Torrance on a second edition of S.A. Eliot's 1939 "Historical Sketch of the HCTPR" as part of the centennial celebrations. I've re-read a 1969 letter from CWE II to Robert E. Garrity, Secretary of the HCTPR. A relative? Maureen has read and edited the entire Dorr manuscript--and so I have every confidence in her skills in isolating documents relative to my needs. When the copying is completed, please invoice me for the expense. Given publication schedules, there is urgency to determining whether the MDIHS collections are useful to my purposes. I hope to be on MDI in early August. All the Best, Ronald From: "Tim Garrity" To: "Ronald Epp" Cc: "Maureen Fournier" Sent: Tuesday, June 9, 2015 3:11:26 PM Subject: Charles W. Eliot Correspondence? Hi Ron -- Maureen Fournier tells me that you'd like to see materials from our collection that pertain to the Eliot family -- she specifically pointed to box 63 in our collection that include diverse correspondence that mostly dates from the 1920s. If you tell me what you're looking for, I'll do what I can to make it available to you. Will you be coming up to Maine soon? Tim Tim Garrity Executive Director Mount Desert Island Historical Society PO Box 653 https://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=297682&tz=America/New_York&xim=1 1/2 11/16/2017 XFINITY Connect Re: Ronald Epp Alison Bassett 9:31 AM To Ronald Epp I was beginning to worry about you! I wish I had known you were speaking as would have loved to have heard your talk. We love Charles II as he was so meticulous and thorough. Please come and visit us. We will be here. Take care. alison From: Ronald Epp Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2017 9:17 AM To: Alison Bassett Subject: Ronald Epp Dear Alison, I hope you are faring well as the urgency of the holidays approach.l am recently back from Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum where I gave a talk on George Dorr's birth[place, Jamaica Plain. There I reported on the results of my recent research, far more thorough about his first ten years of life there than I had for been for my biography--including interactions with the Eliots. I will leave Friday for three weeks in CT and I hope to find the opportunity to visit The Trustees archives and present you, finally, with a copy of my book. In recent weeks I've been scrutinizing your growing list of finding aids, a real boon for folks like me. One of my current interests are The Trustees Charles W. Eliot II Papers, which you will recall is where I located the Charles Eliot Scrapbook. I was surprised to find no mention in the Guide's biographical notes of Eliot's work with the National Park Service and especially his seventy years of intense advocacy of positions related to Acadia National Park, where he clearly saw himself as defending his grandfather's position on the park boundary issue. But it may be that the documents in your hands do not concern matters outside Massachusetts. I can't recall. I would like to take a look and see. Would a late morning visit on November 29th work for you? Hopeful that we might meet before 2017 is gone. Best, Ron Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. 532 Sassafras Dr. Lebanon, PA 17042 717-272-0801 11-10-2017 THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONS ARCHIVES & RESEARCH CENTER Guide to Charles W. Eliot II Papers (1891-1993) TTOR.4.Coll.1 by Leslie Thayer Piper December 2015 Last updated: June 2016 Archives & Research Center 27 Everett Street, Sharon, MA 02067 www.thetrustees.org arc@thetrustees.org 781-784-8200 The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org Extent: 23 boxes Other storage formats: 1 Oversize Flat Box Linear feet: 11.25 Copyright © 2016 The Trustees of Reservations ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION PROVENANCE Gift of Charles William Eliot II OWNERSHP AND LITERARY RIGHTS The Charles W. Eliot II Papers are the physical property of The Trustees of Reservations. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. CITE AS Charles W. Eliot II Papers. The Trustees of Reservations, Archives and Research Center. RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS The majority of the collection is open for research. Preservation photocopies for reference use occasionally have been substituted in the main files. For any restrictions please see the Head Archivist. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Charles William Eliot II (1899-1993) was born on 5 November 1899, the nephew of The Trustees' founder, Charles Eliot, and grandson of Charles William Eliot, the President of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909 and The Trustees' President from 1905 to 1926, for whom he was named. His father, Samuel Atkins Eliot (1862-1950) was a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Divinity School, and served as the President of the American Unitarian Association for 29 years. After serving parishes in Denver CO, and Brooklyn NY, Samuel Eliot became the Senior Minister at the Arlington Unitarian Church, the largest Unitarian Church in Boston. in addition to his clerical responsibilities, Samuel Eliot wrote and edited several books on Boston and the history of Unitarianism. He married Frances Stone Hopkinson (1871-1920) in 1889. Charles W. Eliot II was the third of their six children, who included Rosamond Eliot (Rice), Elizabeth Eliot (McGiffert), Frances H. Eliot, Theodore Lyman Eliot, and Thomas Hopkinson Eliot. The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 2 The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org Born and raised in Cambridge, Charles W. Eliot II attended the Buckingham School from 1905- 1910, the Misses Smith School from 1910-1912, and graduated from the Browne and Nichols School in 1916. Following his graduation, Eliot II served in Italy for a brief period with the US Army Field Artillery and the American Red Cross Ambulance Service during World War I. He matriculated at Harvard University in 1916, and was a member of the Glee Club, the College Choir, the Hasty Pudding Club, the Speakers Club, the Liberal Club, the Hoover League, and the DKE fraternity. He was awarded the Bennett Prize, the Boylston Prize and the Baldwin Prize, graduating from Harvard with an A.B. in 1920. During the summer of 1922, he worked in the office of the Olmsted Brothers in Brookline, MA. He earned a master's degree in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from Harvard's Graduate School of Landscape Architecture in 1923, having been strongly encouraged (even mandated) by his grandfather to do so. From 1923-1924, Eliot II spent a year in Europe as the Harvard Sheldon Travelling Fellow in Planning, studying garden design in Italy, France and England, historic preservation in Holland and Belgium, and street design in Germany. Eliot II's first employer after obtaining his master's degree in 1923 was The Trustees of (Public) Reservations - the organization founded by his uncle in 1891. By 1924, The Trustees had acquired eight properties and over 740 acres of land, and the Standing Committee had begun to feel the pressure of an increasing number of visitors to the properties due to the greater interest in and ease of travel by automobile. Communication among Local Committee members across the state was becoming unwieldy. The Standing Committee therefore decided that the administration of the properties would be well served by appointing a Field Secretary to oversee expenditures, visit the properties, and confer and coordinate with the local committees. Eliot Ii, newly graduated with his degree in Landscape Architecture, and possessing a family legacy of visionary planning and passionate stewardship of open land, was the obvious choice. He became the first paid employee of The Trustees. serving from 1924 1926 in the part-time position of Field Secretary. Beginning his private practice in 1924 as a regional planner in Massachusetts, Charles Eliot II created plans for a number of metropolitan Boston towns including Arlington, Bedford, Duxbury and Yarmouth, as well as a number of private estates, gardens and house lots. He became Director of the National Planning Commission in Washington D.C. in 1926, while continuing his private practice as a landscape architect and consultant. He served from 1933 - 1943 as Executive Officer and Director of the National Resources Planning Board in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. His career as a planner also took him to California to serve as Director of the Haynes Foundation from 1944-45, working in the Los Angeles region on research and education projects including a radio project on CBS entitled "Destination Tomorrow" with newscaster Chet Huntley. He continued working in private practice as a The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 3 The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org planning consultant from 1946 - 1954 from Pasadena, California on sites in Arizona, Washington State and California. In 1955, Eliot II was named Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning at Harvard, a position he held until 1959, when he became Professor of City and Regional Planning. He held that post until his retirement in 1967; he later came out of retirement to accept an appointment as head of Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Throughout his Harvard teaching career, Eliot II continued his private practice as a landscape architect and planning consultant, creating town plans for Dover, Lincoln, Boxford, Concord, Hamilton, Middleboro, Harvard, and Wilmington (MA). Eliot II also played a significant role in supporting and advocating for open space in the metro- Boston region through a myriad of public service activities. Chief among these was his advocacy in the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Beginning with the inaugural meeting in 1964 and spanning almost 30 years, Eliot II's support of this organization provided guidance and inspiration that would have an enduring impact on regional planning. Eliot II understood that change and growth in metropolitan areas was inevitable, and he was determined to ensure that open, wild spaces be available to city residents, creating vital loases of peace and tranquility, and promoting the health and well-being of Massachusetts residents and visitors. His many other public service activities included his participation with the Back Bay Historic District Study Commission, the Massachusetts Conservation Council, the Cambridge Historical Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on the Bay Circuit Greenbelt. Eliot II's professional affiliations included The American Institute of Planners, the Association for Olmsted Parks, and the Friends of Acadia National Park, as well as the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, the Bunker Hill Monument Association, and the Cambridge Historical Society, where he once served as president. He was also a fellow of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and in 1964 was became a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was intensely committed to encouraging cooperation among organizations and municipalities in support of preserving beautiful and historic places for the common good. Eliot's lifelong and dynamic association with The Trustees is well documented in The Trustees' archives. He served as Secretary of the Standing Committee from 1925-26, and was a member of both the Standing Committee and the Advisory Council for many years. His passion for his committee work and for the mission of The Trustees is exemplified in the voluminous pages of questions, clarifications, corrections and criticisms he often submitted to The Trustees secretary in follow-up communications after every monthly meeting. His pages of notes often conclude with spirited injunctions such as make this happen! Time is of the essence!" As former The Trustees Director Gordon Abbott Jr. states in his book, Saving Special Places, " Eliot's remarks were not only often useful, but were made with a genuine concern for the welfare of the organization as a whole." The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 4 The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org Charles W. Eliot Il persistently advocated for the completion of the Bay Circuit Trail, a project that had been proposed by the Secretary of The Trustees, Henry M. Channing in 1929, but which had languished since that time due to the larger concerns of the Depression and World War II, and then later, due to lack of funds after legislation to accept the proposed plan had been ratified. Eight decades after its conception, the Bay Circuit Trail became the Bay Circuit Alliance, when the Appalachian Mountain Club joined the Trustees in support of this unique greenway. Shortly before his death, Charles Eliot wrote, " hurry up and get it completed, because I am 92 years old." Today, the Trail runs through 37 towns and continues to grow. Charles W. Eliot II married Regina Phelps Dodge in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1928. Together they had four children: Charles W. Eliot III, Carolyn Eliot Hitchcock, John Eliot and Lawrence G. Eliot. At the time of his death, Eliot II had fifteen grandchildren and 7 great- grandchildren. Charles W. Eliot II died in Cambridge, MA on 16 March 1993. The Trustees of Reservations established the Charles W. Eliot II Land Conservation Fund in his name, the mission of which is to support the efforts of The Trustees in protecting in-holdings and other critical areas adjacent to The Trustees properties. Charles W. Eliot II's passionate interest in thoughtful regional planning and the preservation of open spaces is built on the legacy of the two Charles Eliots - his grandfather and his uncle - who preceded him. According to Wesley Ward, longtime Land Conservation Director of The Trustees, Eliot II was "a nationally respected regional and community planner and a staunch advocate for open space protection" He was the first paid employee of The Trustees, a dedicated volunteer, long-time board member, and, in the words of Wesley Ward, "the conscience of the land preservation movement in Massachusetts." Sources: Abbott, Jr., Gordon. Saving Special Places. The Ipswich Press, December 1993. DESCRIPTION OF THE PAPERS The Charles W. Eliot II Papers are comprised of the materials collected and created by Charles Eliot II during his long association with The Trustees of Reservations. The bulk of the collection is from 1959-1984. The papers are organized into nine series: Correspondence, Trustees History, Trustees Policies, Standing/Executive Committee Meetings Minutes (1957 -1989), Trustees Properties, Publications, Clippings, Charles W. Eliot II, and Maps and Plans. Series I, Correspondence, includes letters from Charles Eliot II to Arnold Gifford, Peter Hornbeck, Charles Bird, and others. It also includes a letter to Charles Eliot II from Theodore Roosevelt. There is correspondence between Gordon Abbott and Susan Maney, and between Mabel Choate and Fletcher Steele. (Please note, in order to respect and maintain the author's The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 5 Note. Nothing@NPS and ANP. The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org original and intentional order, correspondence and letters pertaining to particular issues and properties have been retained in their original arrangement, and thus may be found in series other than "Correspondence.") Series I also includes newspaper articles, photos, maps, sketches, and obituaries of Mabel Choate, Fletcher Steele, and Loring Conant. It also contains a copy of the 1891 document regarding the founding of The Trustees, the 1959 minutes and notes from a Reservation Committee meeting, and a handwritten poem to Charles Bird from Charles Eliot II. Series II, Trustees History, includes significant newspaper articles from 1891, 1929, 1903 and 1930, as well as reports on the Crane Reservation, a list of reservations and donors, maps and articles concerning the Bay Circuit Trail, and documents related to the founding of The Trustees. It also includes notes of Charles Eliot II concerning the centennial of The Trustees. Series III, Trustees Policies, is organized into three subseries: General Policies, Future Policy Report (Drafts and Final), and Development. The first subseries, General Policies, contains documents regarding the establishment of policies for property visits and for master plans. It also includes an amusing note from Charles Eliot II. The second subseries, Future Policy Report, contains multiple drafts of the 1977 report, notes, draft questionnaires and correspondence regarding the report, and the final copy of the report. It also includes a report from the Nature Conservancy and a report concerning the crisis of parkland in Greater Boston. The third subseries, Development, includes fundraising brochures and sample letters, information on the open space campaign, and a fundraising feasibility study, as well as letters and notes from committee members regarding donations. Series IV, Standing/Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, is arranged chronologically beginning in 1959. The associated papers, including notes, clippings, correspondence, maps and reports, have been retained with the minutes which reference them, per the author's intention. Series V, Trustees Properties, is organized into four subseries: Individual Properties, Conservation Restrictions, and Legal/Financial Matters. The first subseries, Individual Properties, consists of maps, clippings, draft reports, notes, correspondence, obituaries, and other material related to specific properties, as well as a list of properties no longer owned by The Trustees. The second subseries, Conservation Restrictions, includes documents, letters, maps and reports relative to Conservation Restrictions in general, as well as to specific Conservation Restrictions on The Trustees properties. The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 6 The Trustees of Reservations - www.thetrustees.org The third subseries, Legal and Financial Matters, contains legislation regarding beach access, a tax exemption grant, correspondence and information regarding a sewer easement in Medfield, and materials concerning the resignation of Bradley Williams (possibly sensitive?). Series VI, Publications, is organized into two subseries: The Trustees and Outside Institutions. The first series, The Trustees, is comprised of The Trustees newsletters from Winter 1983 and Summer 1975, and a booklet entitled "Historic Sites and Natural Places." The second subseries, Outside Institutions, is comprised of booklets and brochures from several conservation institutions including the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Manchester Conservation Trust, as well as an academic paper entitled "Open Spaces and the North Shore." Series VII, Clippings, is comprised of newspaper articles in 3 folders dated 1967-71, 1970 and 1975. Series VIII, Charles W. Eliot II, includes several obituaries of Charles Eliot II, several memorial articles, copies of letters from Charles Eliot II to Fred Winthrop, then Director of the Trustees, dating from June 1992 through January 1993, and letters and information regarding Eliot's memorial service. Series IX, Maps and Plans, consists of two maps; one oversized and one brittle and fragile. Additional information on Charles W. Eliot II may be found in the Harvard University Archives and in the archives of the Cambridge Historical Society. In the following descriptions, Charles Eliot II may be referred to as CWE II. The Charles W. Eliot II Papers - 7