Wirth, Conrad Full View Page 1 of 2 FERRET The American Heritage Center's Online Catalog View New Items in the AHC Catalog ARE LIW Search Libraries Hondings Titles History Hole Exit Previous Next Full View Table of MARC contente Format Papers, Database: UW American Heritage Center Main Author: Wirth, Conrad Louis, 1899- Other Author(s): United States. National Park Service. Title: Papers, 1929-1982. Primary Material: Entry Not Found Description: 34 cubic ft. (34 boxes) Topical. Summary Note: Collection contains materials relating to Wirth's career with the National Park Service, including biographical and genealogical information; correspondence with government officials (1931-1982); subject files containing correspondence, photographs, reports and speeches regarding legislation, National Park Service policies, budgets, annual reports, Mission 66, public relations, and statistics on park usage (1915-1969); newspaper clippings (1929-1964); photographs of Wirth and various national parks (1963-1972); a scrapbook of Wirth's World War II service (1945-1946); miscellaneous maps; speeches given by Wirth on the national parks and conservation issues (1930-1966); 6 photograph albums on Wirth, national parks and the Civilian Conservation Corps (1934-1964); and a collection of commemorative stamps (1956-1972). Biography/History: Conrad Louis Wirth (1899-) served with the National Park Service from 1931-1964. Wirth was director of the Park Service from 1951-1964 and helped to formulate Mission 66, a ten-year program started in 1956 to increase recreation use at the parks while providing adequate protection of the environment. Subject(s): Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.) Conservation of natural resources United States. National parks and reserves Management United States. National parks and reserves Multiple use United States. National parks and reserves Planning United States. National parks and reserves Law and legislation United States. World War, 1939-1945 Personal narratives, American. Photographs. aat Photograph albums. aat Scrapbooks. aat Maps. aat Genealogies. aat Speeches. aat Stamp albums. aat Foresters. lcsh Database: UW American Heritage Center Location: Archives Call Number: 08262 .../Pwebrecon.cgi?Search_Arg=wirth+conrad+1..&SL=None&Search_Code=NAME_&PID=4596&CNT=20&BROWSE=1&HC8/19/2002 Conrad L. Wirth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 1 of 2 Conrad L. Wirth From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Conrad Louis Wirth (December 1, 1899 - July 25, 1993) was an American landscape architect, Conrad L. Wirth conservationist and park service administrator. He served as the director of the National Park Service between 1951 and 1964. Wirth was born in Hartford, Connecticut, where his father, Theodore, was park superintendent. Later, Theodore moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became superintendent of the Minneapolis Park System. Conrad earned a Bachelor of Science degree Born December 1, 1899 in landscape gardening from Massachusetts Hartford, Connecticut Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts Amherst). He first came to Died July 25, 1993 (aged 93) Washington, D.C., area to work for the National Williamstown, Massachusetts Capital Park and Planning Commission, and he joined Occupation landscape architect, Director of the the NPS in 1931. With the coming of the New Deal National Park Service he supervised the service's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) program in the state parks. His administrative ability made him a successor to Director Arthur E. Demaray, whom he served as associate director before advancing to the top job in December 1951. Wirth's crowning achievement was Mission 66, a 10-year, billion-dollar program to upgrade park facilities and services by the 50th anniversary of the NPS in 1966. Wirth submitted his resignation to President John Kennedy in the fall of 1963 and left the directorship in early 1964,after recommending George Hartzog as his successor. He went on to supervise the Interior Department's CCC program. A member of the National Geographic Society's Board of Trustees, he was also active in conservation and park Service alumni affairs. [1] He died in his sleep in 1993. [2] Further reading Wirth, Conrad L. Parks, Politics, and the People. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1980. References 1. "National Park Service: Biography (Conrad L. Wirth) http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/sontag/wirth.htm)".NPS. Retrieved on June 14, 2010. 2. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/28/obituaries/conrad-l-wirth-93-led-national-parks-service.htm Government offices Preceded by Director of the National Park Service Succeeded by Arthur E. Demaray 1951-1964 George B. Hartzog, Jr. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_L._Wirth 9/8/2015 Conrad L. Wirth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Page 2 of 2 Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conrad_L._Wirth&oldid=660710161" Categories: 1899 births 1993 deaths Civilian Conservation Corps people Directors of the United States National Park Service | Mission 66 People from Hartford, Connecticut American people of Swiss descent This page was last modified on 4 May 2015, at 04:58. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_L._Wirth 9/8/2015 Conrad L. Wirth, 93 - Led National Parks Service - NYTimes.com Page 1 of 2 HOME PAGE TODAY'S PAPER VIDEO MOST POPULAR U.S. Edition SUBSCRIBE NOW Log In Register Now Help Search All NYTimes.com The New York Times Obituaries Go WORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS A Use your L.L. Bean® Visa Card thru Dec. 31 ILLBean LEARN MORE MADE GET OUTDOORS OR AN OUTDOOR DISCOVERY ADVENTURE L.L.Bean $100,000 GIVEAWAY Conrad L. Wirth, 93; Led National Parks Service Childhood Cancer Awareness Month SEPT By WOLFGANG SAXON Published: July 28, 1993 Join our fight Conrad L. Wirth, the longest-serving director of the National Park FACEBOOK to end Service, died on Sunday at the Willowood nursing home in TWITTER childhood cancer. Williamstown, Mass. He was 93 and lived in New Lebanon, N.Y., for GOOGLE+ Donate Now the last several years. EMAIL He died in his sleep, his family said. SHARE St. Jude Children's Mr. Wirth, who was born in one municipal park and reared in PRINT Research Hospital another, spent his life serving the nation's parks. He joined the park REPRINTS service in 1931, headed it from 1951 to 1964 and for 20 more years worked with the conservationist Laurance S. Rockefeller in New York. NAMED ME MALALA MOST EMAILED RECOMMENDED FOR YOU He was an associate of every President from Franklin D. Roosevelt to 1. PAUL KRUGMAN Lyndon B. Johnson; the latter called him "one of the greatest, finest, Trump Is Right on Economics best public servants anywhere in the world." 2. FRANK BRUNI Conrad Louis Wirth was born in Hartford in Elizabeth Park, where his father, Theodore, The Myth of Quality Time was superintendent. He was reared in a city park in Minneapolis, where the father headed the municipal parks system for 26 years. 3. Cuomo Administration Lawyer Is Shot in Head Before West Indian Day Parade Mr. Wirth, who was known as Conny, graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1923, having majored in landscape architecture, and for five years was in private practice 4. On Location I East Meredith, N.Y. as a landscape and town planner. In 1928 he joined the National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Washington. 5. The Tardigrade: Practically Invisible, Transferring to the National Park Service in 1931 as an assistant director, he ran projects of Indestructible 'Water Bears' the Civilian Conservation Corps for the Interior Department, the parent organization of the park service. 6. A Los Angeles Plan to Reshape the Streetscape Sets Off Fears of Gridlock In his tenure as director of the park service, he developed a 10-year program called Mission 66 to spruce up national parks in time for the service's 50th anniversary in 1966. Active in 7. OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR New York We Don't Need Kim Davis to Be in Jail 8. OPINION He was a trustee of the National Geographic Society and, as trustee emeritus since 1975, A Doctor at His Daughter's Hospital Bed kept an interest in the society's affairs until his death. He helped organize the White House Historical Society in 1961 and remained on its board until two years ago. 9. Second Review Says Classified Information Was in Hillary Clinton's Email Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller named him the first chairman of the New York State Historic Trust in 1966; he was also executive director of the Hudson Valley Commission in the 10. CHARLES M. BLOW 1960's. Sexual Attraction and Fluidity Encouraged by Laurance Rockefeller, Mr. Wirth founded the National Recreation and Park Association, a not-for-profit research and educational organization in Alexandria, Va., in Log in to discover more articles PERSONAL based on what you've read. 1965. It merged several much older organizations with parallel interests. Log in Register Now What's This? Don't Show He was particularly proud of the Wirth Environmental Award, which the National Park Foundation named for him and his father. He was the first recipient of the award, too, for his efforts to preserve the nation's open land and waters. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/28/obituaries/conrad-1-wirth-93-led-national-parks-servic 9/8/2015 Conrad L. Wirth, 93 - Led National Parks Service - NYTimes.com Page 2 of 2 His autobiography, "Parks, Politics and the People, was published by the University of Oklahoma Press in 1980. Mr. Wirth's wife of 64 years, Helen, died in 1990. He is survived by two sons, Peter, of New Lebanon, N.Y., and Theodore, of Billings, Mont.; four grandchildren and eight great- grandchildren. Photo: Conrad L. Wirth. (1959) FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ EMAIL SHARE C 2015 The New York Times Company Site Map Privacy Your Ad Choices Advertise Terms of Sale I Terms of Service Work With Us RSS Help Contact Us Site Feedback http://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/28/obituaries/conrad-1-wirth-93-led-national-parks-servic. 9/8/2015 National Park Service: Biography (Conrad L. Wirth) Page 1 of 2 National Park Service: The First 75 Years Biographical Vignettes Conrad L. Wirth 1899-present by Douglas Caldwell Conrad "Connie" Wirth was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1899, to Theodore and Leonie Mense Wirth. The senior Wirth, horticulturist, park planner, and administrator, and best remembered for his directorship of the greatly admired Minneapolis park system, imbued the second of his three sons with a lifelong passion for parks for the people. Conrad earned a Bachelor of Science degree in landscape gardening from Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the University of Massachusetts). In 1926 he married Helen Olson, his tireless helpmate and supporter of the National Park Service until her death in 1990. After a few years in the private practice of landscape planning. Wirth embarked upon his federal career in 1928 as a member of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission. In 1931, Horace Albright brought him into the National Park Service as an assistant director for Land Planning. He continued in this capacity under Arno Cammerer and Newton B. Drury, and was named in 1951 as an associate director by Arthur E. Demaray. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/wirth.htmg 4/26/2002 National Park Service: Biography (Conrad L. Wirth) Page 2 of 2 During the Roosevelt administration, Wirth distinguished himself with his brilliant implementation of Civilian Conservation Corps programs in support of federal, state, and local parks. He conceived Mission 66 and masterminded White House and congressional support for this herculean effort to, in his own words, overcome the inroads of neglect and to restore to the American people a National Park System adequate for their needs. The program and Wirth were criticized by many in the conservation movement as self-serving development. But Park Service employees were heartened by the ten-year $1 billion program that ended during the Service's 50th anniversary year in 1966. It produced not only such tangible items as 2,000 new employee residences, 150 new museums and visitor centers, and the training centers at Harpers Ferry and the Grand Canyon, but also fostered a spiritual rejuvenation within the "National Park Service family." It was a time when things were held together with something more serviceable than paper clips and baling wire. From National Park Service: The First 75 Years Top History I Links to the Past I National Park Service I Search Contact Last Modified: Dec 1 2000 10:00:00 pm PDT http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/wirth.htm ParkNet National Park Service http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/sontag/wirth.htm 4/26/2002