Jesup Memorial Library 34 Mt. Desert St. Bar Harbor, ME 04609 Maine Olmsted Alliance for Parks & Landscapes NEWSLETTER FALL 1992 THE MAINE WORK of BEATRIX JONES FARRAND B EATRIX JONES FARRAND'S achievement as a landscape architect is intimately related to her exper- ience as a long resident of Mt. Desert Island. At the age of eighteen she observed the laying out of the grounds of her family's summer place, Reef Point at Bar Harbor. Reef Point became, after her marriage to Max Farrand, her principal of- fice and home and later the site of one of the most ambitious projects of her professional life. Farrand designed over BY ELEANOR M. McPECK forty gardens on Mt. Desert. Approximately one third of these were damaged or destroyed by the fire which raged through Bar Harbor in October, 1947. Other gardens at Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor have suffered through neglect. Still others like her own experimental gardens at Reef Point BEATRIX JONES FARRAND 1872-1959 were dismantled after World War II for eco- nomic reasons. Fortunately several of Farrand's gardens remain as living evidence of her genius as a designer. Beatrix Jones Farrand was born in New York City in 1872, the only child of Mary Cadwalader Rawle and Frederick Rhinelander Jones. Her parents were divorced before she was twelve. Tutored at home within the protected atmosphere and "mild and melancholy glamour" of Washington Square, she often traveled abroad with her mother and with her aunt, that omnivorous traveler and garden lover Edith Wharton. At twenty she studied landscape design and horticulture under Charles Sprague Sargent, founder and director of the Arnold Arbore- tum. Although she later developed her own philosophy of design, she always followed Sargent's advice "to make the plan fit the ground and not twist the ground to make the plan". / Continued on page three] This profile was reprinted with permission from A Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Maine, Vol. VI, 1991, published by Maine Citizens for Historic Preservation. Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Editor. NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT OFFICERS President This autumn marks both an end and a beginning for the Alliance. ELEANOR AMES, Cumberland Foreside Phase I of the Survey of Designed Historic Landscapes is now complete. Phase II is Vice President of Planning THEO HOLTWIJK, Portland underway. The first phase documented the public landscapes in Maine, revealing a legacy of public green spaces serving citizens both in small towns and larger cities. These Vice President of Communication DEBORAH ANDREWS, Yarmouth landscapes deserve protection and revitalization SO that future generations may enjoy Secretary the variety of experiences they provide. The Alliance's task over the next year is to PHILIP MEYER, Portland disseminate this information to communities all over Maine in order to help both Treasurer municipalities and individuals protect and improve their parks and greenspaces. TATYANNA SEREDIN, Portland Phase II of the survey-researching private designed landscapes-will uncover even more gems which will enable us to understand the contribution of landscape architects TRUSTEES and designers who have worked in Maine over the years. Clearly, greater understanding PATRICK CHASSE, Northeast Harbor is needed. For despite the accomplishments of the landscape preservation movement CHRISTIAN FASOLDT, Camden over the past two decades, few people understand that SO much of what is the "park ANN GIBBS, Vienna experience" is a result of design, careful planning and the manipulation of space. The JUNE LACOMBE, Pownal mere fact that many of these parks seem SO natural is because of good design, not lack of REBECCA LINNEY, Cape Neddick MARTA MORSE, Portland it. A wonderful discussion of design and space can be found in the Foreword to Norman ALBERT NICKERSON, Portland Newton's classic text, Design on the Land: HELEN ROLLINS, York Harbor The notion of the primary role of space seems for laymen and some professionals a very DAVID SILSBY, Manchester difficult one to grasp. It is thus appropriate to suggest here that one studying the history of landscape architecture, in the process of examining selected past examples, has an ADVISORY TRUSTEES exceptional opportunity to further his understanding of what today's landscape architect means by the space that his profession is engaged in shaping and modifying HERBERT ADAMS, Portland upon the land; this can be done most effectively by looking carefully for certain spatial JOAN AMORY, Portland qualities in every work of the past encountered. To begin with, space must be CHARLES BEVERIDGE, Washington, D.C. appreciated as a material with which to work-as a vibrant, pliable fullness, not an DIANE BOAS, Cape Elizabeth emptiness. To speak of space as a void is to dismiss one of its chief potentials. Then, if LUCINDA BROCKWAY, Kennebunk it is to be truly effective and satisfying, a space must have a positive character; this NANO CHATFIELD, Cape Elizabeth means, simply, that the space must appear intended rather than accidental, the MARTHA DODSON, Washington, D.C. conscious product of a purpose rather than the mere by-product of other operations. IRVING FISHER, Brunswick Positive space never looks like something left over. ELIZABETH IGLEHEART, Portland This state has been touched by many remarkable designers who have appreciated the THOMAS JOHNSON, Bridgton subtle relationship of design and space. Past newsletters have featured Hans Heistad and ARLEYN LEVEE, Belmont, MA his public and private work in the Camden/Rockport area, Fletcher Steele and his MARY LOUISE MCGREGOR, magnificent Camden Library Theatre, and now, in this edition, Beatrix Farrand, whose Cumberland Foreside ANN MONTGOMERY, Camden influence on the American garden was largely the result of her work and experiences in LINDA MURNIK, Portland Maine. Through this newsletter and through projects such as the statewide survey, the MERLE NELSON, Falmouth Foreside Maine Olmsted Alliance for Parks and Landscapes hopes to bring well deserved DIANE NOLAN, Portland attention and appreciation to the people who have shaped SO much of the extraordinary SUSAN RUCH, Falmouth Foreside landscape legacy we enjoy today. SALLY RAND, Freeport noni ames LYNN SHAFER, New Gloucester SUZY VERRIER, North Yarmouth FARRAND [continued LYCH GATE BEATRIX JONES LANDSCAPE GARDENER It was during this formative period that Jones published her first known article on landscape gardening. This 1893 essay, entitled "Nature's landscape-gardening in Maine", bears quoting here in part as it indicates Jones' early preference for native materials and picturesque effects: Every lover of nature must have noticed how beautiful the edge of a wood is in early summer, when the dark branch of an evergreen throws out the paler green of some deciduous neighbor. In the clearing and planting which are necessary on some places every year, should we not try to get like effects? To give an effect of distance on a small place, why could we not plant a line of dark, thick foliaged trees on distant points, then leave a space, planting a second grove of smaller light foliaged trees? The space will give distance and depth to the background while the darker green trees, if placed on the most distant height, are valuable at sunset, as they Figure 1. Lych Gate, Seal Harbor, Rendering by Beatrix Jones, 1897 always seem to keep the last light. If there is to be a large lawn, it is (COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY). well to keep in mind that the creeping shadows made by trees planted on the western edge will be very beautiful in the long summer afternoons. It will be noticed that only such trees grow on the coast of Maine, as I am most familiar with that part of the Wei Period 7th Century country." TOOL Encouraged by Sargent to become a professional, Jones began Century HOUSE taking private commissions in 1896. To this period belongs Jones' drawing for Lych Gate, Seal Harbor (Figure 1). This charming and MOON GATE spirited watercolor indicates Jones' preference for well crafted archi- tectural detail and for pictorial effects. Her early efforts gained her immediate recognition. Commenting on her work for Edgar Scott in 1896, the Bar Harbor Record observed: Every one interested in woman's work is watching with interest this ANNUAL decidedly new and quite ambitious departure of Miss Jones from the conventional woman's sphere. It is the first instance of a woman, a GARDEN POOL young, attractive society girl in reality, taking upon herself such a mammoth task, but she is certainly carrying it through most commendably, shirking none of the hard and disagreeable details, and handling big crews of men with great tact and dignity. In 1899 Jones joined Charles Eliot, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., and Chinese others in founding the American Society of Landscape Architects. She Period theCentury was the only woman among the founders. Within a short time she was able to count among her distinguished list of clients J.P. Morgan and SUN GARDEN Edward Whitney in New York as well as a growing list of clients in GARDEN Maine. Between 1900 and 1913, Jones, whose reputation as a landscape gardener had clearly been established, designed several gardens on Century Mt. Desert, including those of E.C. Bodman, Seal Harbor, 1900; Edgar T. Scott, Bar Harbor, 1901-12; and William F. Apthorp, Hulls WALL CAPPING TILES ARE FROM PORTION OF THE PIE PING CITY WALL WHICH HAD BEEN TORN DOWN Cove, 1906. These gardens have vanished. Jones' earliest designs were formal in character but reflected the influence of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. as well as Frederick Law Figure 2. Plan for The Eyrie Garden for Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Olmsted, Jr., who carried on the work of the Olmsted firm after Seal Harbor, circa 1928 (COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY). [three] Figure 3. Moon Gate and Sunken Garden, The Eyrie Garden, 1935 view (COURTESY OF THE ROCKEFELLER ARCHIVES CENTER, TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK). Olmsted senior's death in 1903. Charles Eliot, who summered at Farrand's reputation as one of America's finest landscape architects Northeast Harbor and who had been associated with the Olmsted rests primarily on two great surviving works. The first is Dumbarton firm, was a strong advocate of the picturesque school of landscape Oaks in Washington, D.C., designed between 1921 and 1947 for Mr. gardening. Jones shared Eliot's view and like Eliot argued in favor of and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss and now the property of the Trustees of the use of wild and native materials as well as a broad, scenic approach Harvard University. The second, The Eyrie, Farrand designed be- to design. tween 1926 and 1942 for Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at Seal Jones also absorbed influences from abroad, including that of Harbor (Figure 2). William Robinson, the English landscape gardener and author of The In 1926 Farrand was asked by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and his wife Wild Garden (1881), and Gertrude Jekyll, whose subtle and harmoni- Abby to design the gardens for their summer home at Seal Harbor. ous approach to color corresponded with her own. Jones' associate This work, like that of Dumbarton Oaks, evolved over a long period Robert Patterson later wrote that her work had "a freedom of scale" of time. As shown in the preliminary plan, the underlying concept of and "an unobtrusive asymmetry". Her designs combined the best the garden was to provide a secluded setting for Mrs. Rockefeller's elements of both formal and informal English gardening. Most im- collection of oriental sculpture acquired initially on a trip to the Far portantly, wrote Jones in an article entitled "The Garden as a Picture", East in 1921. A sunken flower garden, enclosed by a high wall and "The garden large or small must be done on a bigscale. The artist must screened by native spruce, maple, birch, and white cedar, provided a try to keep step with the great stride of Nature and copy as far as foil for the less formal wooded sculpture garden to the west and to the possible her breadth and simplicity."3 southeast (Figure 3). By the fall of 1928, the lines for the north and east In 1913 Jones married Max Farrand, a distinguished Constitutional walls had been clearly established, as had the idea of the pivotal focal historian and Chairman of the Yale History Department. The Farrands point of the moon gate in the north wall.4 then made Reef Point their principal home. Although Farrand kept an The design of the moon gate absorbed Farrand's attention for a office in New York, she also maintained her principal headquarters at number of months. She provided full scale mock ups or dummies as Reef Point. From 1914 to 1941, Farrand designed dozens of gardens she often did for several alternative schemes. The final design, deriving at Mt. Desert, including those of Mrs. Herbert Satterlee, Bar Harbor, from one Mrs. Rockefeller had seen in Peking, went into construction 1921-39 and Charlton Yarnall, Northeast Harbor, 1926-27. Many of in June, 1929. Farrand reported on June 4th: these gardens have been lost. We are. boldly and wildly going ahead with the garden work and [four] Figure 4. The Guardian Wall (now called the Spirit Path), The Eyrie Garden, 1960 view (EZRA STOLLER, PHOTOGRAPHER). I have just telegraphed Mrs. Rockefeller to say that unless she tells us not been adequately recognized, although it is clear that her vision is to desist we shall go ahead with the north garden wall with its Moon imprinted throughout the design which remains in partial effect to and service gates, stuccoing it in the truly Chinese manner both this day. Farrand's Road Notes of 1930 provide a revealing glimpse of inside and out. Mr. Candage succeeded in getting a color which to the high level of attention and imagination which she brought to this my mind matches the granite shade very attractively. enterprise. Here the discriminating mind and eye for constructive By 1935 the principal elements of the plan-the wall enclosing the detail were brought to bear on the design process: garden (crowned by imported Chinese tiles), the sunken flower Add pines at the Duck Brook Bridge, both sides of the bridge and garden, the moon and service gates, the Guardian Walk-had been both sides of the stream, keeping the existing stumps and trying as completed, and other major sculptural elements were in place nearly as may be possible to keep the two good views of the triple (Figure 4). Mrs. Rockefeller then decided to "assume full direction of arches from the approach roads. all work in the garden," which she did until 1945 when Farrand again As a good foreground to the bay view use heavy groups of wild rose was asked to provide ideas for the revision of the Chinese Garden. and Diervilla and sweet fern. These will never grow high enough to These included the provision of native sod, the installation of new interfere with the prospect but will make an attractive and clean steps along the Guardian Walk, and the extension and revision of the foreground. sunken flower garden. This work continued under Farrand with the West of the Witchole bare roadside banks would be greatly im- assistance of Robert Patterson until the early 1950s. proved by spruce and pine planting, especially on the grade above The garden in its present form, SO richly endowed with Korean the road. Note that sweet fern is excellent to add to planting-where sculptures, Japaneselanterns, Chinese moon gate, secluded pools and low effects are desired. 5 richly planted perennial beds, retains the basic outlines of the original Here too were revealed Farrand's intimate knowledge of native design. Photographs of the sunken flower garden in 1935 indicate that Maine plant materials as well as her complete understanding of the it was once more heavily planted. The central portion now paneled in topographic subtleties of the site. grass was much simplified in the early 1960s. At the very heart and center of Farrand's life at Mt. Desert is Reef Farrand's association with John D. Rockefeller, Jr. prompted him Point Gardens, an ambitious project which she and her husband to ask her advice in connection with the development of the carriage began some twenty years before his death (Figures 5, 6). Designed on road system at Acadia National Park. Farrand's role in this project has the six acre site of Farrand's summer home for both scholarly and [five] Figure 5. Reef Point Gardens, Bar Harbor, circa 1945 view (COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY). experimental purposes, it was thought that Reef Point would provide a major center for the study of northeastern New England flora.6 As conceived the gardens were to have offered unusual opportunities to a small number of lan dscape students for the study of National Park design and management, using Acadia National Park as a laboratory. Reef Point ultimately included a test garden of native flora, including a rare collection of heaths, a library which included the original garden plans of Gertrude Jekyll, and an herbarium. This visionary scheme lasted only a few years. In 1955 Farrand, concerned about the future of ReefPoint, decided to transfer the contents of the library, the herbarium, and her own professional correspondence to the Univer- sity of California at Berkeley. The house was torn down, and the gardens dismantled. Shrubs and trees were carefully moved to other locations, including the Thuja Gardens and the Asticou Gardens at Northeast Harbor. Robert Patterson, Trustee of the Gardens, later wrote that "Bar Harbor had begun to change after the 1947 fire" and that Farrand's "fear was that in the course of time Reef Point might become another attraction for tourists what Mrs. Farrand saw was a pervasive lowering of values. She was a perfectionist, and she obliterated an important part of her life's work rather than risk its continuation in some form which would not measure up to her standard of excellence.. 7 Beatrix Farrand died at Bar Harbor four Figure 6. Reef Point Gardens, circa 1945 view (COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN DOCUMENTS years later. COLLECTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY). The recent revival of interest in Farrand's work has prompted the [six] restoration of several gardens at Mt. Desert. First of these is the cottage garden designed originally for Mildred McCormick at Bar Planting Open Space Seeds Harbor in 1923. The garden, including pe- rennial beds and a vegetable garden enclosed BY THEO HOLTWIJK by high cedar hedge, is currently under resto- ration by the owner Mrs. Sargent Collier. THIS PAST SPRING AND SUMMER THE ALLIANCE JOINED FORCES WITH The rose garden designed for J. Byrne at Bar Portland's Friends of the Parks Commission and a number of other non-profit Harbor in 1928 and now owned by the Col- organizations in the area to launch an unprecedented 8-part lecture series on a wide lege of the Atlantic is being restored by Patrick variety of open space issues. The discussions, held at the Portland Public Library, Chasse, a Northeast Harbor landscape archi- ranged in topic from Baxter's Portland Parks, to open space and recreation planning tect. The original design is to be much sim- issues, historic parks, park rangers, cemeteries, and urban trails. plified for modern use and the grass parterre National Park Service representatives, recognized regional authorities in open partly replaced by stone. A garden designed space planning, as well as local experts shared the podium, bringing an impressive originally for Christian Herter sometime level of scholarship and experience to an enthusiastic audience. After sizing up the between 1902 and 1913 at Seal Harbor is also status of open space planning elsewhere in in process of restoration by the present own- the country, the series came full circle to the ers Dr. and Mrs. James Murphy. Here, situ- challenges we are facing in our own back- ated high above Seal Harbor, one Farrand's yards in Maine. earliest designs for a terraced perennial bor- The interest in open space in Maine is der and stone walk has been revived accord- growing vigorously and the collaborative ing to original plans now preserved at the nature of the lecture series reflected that. University of California as a fitting tribute to The Alliance/Parks Commission undertak- the designer who learned from Mt. Desert ing received generous financial as well as in- more than any other place "how to keep time kind support from the National Park Ser- with Nature."8 vice, Maine Humanities Council, City of Portland, Friends of Evergreen, Portland Eleanor McPeck is a landscape design consult- Trails, South Portland Land Trust, Greater ant specializing in historic landscape restora- Portland Landmarks, Maine Association of tion. She is co-author of Beatrice Farrand's Planners, Maine State Landscape Architects, American Landscapes (Sagapress, 1985). Portland Bagel Works, Mohr & Seredin Landscape Architects, I Love Flowers, Terrence J. DeWan & Associates and Theo NOTES H.B.M. Holtwijk. 1 Beatrix Jones, Garden and Forest, September 6, The lecture seeds were perhaps best sown through the efforts of the Community 1893, p. 378. Cable Network. All eight lectures were recorded and shown numerous times on 2 Bar Harbor Record, September 30, 1896. 3 Beatrix Jones, "The Garden as a Picture", community TV to 42,000 households throughout the Greater Portland area. In Scribner's Magazine, July, 1907, pp. 2-11. addition, videos of the lectures will be available in the near future through the 4 Eleanor M. McPeck, "The Abby Aldrich Portland Public Library. Rockefeller Garden, Seal Harbor, Maine (1926- What was learned from the lecture series was that our open spaces are more than 1950)", Beatrix Farrand's American Landscapes, amenities: they are important for our very well-being. They were created by our Her Gardens and Campuses, Sagaponack, New York, 1985, pp. 44-53. predecessors-often against odds-in a very deliberate and thoughtful manner. 5 John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Road Notes, November Likewise, they need deliberate care if weare to enjoy them now and in the future. And 4, 1930, Rockefeller Archive Center, Tarrytown, it will take similar concerted efforts to create new open spaces to fulfill our ever New York. Ann Rockefeller Roberts, Mr. growing needs for recreation and places of pastoral beauty. The time for action on all Rockefeller's Roads, Camden, 1990. 6 Reef Point Gardens, Notes, September 16,1939, these fronts is now. After all, the seeds sown today are the trees of tomorrow. Farrand Collection, University of California, Ber- keley. Theo Holtwijk is Vice President of the Alliance and a principal organizer 7 Robert Patterson, Letter to Bar Harbor Times, of the lecture series. February 18, 1985. 8 Beatrix Jones, "The Garden as a Picture", Scribner's Magazine, July, 1907, pp. 2-11. [seven,