CTLA Spring 2021

The Connecticut SPRING 2021
Landscape Architect

Jackie Robinson
Park of Fame, Stamford

PAGE 20

Landscapes of Diversity



8 The Connecticut
Landscape Architect

SPRING 2021

14 Editor’s Message
18
4
20
24 From the Trustee

5

From the President

7

Space for Survival: Understanding Seventy Years of Urban Renewal in Connecticut

8

Connecticut’s Freedom Trail

13

An Interview with Julia Jack, AIA, City of Hartford

14

The Freeman Center Promotes History, Resilience, and Neighborhood
Revitalization in Bridgeport

18

Iconic Connecticut Landscapes: Jackie Robinson Park of Fame, Stamford

20

Iconic Connecticut Landscapes: Marcus Garvey Park, Hartford

21

Reshaping the Land and Community in Hartford

24

White Hats Aren’t Enough

28

Remembrances: Edward Cape (1920-2021)

29

Pioneers of Connecticut Landscape Architecture: Helene Bliss Warner (1900-1986)

30

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 3

I nitially, this month’s theme From the Editor
was going to be diversity in
our profession. But wait… Why is our profession, especially in
unfortunately we have very little Connecticut, at a point where we
diversity in our membership. So, we struggle to find ways to celebrate the
did a pivot and have focused on the work of minority professionals?
bigger issues of Black landscapes in
one form or another and the lack of we do so it shouldn’t be a stretch to recruit black and
equity and diversity in the ranks of minority youth into our midst. Encourage all eligi-
Connecticut landscape architects. ble high school students to apply for our scholarships.
Why is our profession, especially in Connecticut, at a Mentor young aspiring landscape architects through
point where we struggle to find ways to celebrate the ASLA’s mentoring program. Let parents of young people
work of minority professionals? Historically, the design know that this is a rewarding profession where their chil-
professions have been very white and very male, so things dren can earn a very good living.
will not change overnight. The good news is that we now This issue of The Connecticut Landscaped Architect does
have an awareness of the challenges that we face. As they have some good examples of how we are celebrating
say, the first step in solving a problem is recognizing that diversity in our state. The Connecticut Freedom Trail is
there is one. a decades-old program that recognizes the fight for free-
Let’s work as a membership organization to recruit and dom and social equality that Black and other minority
welcome all into our profession. Most of us love what populations experienced in Connecticut. Jackie Rob-
inson Park in Stamford is a tribute to the pioneering
Black baseball star. In Bridgeport the Freeman Center
is coming online to educate the public about the heroic
lives of Mary & Eliza Freeman. Julia Jack, AIA, an archi-
tect with Hartford’s DPW, is an inspiration as to what
is possible.

A diverse profession of landscape architecture is good for
all of us. Let’s work to make it happen.

W. Phillips Barlow, asla, aicp, leed ap

The Connecticut Landscape Architect is published by the Connecticut TO CONTACT CTASLA
Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. MAIL P.O. Box 209197, New Haven, CT 06520
EMAIL [email protected]
EDITOR WEB www.ctasla.org
W. Phillips Barlow
To Design, LLC, 114 West Main Street, Ste. 202, New Britain, CT 06051 ON THE COVER
TEL (860) 612-1700 Jackie Robinson Park of Fame, Stamford, CT. This life-size bronze sculpture
EMAIL [email protected] of Robinson, in his Dodgers uniform #42, was created by Black artist Maceo
Jeffries in 1999.
ADVERTISING & ADDRESS CHANGES
Jeffrey H. Mills
J.M. Communications
TEL (860) 454-8922
EMAIL [email protected]

4 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

From the Trustee change than it is to see it through. Purely symbolic rhetoric
without deliberate and concrete actions leads to sub-optimal
A s I’m sure you know, ASLA has begun a campaign outcomes.” Lets think about how CTASLA can achieve these
to add diversity to the profession of landscape goals for our chapter.
architecture and has committed to a five-point plan As we look forward with these wide-ranging goals it is equally
of action as follows: important to acknowledge how diversity has improved the
1. DIVERSIFYING THE PIPELINE: Equipping Our profession of landscape architecture. David Williston opened
the first Black-owned landscape architecture office in 1930,
Students and Institutions to Lead in This Work designing many college campuses in the South. Edward
2. ACKNOWLEDGING RACISM IN THE PROFES- Pryce was ASLA’s first Black Fellow. Perry Howard was
ASLA president in 1977. Water Hood is a MacArthur Fellow
SION AND HONORING THE FORGOTTEN: Mak- and superstars Kona Gray (ASLA Vice President), Brandon
ing It Clear Where We Stand and Where We Aim to Go Johnson, and Everett Fly and others are doing amazing
3. RESHAPING THE CONVERSATION AND TRANS- things. Let’s honor their legacy by building on their success!
FORMING FRAMEWORKS: Establishing Enduring BTW: It’s GAME ON for the 2021 Conference on Land-
Structures for the Journey Ahead scape Architecture in Nashville, November 19-22. It’s not
4. LEADING THROUGH EDUCATION, CONVERSA- too early to start making plans!
TION, AND ADVOCACY: Developing and Dissemi-
nating Content on Advancing Racial Equity W. Phillips Barlow, asla, aicp, leed ap
5. ACCOUNTABILITY: Maintaining Meaningful, Mea-
surable Progress
I urge you to visit the ASLA.org website to read the state-
ment in its entirety. These are far-reaching and ambitious
goals and will take a sustained effort from all ASLA members
to achieve. ASLA CEO Torey Carter-Conneen offers the
following cautionary words: “It is far easier to speak about

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From the President As I reflect on social and professional equity, I am grateful
for, and optimistic about, the success of policy and law
I can’t exactly pinpoint how, or which protects against discrimination, requires public
why, but I can say for certain that outreach, and increases the participation of minority-
I have always been a “glass half and women-owned businesses in our work, but I cannot
full” type of person. My instinc- blur whichever piece of the story I choose and acknowl-
tive thought process often lends edge just the good. I need to carefully and attentively
itself to seeing and focusing on the analyze, digest, and combat the bad. Many actions and
good, being optimistic, celebrat- decisions of the past have proven to be catastrophic to
ing positivity, and the like. While those affected, not just at the time but still to this day.
this is and still always will be a We see now that some lays of the land discounted pieces
good trait, I would like to acknowledge the other side of of critical value and neglected to provide true and equal
the “glass half full” coin. This other side can mean not opportunity to all its inhabitants, by design.
focusing on the bad, disregarding certain potential out- I commend my fellow ExComm members for so pas-
comes, and shying away from negativity. This outlook sionately bringing this discussion to the forefront. Land-
might not always provide the best instinctive action. In scape architects are servants of the people, after all, and
many life reflections and contemplations, of course it must truly strive to understand the context in which we
will. If things seem grim, a healthy reaction can be turn- work. The more we learn, listen, and take the time to
ing those things away and focusing on the pleasantries understand not just one half or the other of our glass, the
of our field of view. And I am sure that is how it came greater our impact towards improvement can be.
to be for me. However unfortunate, this cannot be the
approach for everything. It is not a one size fits all assess- Matt Verry, asla
ment. Sometimes, its not the positive side of things that
warrant the majority of our attention.

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 7

Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library Space for Survival:
Understanding
New Haven Development Guide, 1961 Seventy Years of
Urban Renewal
in Connecticut

BY OLIVER GAFFNEY, ASLA

T he Connecticut chapter hosted
its first and only ASLA Annual
Meeting, “Space for Survival,”
on June 27-30, 1965 in Hartford. Over
the course of four days, more than 500
landscape architects explored ideas of
how the profession could shape the
future of highways, parks, recreation,
educational grounds, and civic develop-
ment through the lens of urban renew-
al. Educational sessions touted the
ongoing transformation of New Haven
and Hartford as distinguished examples
of what the future would hold.
These academic theories ignored
the experiences of the people whose
homes and businesses were displaced
or destroyed. Their lives did not merit
consideration except to condemn their
“ugly brick mill buildings” and “tene-
ments that leave a scar on the face of the
city.” This selective telling of the urban
renewal story casts residents as hapless
bystanders and minimizes the harmful
disinvestment that caused neighbor-
hood decline.
As a result of this misunderstand-
ing, a generation of landscape architects
helped legitimize the damage done by
urban renewal design projects. Is our
current one up to the task of repairing
it?

Top: Constitution Plaza (1967), a redevelopment of
12 “underutilized” acres in the heart of downtown
Hartford, was called the “Connecticut of tomorrow”
at the time. Bottom: Oak Street, one of New Haven’s
densest and poorest neighborhoods, home to several
generations of immigrants and newcomers, was
unrecognizable after urban renewal projects of the
1960s.

8 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

Top: The view towards George New Haven Development Guide, 1961
Street and Church Street in
downtown New Haven, circa 1961.
The Oak Street Connector and
Chapel Square Mall projects defined
neighborhood renewal.
Bottom: The no man’s land of
demolished blocks in Wooster
Square herald the arrival of
Interstate 91, circa 1963.
Redevelopment Agency landscape
architects Bob Gregan and Jim
Skerritt Jr. worked with the
neighborhood to improve vacant
lots such as this on at the corner of
Court and Olive Streets.

Wooster Square Design

“The Federal Government is an This distinction landed squarely on in downtown Hartford and Bridgeport.
Accomplice to this Fact” residents of color through discriminato- Urban renewal upended lives in
Congress’s passing of the Housing ry practices such as redlining and racially ethnic enclaves as well. In New Haven’s
Act of 1949 under President Harry S. restrictive covenants. Denial of financ- Wooster Square neighborhood, 1,024
Truman gave urban renewal the force ing to fix up their homes and businesses families were affected by the construc-
of law. Millions of federal dollars soon consigned their communities as eventual tion of Interstate 91, 75% of which were
began flowing to states for slum clear- targets for demolition. Writer and civil white. At the time, the city’s population
ance, public housing construction, and rights activist James Baldwin lamented of 152,048 was classified 85.1% white.
support for mortgage insurance. At in a 1963 interview that “...Northern cit- Many of these families, hailing from
the same time, the Connecticut Gen- ies now are engaged...in something called Italian and other European immigrant
eral Assembly allowed communities urban renewal, which means moving the origins, resettled in the nearby suburbs
to establish redevelopment agencies to Negroes out. It means Negro removal, that such as East Haven and Branford.
acquire, raze, and redevelop land with is what it means. The federal government Unlike rental vouchers and pub-
limited opportunity for public input. is an accomplice to this fact.” lic housing accommodations offered
The law gave wide latitude in address- The University of Richmond’s to families of color, displaced white
ing “substandard, insanitary, deteriorated, Renewing Inequality project, using pub- families received generous relocation
deteriorating, slum or blighted areas which licly available data, allows us to visu- assistance and FHA loan support.
constitute a serious and growing men- alize these impacts on a neighborhood These advantages helped them build
ace, injurious and inimical to the public level. In Stamford, approximately 947 the seed corn inherited by subsequent
health, safety, morals and welfare...” Due families were displaced for Interstate generations. Unfortunately, a mistaken
to declining investment in urban centers 95, 48% of which were people of color. belief in a Horatio Alger myth of white
during the Great Depression and World Yet at the time, only 8.3% of Stam- immigrant successes discourages public
War II, this definition applied to large ford’s population of 92,713 were peo- recognition of this affirmative action
swaths of working class neighborhoods ple of color. Similar racially disparate program — and its racially-skewed gains.
in the state’s industrial centers. impacts are evident for renewal projects
continued next page

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 9

Space For Survival cont’d olition. Because they rented their store- clothing shops, hardware stores, bakers,
fronts, they did not receive any eminent plumbers, and delicatessens that made
A Hard Core of Cancer Which domain compensation. An estimated the city alive with pedestrian activity
Had to Be Removed 20% of them did not survive relocation existed only in memory. No amount of
A visitor to New Haven in 1961 — or could not even afford the costs of new street trees, curbs, street lights, and
would have hardly recognized its down- doing so. Their loyal base of customers, other improvements could replace the
town. Gone entirely was Oak Street, scattered to other neighborhoods and genuine community relationships that
one of the city’s densest and poorest the suburbs, did not return. urban renewal destroyed.
neighborhoods. Several generations of In Wooster Square, the New Haven The Connecticut That We Are
immigrants and newcomers had made Redevelopment Agency took a lighter Determined to Build
themselves at home in its “dark, time- touch, favoring restoration and reno- In Hartford, city leaders shared
worn tenements and cold-water flats with vation work to outright demolition. similar concerns about squalor and
junk-strewn back lots.” Intrepid shop- Neighborhood standbys such as Frank suburban flight of residents and busi-
pers could find items of every make and Pepe’s, Consiglio’s Restaurant, and nesses. LeRoy Jones, Managing Direc-
model in its “ancient, grimy storefronts.” Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop obtained tor for the Connecticut Development
Mayor Richard Lee, however, called it grant funding to upgrade their premises Commission, identified the city’s East
“a hard core of cancer which had to be to modern standards. Staff landscape Side neighborhood for renewal and
removed.” He believed that the illegal architects Jim Skerritt, Jr. and Bob Gre- anti-poverty efforts.
boarding houses, unpermitted building gan developed a comprehensive street- Front Street and Market Street
additions, and obsolete light manufac- scape vocabulary of shade trees, flow- comprised the heart of Hartford’s Little
turing uses could be neither rehabili- ering Cherries, planters, pocket parks, Italy. Dozens of small grocery stores
tated nor redeemed. Some $7.3 million playgrounds, and street furnishings beckoned with windows full of cured
dollars later, the only vestige of the old to unite the new community housing meats, cheeses, produce, fruit, and del-
neighborhood was the Oak Street Con- and school buildings with the historic icacies from Sicily to Salerno. Florists,
nector highway bearing its name. homes and storefronts. Under their tailors, cobblers, barbers, bankers, and
Nearby, Church Street thundered supervision, remnant redevelopment restaurants catered to the small army of
with the din of renewal activity. Old parcels became amenities such as Union laborers from the neighborhood who
retail standbys such as the original Street Park and Hamilton Street Park helped build the city’s roads, bridges,
Malley’s Department Store, Waldorf or dedicated off-street parking areas for and railroad infrastructure. “It was a
Cafeteria, and Savitt’s Jewelers vanished homes and businesses. slum, but a clean slum,” remembered
to make way for the Chapel Square Despite over $60 million in public former resident Arthur Spada in an
Mall and its 1,500-car Temple Street investments, New Haven continued interview with the Journal-Inquirer.
parking garage. Dozens of small stores its residential, commercial, and indus- “It really became a block-to-block, inter-
and service establishments owned by trial decline. Skeptics saw a city that locked family-to-family kinship.”
Jewish and Italian immigrants became looked more abandoned and forlorn, Intense flooding of the adjacent
other casualties in the 93 acres of dem- not less. The modest luncheonettes,

Wooster Square Design Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library

Above: The Redevelopment Agency planted hundreds of new trees
including this Pin Oak in front of 562 Chapel Street which still
graces Wooster Square. Right: Constitution Plaza, 1964.

10 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library Jones urged landscape architects to image of the modern city as collection
“dedicate [themselves] anew to the task of of dissociated buildings and highways,
Italian grocery at Front and Market Streets, Hartford. creating an America that is rich in spirit not a tight-knit tapestry of facades and
and beauty.” He believed that the pro- landscapes, demanded a better design
Connecticut River in 1936, 1938 and fession was capable of doing more than approach.
1955 washed out roadways and dam- just beautifying the landscapes of urban Infill development emerged in the
aged buildings throughout the neigh- renewal. “There is no reason not to design past two decades as a design response
borhood. Many residents chose not for beauty with function throughout the to this challenge, seeking opportunities
to rebuild and left for the South End fabric of our environment,” he said. “But to restore missing human connections
— or the suburbs. The Army Corps it will take all your skills of design and to buildings and civic spaces. Cities
of Engineers devised a levee system to persuasion to bring this about.” across Connecticut are wooing devel-
protect the city from future floods, but Not So Much Gentrified as opers eager to transform their vacant
city leaders wanted do more than just Eliminated land and parking lots into housing,
refurbish the declining neighborhood. Across Connecticut, the pace of shopping, and other productive uses.
They wanted to transform these 12 urban renewal abated in response to However, these grandiose efforts to
“underutilized” acres into something riots throughout the mid-1960s. Sim- address decades of disinvestment and
that would raise the esteem of the city: mering frustrations over high unem- displacement neglect opportunities to
Constitution Plaza. ployment, segregated public housing, reestablish the modest, incremental
To Jones, the project was “The and police brutality gave way to fire- growth that defined the original neigh-
Connecticut of tomorrow...part of the bombed storefronts and looting in borhoods. Emphasis on accruing finan-
Connecticut that we are determined to several cities. Civil rights leader Bayard cial capital over improving social capital
build.” He engaged the firm of Sasaki, Rustin testified at a 1966 U.S. Senate may yet again prove to be a mistake.
Walker & Associates to develop land- hearing that “Where there is justice, there There could not have been “space
scape plans befitting the headquarters can be order. Where there is injustice, for survival ” without the razing of
of the city’s major insurance carriers disorder is inevitable.” In his estimation, thousands of homes and businesses,
including Phoenix Life and Travelers. In urban renewal served the convenience and these wounds are still evident after
his keynote speech at the 1965 Annual of white suburban ideals by depriving 70 years. The credulous work of land-
Meeting, he took pride in the results. Black Americans of access to these same scape architects in beautifying these
benefits. streetscapes, parks, playgrounds, and
In the following decades, nostal- other spaces legitimized the work and
gia for lost architecture also began to its lasting damage. Repairing this harm
undermine the image of urban renewal will require our profession to continue
efforts.“Stamford’s old downtown has learning about — and reflecting on —
been not so much gentrified as eliminated,” the legacy of urban renewal.
wrote the New York Times in 1985. “It — Oliver Gaffney is a landscape architect
gives off the aura of having no past at with TPA Design Group in New Haven
all...more than a little disquieting in a and past president of ASLA Connecticut.
city that was first settled in 1641.” The

This is another image, one that Upfit
we would like to forget but cannot
until we erase its cause forever…
where once stood bleak slums, there
is the coolness of greenery and the
caressing sound of running water.
If it is not the best place in the
world for bird watching, it is, I
am told by the younger men on my
staff, quite excellent for girl watch-
ing. This is a part of a city that
people actually like to walk in and
to linger in for a few moments.

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 11

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Connecticut’s Freedom Trail Prudence Crandall House
Hempstead House
BY PHIL BARLOW, ASLA, AICP, LEED AP Old North Cemetery

C onnecticut’s Freedom Trail not only represents a historic
and cultural resource but also features the work of
Connecticut landscape architects in the preservation,
renovation, and ongoing care of many of the sites, including
Hartford’s Old North Cemetery, Stamford’s Jackie Robinson
Park of Fame, and New London’s Hempstead houses.
Twenty-five years ago, the General Assembly
established the Connecticut Freedom Trail as a way to
recognize Black and other minority populations’ fight for
freedom and social equality in Connecticut, marking sites that
bear witness to milestones in that quest.
While relics of the white majority population’s past are
highly visible around us, the tangible record of Black and other
minority experiences is less obvious. The struggle to maintain
human dignity leaves little physical evidence; success, often
signaled by gaining freedom or getting an education, was more
likely to be recorded in a document, if at all, rather than by a
monument. Accordingly, the sites along the Connecticut
Freedom Trail reflect such disparities.
The Trail currently comprises 131 sites in 48 towns,
with new sites added regularly. Inclusion on the Trail does not
require owners to open their properties to the public nor does it
provide any funding or tax benefits. The intent is to honor these
sites and to identify them as historically significant. The State
Historic Preservation Office, the Department of Economic and
Community Development, and the Amistad Committee, Inc. of
New Haven share administration of the Connecticut Freedom
Trail.
A sampling of sites that exhibit the work of Connecticut
landscape architects is as follows:

• 29th Colored Regiment Monument – Criscuolo Park,
Chapel and James Streets, New Haven

• Mystic Seaport – 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Stonington
• Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park – 57 Fort Street,

Groton
• Grove Street Cemetery – 227 Grove Street, New Haven
• Hempstead Houses – 11 Hempstead Street, New London
• Jackie Robinson Park of Fame – Jackie Robinson Way,

Richmond Hill Avenue and West Main Street, Stamford
• Mark Twain House – 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford
• Old North Cemetery – North Main Street, at Mather Street,

Hartford
• Old State House – 800 Main Street, Hartford 06103
• Prudence Crandall House – 1 South Canterbury Road,

Canterbury
• Riverside Cemetery – Garden Street, Farmington
• Shaker Village – Shaker Road, near Taylor Road, Enfield
• Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument – East Rock Park, 41

Cold Spring Street, New Haven
• Spring Grove Cemetery – 2035 Main Street, Hartford

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 13

CONVERSATIONS

An Interview with Julia Jack, AIA, City of Hartford

As an architect and project manager who oversees parks and other capital improvement
projects for the City of Hartford, Julia Jack, AIA frequently interacts with landscape
architects. A Black design professional, she has a unique outlook on the state of our pro-
fession and brings a fresh perspective to the design of Hartford parks.

What attracted you to architecture? degree from Howard University and a Julia Jack, AIA
Getting into architecture was not a Masters in Construction Management
romantic process. For me there was no degree from Central Connecticut State when I came back to the profession,
attraction to the field nor was there an University. I am a National Council I hit challenges caused by the years of
“I always wanted to be an architect” of Architectural Registration Boards knowledge and experience lost during
story. I went into architecture blind. (NCARB) Certified Licensed Architect my professional hiatus. So, I ended up
There’s this thing that happens and a Certified Project Management jumping through a variety of positions
when you get near the end of your 11th Professional with the Project Manage- in different sectors in and around the
year in high school. Everyone starts to ment Institute (PMI-PMP). AEC industry. I have worked in interior
ask you what you want to be for the I am the second child of West design, pre-construction management,
REST OF YOUR LIFE, when all that Indian immigrants, who raised me non-profit construction employment
most students are focused is whether in a Connecticut town that had little management, capital project man-
or not someone will ask them to the to no families that looked like mine. agement with a university, and finally
junior prom, why they even need to I was raised in a beautiful, safe, and landing in my current position as an
take the SAT test, and is there a way to comfortable town. But, because my architect with the City of Hartford,
get out of it. family’s culture was so different, it was Department of Public Works.
But, somehow, we are expected to challenging to fit in. But I learned a lot As a result of that type of diversity
answer that question that most adults about how to understand the language of personal and professional experience,
are still trying to solidify, “What do I of other cultures and how to assimilate. I have developed a mindset and under-
want to do for the Rest of My Life?” After I graduated with my Bach- standing of how companies and people
What I did know is that I loved elors of Architecture degree, I went work, how different people and genera-
math and was good at it. I also loved tions think, how they process informa-
art, but did not have the hand of an The motto I share with tion, and how structures are built and
artist. So, with the help of my parents, anyone who runs from delivered from all different sides of our
we put those two things together and diversity, is “Just be open profession.
they suggested that I think about being to what you don’t know.” I will say that the most empower-
an architect. Now, all I wanted to be No one is telling you it’ll ing and life-changing experience for me
when I was younger was a ballet dancer be the best thing for you, was in my work at Capital Workforce
but, again, by junior year in high school your organization, or your
the dance studio starts to tell you, in community. But you’ll continued on page 16
no uncertain terms, whether you are or never know if you’re not
are not cut out for that art. They tried open to it.
to direct me to other dance forms, but
all I wanted to be was a ballerina. After straight to work in an architecture
being told several times that my body firm and continued on that track for
wasn’t right, I stopped dancing and a couple of years. I soon left my career
decided to focus on “my future” as an to start and raise a family. Then, as
architect — having NO IDEA what life does, circumstances changed and I
that even meant and no dream or vision needed to reenter the workforce. But,
to back it up.
General background and experience?
Special challenges that you have faced?
I hold a Bachelor of Architecture

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Julia Jack cont’d architecture. I just have not had the What was your experience at Howard?
pleasure of working with any of them. My parents were the ones who suggest-
Partners’ Jobs Funnel and YouthBuild Experience with Zweig Groups ed that I attend Howard University. It
Hartford and New Britain programs ElevateHer program? never even crossed my mind to attend a
who in collaboration with Habitat for I am extremely thankful to have been Historically Black College and Univer-
Humanity worked to help young men chosen to take part in Zweig’s ElevateHer sity. Remember, I grew up in a mostly
and women prepare for work in the program as part of the 2021 cohort. It white town. I was young, and at the
construction industry. Because there is an amazing program wherein groups time was just following what my peers
is still such a small pool of female and of people, who are all in for diversity in were doing. But, when my parents took
minority constructors I felt immeasur- the AEC industry, are teaming up to do me to visit Howard, I knew as soon as
ably passionate about my work as part more than just engage in dialogue and I stepped onto campus that that was
of that program. indulge the idea of diversity. ElevateHer where I belonged. I knew it would be
What has been your experience is a group with a purpose to create solu- a place where I could learn and would
working with Landscape architects? tions — actual, living, practical, usable no longer be burdened with the need
I have mainly engaged with landscape solutions — to raise up and empower to assimilate or change myself to fit in.
architects peripherally through projects a diverse group of women to enter and This was a place where I could leave
I worked on when working in architec- stay in the AEC industry. I encourage that struggle behind and just focus on
ture. Early in my career I worked with a everyone to check out the project and the “normal” struggle of growing into
large architecture firm where there was progress made by last year’s cohort and adulthood and building up my knowl-
a landscape department and was able to to keep an eye out for the incredible edge and know-how to become a future
work directly with and alongside land- ideas and products that will come out young professional. It was one of the
scape architects there. The landscape of the 2021 cohort. Learn more at best and most empowering choices I
architects that I have worked with were www.zgelevateher.com. ever made, thanks to my parents guid-
non-minority and male, though I know ance and being open to what I did not
there is some diversity in landscape know.
The motto I share with anyone
who runs from diversity, is “Just be
open to what you don’t know.” No one
is telling you it’ll be the best thing for
you, your organization, or your com-
munity. But you’ll never know if you’re
not open to it.

There is a new way Challenges of your present job with
to do solar lighting Hartford?
Getting to work with the City of Hart-
The hei way... ford has been a very welcomed gift. The
developed people I work with here are absolutely
with architects dedicated to their jobs. We are dedicat-
for architects ed to improvement. Diversity seems to
just exist without a lot of effort. I am
INNOVATIVE OUTDOOR LIGHTING SOLUTIONS SPECIFICATION SALES | PROJECT MANAGEMENT not sure how this situation came about,
Connecticut | Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | Rhode Island | Vermont PHOTOMETRIC ANALYSIS | DESIGN SERVICES but it’s here. My department will have
800.974.6031 | www.speclines.net its challenges, because if there isn’t a
diverse set of people getting licensed to
see more: speclines heitechnology_international do what we do, then there will not be
diversity of people working in AEC in
our cities and towns, whether in public
or private organizations.
From my point of view, we are pro-
active with regards to being sure that
there is equal engagement of a diverse
pool of professionals, creating a place for
all organizations to develop and grow.

16 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 17

The Freeman Center Promotes History, Resilience, and
Neighborhood Revitalization in Bridgeport

BY MAISA L. TISDALE tice in Montgomery, Alabama — the We believe the South End can
nation’s first memorial dedicated to the be a cultural heritage site that
Most people know the Mary victims of racial terror lynching. The attracts tourism, investment,
and Eliza Freeman Center award-winning, nonprofit architectur- and new residents without
for History and Community al design firm believes in “expanding displacement of current
as the stewards of the Mary and Eliza access to design that is purposeful, heal- residents and gentrification.
Freeman houses (c. 1848), the last orig- ing, and hopeful” — in short, it would
inal structures of Little Liberia, a thriv- be the perfect partner to help us revital- Our neighbors, everyday people,
ing antebellum community of Native ize our neighborhood! share a community abound with cul-
and African Americans in Bridgeport. Bridgeport’s South End is a mar- tural assets that tell a compelling Amer-
In fact, the Center’s mission extends ginalized community with complex ican story. Roughly 300 families live
beyond restoring the houses. We also and intertwined socio-economic issues. in housing listed on or eligible for the
aim to teach the history of Black people Nonetheless, this community holds fast National Register of Historic Places,
in Connecticut; revitalize the surround- to positive aspirations. Since the 1980s near vacant historic mills. They live in
ing South End community; and facili- the South End has consistently artic- the footprint of Little Liberia, on ances-
tate the preservation and revitalization ulated the desire to pursue a path of tral land of the Paugussetts. They enjoy
of other African American, and greater arts- and culture-based economic devel- and maintain Seaside Park (designed by
Bridgeport, historic and preservation opment, but residents have not had the Frederick Law Olmsted). Soon, about
communities. expertise or resources to create a viable 100 acres of South End land will come
So, it seemed a wonderful oppor- design plan to promote to government, up for sale, and it became clear to the
tunity when MASS Design Group foundations, investors, or developers. Freeman Center that residents lacked
offered its pro bono services to the Climate change further exacerbated this the means to participate in land use dis-
Freeman Center in 2018. We knew challenge. cussions, on equal footing, with those
MASS Design as the designers of the deciding their fate.
National Memorial for Peace and Jus- Last spring, work on a community
plan began with MASS Design Direc-
tor Caitlin Taylor. The Freeman Center
convened the first community meeting
(of several to come) with a representa-
tive group of neighbors. The resulting
plan, unveiled on November 18, 2020,
was the very first step — the initial

Above: This rendering by the MASS Design Group shows proposed
neighborhood revitalization plan created for the Mary and Eliza Freeman
Center in Bridgeport. (Credit: MASS Design Group)
Right: The Eliza Freeman house (right) will be rehabbed as a resiliency
center for the South End. (Credit: Michael Ong, courtesy of James
Silvestro, Silvestro Design Operations)

18 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

concept for a climate-resilient, cultural efforts. The first phase of rehab work is In 2018 the National Trust for Historic Preservation
heritage site in Bridgeport’s South End. scheduled to begin in the spring, sup- included the Freeman houses in its list of Eleven Most
It proposes a phased redevelopment, ported in part by grants from the CT Threatened Historic Places.
beginning with the restoration of the Department of Economic and Com-
Freeman Houses. Other proposed ele- munity Development. the South End, and looks forward to
ments to be accomplished over time The Freeman Center is pleased facilitating efforts by its neighbors and
include: to be a leader in the revitalization of the City of Bridgeport. We believe the
• An expanded Freeman Center cam- South End can be a cultural heritage
site that attracts tourism, investment,
pus with community gathering, and new residents without displace-
educational, and museum spaces ment of current residents and gentrifi-
built on historic footprints of Little cation. We believe the area’s history and
Liberia structures. cultural diversity are that compelling!
• New affordable housing to be built — Maisa L. Tisdale is President and
on now vacant land, surrounded by CEO of The Mary & Eliza Freeman
a floodable park of recreational, con- Center for History and Community
structed wetlands to increase neigh- and a former Trustee of Preservation
borhood flooding capacity. Connecticut. For more information,
• A heritage trail with connections visit freemancenterbpt.org.
beyond the Freeman Center into Editor’s note: To Design Landscape Archi-
other historically significant areas of tects is currently working with Northeast
the South End. Collaborative Architects to renovate the
In the meantime, the Freeman Freeman Houses and site. This article first
Center is working with Resilient appeared in the Jan /Feb 2021 issue
Bridgeport, a HUD-funded, CT of Preservation Connecticut News.
Department of Housing program for
resilience strategy. The restored Eliza SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 19
Freeman House will serve as a unique
Resilience Center that provides: cli-
mate-focused humanities program-
ming and community meeting space,
a central location for dissemination of
resilience information, and storage for
supplies to assist storm-related recovery

ICONIC CONNECTICUT LANDSCAPES

BY PHIL BARLOW, ASLA, AICP, LEED AP

Jackie Robinson Park of Fame, was rededicated as Jackie Robinson Park in 1973, and as
Stamford The Jackie Robinson Park of Fame in 1996. The highlight
and focal point of the park is a life-size bronze sculpture of a
T he Jackie Robinson Park of Fame is dedicated to an smiling, at-bat Robinson, in his Dodgers uniform, #42. The
American hero and role model who also happened to be sculpture, created by Black artist Maceo Jeffries in 1999, sits
a legendary sports figure. The charming small park is locat- on a granite plinth carved to suggest a bat handle. Around
ed in Stamford’s West Side, where it has served residents for the base are the words “Perseverance, Courage, Confidence.”
decades. The Stamford artwork is one of seven sculptures in the
Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) was the first black player in United States of Robinson.
Major League Baseball, breaking the color line in an historic In 2012, after residents became concerned that the park
game on April 15, 1947. For nearly 20 years from 1955 until was run down and uninviting, it was renovated to plans by
his death, Robinson lived with his family in North Stamford. Stantec landscape architects. The design was derived through
The family initially encountered difficulty in finding a suit- a series of public meetings at which stakeholders weighed in
able home or property due to racial bias. Some even propa- on the proposed changes. Ultimately, walkways were reno-
gated the rumor that Robinson was not really interested in vated and expanded, the chain link barrier was replaced with
a rail fence, benches were replaced, and flowering trees were
living in Stamford bur added throughout. Featured in the park are an open lawn
simply wanted to “cause surrounded by an egg-shaped walkway, interpretive signage,
trouble.” Learning of and seasonal plantings.
Jackie’s plight, Stamford The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (obligated by a con-
architect and developer dition of their 2006 Zoning Board Certificate) provided
(and my friend) Tom $75,000 for improvements, with additional funds provided
Gaines mobilized the
community to wel- by SG Stamford (developer of The Stamford
come them and built Advocate site), as a condition of their Zoning
a beautiful home for Board Certificate, The City provided an addi-
the Robinson family. tional $50,000 in capital funds. The total budget
Robinson writes about for the renovations was approximately $160,000.
this difficult time in his
autobiography, “I Never Contractors Vitti Excavators, LLC, and East-
Had It Made.” ern Land Management donated in-kind services.

The Park, originally Today the park, a stop on Connecticut’s Free-
named Richmond Park, dom Trail, is a charming green space amongst
the bustle of an urban neighborhood. The figure
of #42, standing at the front of the park, is a
constant reminder of the inherent challenges that
people of color, no matter how gifted, must over-
come to achieve their dreams. On the day that I
visited, people of all ages, colors, and ethnicities
were enjoying the park.

20 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

Marcus Garvey Park, Hartford residential structures the new park has a permeable paver
flowing path, a prominent sign wall, ornamental metal
Marcus Mosiah Garvey benches and a plaque to honor Marcus Mosiah Garvey. At
(1887-1940) was a the entrance to the park, the curving half-moon-shaped
Jamaican-born political lead- stone signage wall announces that this is an important
er, journalist, publisher, and place, dedicated to an important person. The back of the
entrepreneur who rose to prom- wall doubles as seating. Flowing from the wall, the graded
inence in the United States as a pathway of red pavers act as a beautiful compliment to the
proponent of the Pan African- green grass. At the far end, opposite the signage wall is a
ism movement. Throughout his mass of ornamental shrubs that will explode with color each
life he worked to strengthen the bonds between all people of spring. Critical to the success of the park was the preservation
African descent. Later Black leaders including Martin Luther of two mature oak trees that dominate the area. The design
King and Malcolm X cited Garvey as an influence on their preserves, emphasizes, and focuses on these specimen
lives and work. New York City has a 21-acre park in Harlem beauties. New plant material was selected from a list of plants
as well as a street and public library named for Garvey. that would thrive in the Caribbean.
While Marcus Garvey never lived in Hartford, his son
Dr. Julius Garvey does, and it was he among others that At the dedication and ribbon cutting held
pushed for a park to honor his father. In 2015 To Design on September 22, 2016, a beautiful New
Landscape Architects was approached as a firm that might England fall day, Dr. Marcus Garvey, Jr. spoke
provide pro bono design services. As we have our roots in the of the movement that his father had started,
city and have a 30-year relationship, we were honored to do his influence on future leaders including Mar-
so. We explored several design options with the Department tin Luther King, and the need to continue the
of Public Works and representatives from the Marcus Garvey struggle. Local political leaders spoke of the
Foundation. All design decisions were based on the knowl- need to continue and build on Garvey’s legacy
edge that the city was in a budget crisis and little funds would of activism.
be available for maintenance, with most of that effort being
volunteer. The final endorsed design was a simple, easily Today Marcus Garvey Place not only honors
maintainable composition. the memory of Marcus Garvey but also helps
The small triangular park is located in the Blue Hills give the neighborhood a sense of place and dig-
neighborhood of Hartford, an area with a large Jamaican nity. The former forgotten traffic
population. Prior to the development of the green the area Island has been transformed into a much-need-
was a forgotten, forlorn pocket of weeds, surrounded by ed neighborhood green space and source of
pavement. pride, an oasis of peace and tranquility.
The park was designed not only to honor Garvey, but
to be a visual relief in the dense urban setting. Set among

— Phil Barlow is principal of To Design, LLC.

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 21

EXHIBITS

WE DESIGN: PEOPLE. PRACTICE. PROGRESS., background in design and sculpture has shaped her body
a program of the Design Museum, is designed to inspire of work, blurring the boundaries between landscape
young adults, particularly women and those from his- architecture and environmental art. From children’s play-
torically underinvested communities of color, to explore grounds to city parks and urban master plans, her work
careers in creative fields. The program explores reasons reflects a deep commitment to placemaking that captures
for the lack of racial and gender diversity through quanti- the public imagination.” We have a strong Connecticut
tative and qualitative data visualizations. The exhibitions connection to Mikyoung in that her father is Tai Soo Kim,
feature people of various ages, genders, backgrounds, rac- founder of TSKP Studio in Hartford, with whom many
es, ethnicities, and identities — highlighting their unique Connecticut landscape architects have collaborated.
career paths through stories, photos, and videos, along This online exhibit is worth spending some time with,
with artifacts and examples of their professional work. especially as it celebrates the work of landscape architects.
Thirty-two designers are profiled in the areas of land-
scape architecture, architecture, graphic design, interior
design, and other creative fields across seven “impact”
areas. Embedded in the exhibit are graphic images which
highlight the lack of racial and gender diversity and
equity within these professions.
In the area of “Spatial Design,” one of the of the
professionals featured is Mikyoung Kim, a landscape
architect in Boston. Her profile states that “her diverse

See the exhibit: https://designmuseumfoundation.org/we-design-online-exhibition/

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SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 23

Reshaping the Land and Community in Hartford

BY KATE MONTGOMERY, ASLA Summer of Solutions Hartford was Sciences Magnet School. She recalls
started by Jennifer Roach in 2010 as a being one of only a few young people
S ummer of Solutions (SOS) local chapter of the national youth-run of color at the high school. She was
Hartford, a small nonprofit orga- nonprofit Grand Aspirations. Their used to the opposite, previously attend-
nization located in Hartford, first summer program of eight young ing classes in a Hartford school where
Connecticut, traditionally connects people ran in 2011 and worked with
people in the community back to HART, Knox Parks, Hartford Food Food accessibility has
the earth by empowering them with System, the Somali-Bantu Community always been part of the
knowledge and tools to grow and cook Development Center, and the Zion organization’s goals, and
healthy food of their own through the pandemic made it
community gardening and a teen intern Street community to build even harder for many
program. Food accessibility a community garden called families to obtain basic
has always been part of the Wesley Colbert Zion Street needs.
organization’s goals, and the Community Garden.
pandemic made it even harder Sonsharae Owens has been the majority of students were people of
for many families to obtain with the organization for all color. Since this new school served the
basic needs. To support the but the first two years. She greater Hartford area, she assumed that
year-round needs of the com- was introduced to Summer for some of the white students, it was
munity, Summer of Solutions of Solutions Hartford when also their first time attending classes
began a mutual campaign in the group helped start a with students of color. Attending the
2020 to provide basic neces- community garden at her magnet school, Sonsharae was first
sities and virtual activities to high school. Because of her enthusi- made aware of the lack of diversity in
individuals and families of Hartford. asm and interest, she was recruited as a the field of Environmental Studies. The
For most of us in Connecticut, March summer intern for the organization and high school program introduced Son-
of 2021 marked one year since the soon became a garden coordinator. sharae to environmental justice issues
state shutdown due to Covid-19. For At the time of her introduction to
Summer of Solutions, this was also the Summer of Solutions, Sonsharae was
marker of a new chapter for the orga- a student in the first class of the newly
nization which reached far beyond the established Hartford Environmental
summer growing season.

Last summer, interns and coordinators used the materials available to them to reclaim the vacant lot on Zion The “Pink Pantry” is located outside of the Zion Street
Street as a space for the community. The sign above was painted by interns and placed outside of the community garden plot for the community to give what they can
garden. and take what they need.

24 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

like air pollution, flooding, and climate Wesley Colbert Zion Street Community Garden. community and shaping the natural
change. She learned about food justice world into something beautiful that
and was influenced by documentaries York three years ago to work toward benefits the community and introduces
like Food Inc., and went vegan for three my license as a landscape architect at young people to the value and pleasure
years. Following graduation Sonsharae Freeman Associates. I was aware of of growing their own food. Her passion
went on to attend Goodwin College the organization but was not directly reminds me of why I chose to pursue
and continued working as the Garden involved until last summer when I was the profession of landscape architecture
Coordinator for Summer of Solutions looking for volunteer work to get me after stumbling upon it while applying
during the summer months. outdoors after long days working from for colleges in high school.
It was her internship with Summer home. Helping the organization has I often feel overwhelmed when I
of Solutions that really connected the been a learning opportunity for me, walk in the front room of Sonsharae’s
dots between what she was learning and a chance to meet dedicated people
in school and the reality of her com- like Sonsharae. I am impressed with continued next page
munity. Sonsharae learned about the Sonsharae’s passion for supporting her
serious negative health effects for those
that live in urban food deserts and that
her neighborhood, on the north end of
Hartford, was considered one of these
food deserts. She also learned that the
communities which faced the envi-
ronmental injustices that she learned
about in high school, were predomi-
nately communities of color. This new
perspective made the issues even more
personal and motivated her to become
an environmental activist and continue
working with Summer of Solutions.
The parent organization which helped
establish Summer of Solutions back in
2010 is no longer active, but this Hart-
ford chapter has continued to grow
and evolve. The organization recently
became a registered nonprofit and
Sonsharae is now the Executive Direc-
tor of Summer of Solutions.

M y introduction to the organi-
zation was as a community
member and then a volunteer. I moved
to Hartford from Syracuse, New

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Reshaping cont’d and adding more masks, hand sanitizer, The growing season is finally
toiletries, and additional food items for here. The summer intern
first-floor apartment located between distribution to families in need. In the program for teens will start
the garden plots on Zion Street. Since next several weeks Summer of Solutions soon and the Zion Street
the organization began its mutual aid hopes to weatherize the outdoor pantry location will come alive with
campaign to support the community (dubbed the Pink Pantry) to allow the outdoor activities.
with direct food aid, the front room community to take or donate items to
has become the donation collection the pantry year round, set up a listserv in my career and separates my trajecto-
area and it gets filled with items such for monthly grocery deliveries, get the ry from many without similar privilege
as canned food, clothing, bread, baby garden started for the season with new — so many that might otherwise enjoy
food, diapers, and 50-lb. bags of rice, beds, soil, and seedlings, and hire paid a career in an environmental field or in
potatoes, onions, and flour. The space interns. the profession of landscape architecture.
often gets filled to the brim, emptied, Sonsharae says that running the While summer of solutions is not
and refilled, several times a week. Since organization is tough and she’s had to the solution to all problems, the organi-
the mutual aid efforts really kicked off step up to take on new responsibilities. zation tries its best to support the needs
in 2021, the quantity of donations has She and her family have always lived on of low-income residents in Hartford
increased, as well as the requests for aid. the edge, struggling to put food on the by offering food, sustainability tips,
The small organization has been find- table and keep the heat on in the win- clothing, even art supplies to keep kids
ing ways to organize the interior and ter. These tough times are most difficult busy and creative during the pandemic.
outdoor space to maximize resources, for those that don’t have intergenera- While winter activities have focused on
and efficiency in order to best support tional wealth to fall back on. I made mutual aid, the growing season is final-
the community. Weekend trips to stores my move to Hartford in a car given to ly here. The summer intern program
include picking up shelving units from me by my grandmother after my grand- for teens will start soon and the Zion
Habitat for Humanity, finding a desk father was no longer able to drive. That Street location will come alive with
on Facebook Marketplace for Sonsharae gift of intergenerational wealth is just outdoor activities. This year, the orga-
to use for emails and meetings, locating one of the many ways I was supported nization will need to rebuild garden
beds and recruit teens for the summer
We Grow the Legacy of Your Trees internship program. Sonsharae hopes
that the garden will become a safe
All Phases of Tree Care space in the Frog Hollow and Parkville
Tick Spraying • Lightning Protection community where everyone feels wel-
Traditional & Organic Insect and Disease Management come and can learn about gardening to
Consultation with Landscape Architects reclaim their relationship with food, the
Management Plans • Alturnamats Dealer land, and each other.
If you would like to support
CALL 860-868-1930 TODAY! any of the initiatives of Summer of
Solutions you can do so by making a
Bill Pollock, Licensed Arborist #62352 • Certi ed Arborist #NE-0387AT • DEEP License #B-1172 contribution to one of their fundraising
campaigns (https://linktr.ee/sos860)
or by becoming a monthly donor on
Patreon (www.patreon.com/sos860).
By committing to a monthly donation
of $5-$50 on Patreon, you can help
the organization purchase plants,
seeds, lumber for new garden beds,
compost, and flowering perennials to
attract pollinators and add color to the
neighborhood.

ArborCT.com — Kate Montgomery is a landscape
designer with Freeman Associates.

26 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

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SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 27

White Hats Aren’t Enough
M any take it as an article of
professional faith that the The art of arrogation • When landscape architects tell clients
practice-based and economic and explain to the public that their
inequities generally found in landscape Many professions have flourished training and experience generally make
architecture are small prices to pay for because their members and leaders have them the best judge of what the land
the intrinsic design, environmental, and first persuaded themselves that by dint will permit, they are generally right.
aesthetic integrity of their work. of avocation and enlightened self-delu- • When clients eventually and in greater
“We’re the guys in the white hats,” sion, they have God-given entitlement numbers retain landscape architects for
the theory goes. That makes up for a to a body of prerogatives, perquisites, total project management — including
lot. Including, one presumes, material and pampering. building architecture — project cost
comfort, professional morale, and pub- Typically, they next bring this new- effectiveness will improve; greater sensi-
lic recognition. ly discovered gospel to lobbyists, public tivity will be paid to environmental and
relations experts, and other surrogates ecological considerations; the virtues of
Beyond economic rewards and pay them handsomely to persuade collaboration will become more self-ev-
the citizenry that it should accept at ident; and ordinary citizens will feel
Several months ago, in this space, face value what often is a well-financed themselves better accommodated to the
we discussed the general need for mem- fiction and occasionally a dangerous environment — to the land.
bers of the profession to spend more fallacy.
time wondering about the profile of Many physicians, lawyers, and Charting the future
their wallets. building architects have waxed this art
The thinking then — and now — to a highly polished sheen and have We’ve now arrived at the point in
is pretty straightforward. managed, with barely a peep of protest our professional history where we spend
Professional fees within shouting from anyone, to arrogate to themselves an awful lot of time talking to ourselves
distance of the value of the services an aura of omnipotence which, so far about how we’re talking too much to
we render to our clients are essential as we know, is not embodied in statute ourselves.
for the survival of the profession; for or regulation, much less in their profes- What we need instead of words is
the time and privilege of pursuing sional training and experience. a plan, a real blueprint for aggressively
important environmental objectives; for Sour grapes? Not at all. I’m taking positioning the profession with the
investment in the organizational life of pure admiration for their chutzpah, public; for confronting and defeating
our profession; and for full and mean- total astonishment at the naivete of outdated stereotypes about our capa-
ingful lives — and equal opportunities many of their clients, and near bulimic bilities; for accomplishing parity with
— for those we love and sustain. hunger for the chance to accomplish other design professionals even when
A profession which cannot provide the same feat for landscape architecture. that requires constructive engagement;
this level of economic and personal for achieving higher earnings for land-
support finds that young men and Advantage landscape architecture scape architects; and for improving the
women look elsewhere for careers. possibility that the legacy we leave lives
A profession without those attri- There simply isn’t a reason in the up to our potential.
butes discovers that persons who do world why we can’t accomplish for Editors Note: Did I get your
enter the profession exit before they ourselves what other professions have attention? No this isn’t a contemporary
reach the peak of their intellectual and managed for so many years. essay, it’s one that I found in my files
professional powers — before the rest As a matter of fact, we are in a from 1987 written by then Executive
of us have the benefit of their inspira- much better position to finally begin Vice President of ASLA, David Bohardt.
tion and leadership. the process of coming of age. We have Hmmmm…not sure that we have
Finally, understanding that the after all, strong bases in fact for arrogat- moved the needle much in 34+ years.
rewards of the profession may be more ing to the profession a much wider role. Perhaps you disagree. If so, I would love
philosophical than palpable breeds To wit: to hear from you. Letters to the editor
inertia, diminishes self-esteem, and • When members of our profession tell are always welcomed! — Phil Barlow
ultimately makes the perception of sec- clients and explain to the public that
ond-class status a self-fulfilling prophecy. land planning, land use analysis, and
landscape design are the essential and
necessary first determinants of building
design, scale and sitting, they speak
only the truth.

28 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

REMEMBRANCES Ultimate Grass for Residential, Commercial & Municipal

Edward Cape (1920-2021) • Lush Dark Green Grass
• Four-foot roots need
BY PHIL BARLOW, ASLA, AICP, LEED AP
75% less water
We remember ASLA Connecticut friend and long-time • Mow only once a month
member Edward Cape, who passed away peacefully at
home in March. He was 100 years old. rather than weekly
Ed Cape was destined to be a landscape architect. Raised • Needs no chemicals to
on an estate property in England and surrounded by nurser-
ies, he learned an appreciation for outdoor spaces very early out-compete weeds and grass
in life. As he says, “I always wanted to be outside.” • Stays green year round
Coming to New York City in 1953, he lived in the Vil- • Grows in all world climates
lage for a while and eventually made his way to Hartford,
where he met his future wife, Ruth. Securing a position with www.PearlsPremium.com
landscape architect A. Carl Stelling led to several years of Call (508) 653-0800 for Discount
work on landscape plans for the New York Thruway and the
Connecticut Turnpike (Interstate 95).
In the early 1960s, Ed decided to start his own firm,
Edward C. Cape and Associates, and never looked back. A
talented and widely respected landscape architect, Edward
created innumerable landscape designs for commercial set-
tings and private homes across New England and New York.
Local projects included landscape designs for Beachland Park
in West Hartford and Duncaster in Bloomfield.

Edward became a member of ASLA in 1970. His service
to the Chapter includes a term in 1980 as our president. He
was also active in the Rotary Club, where he made friend-
ships that extended around the world. As his obituary notes,
Edward was a true gentleman, a talented artist, and an inspi-
ration to his family and his friends.
Speaking to Ed Cape in 2011 about his long career in
landscape architecture reminded me that our chosen occu-
pation can be noble, satisfying, and rewarding. His repeated
assertion that he has been lucky reminded me of Thomas
Jefferson’s quote on luck: “I’m a great believer in luck, and I
find that the harder I work the more I have of it.”
— W. Phillips Barlow is principal of To Design, LLC in
New Britain.

Words of Wisdom from Ed Cape:

• “Keep your nose to the plans.”
• “Never miss an opportunity to follow through.”
• “The only way for landscape architects to get

their due recognition is to Push It.”

SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG 29

PIONEERS OF CONNECTICUT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Helene Bliss Warner (1900-1986)

George Yarwood (a founder of our Connecticut Chapter) delivered the following address
at the annual meeting of CTASLA on October 15, 1977:

T he morning in 1923 when 1931 as a full member in the days when
Helene Bliss Warner came to submission of examples of work were
work for Thomas H. Desmond received by a national Examining Board
in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1923, she of the Society consisting of outstanding
found a note: “Back late afternoon. professional landscape architects. In
Keep the stove going.” 1966 she was raised to Fellow in recog-
Helene had attended Bradford nition of excellence of executed works
Academy in Haverhill, MA (then a of landscape architecture and service
finishing school for girls) and in part to the Society. She was a founding Helene Warner Bliss in 1965.
at the suggestion of Marian C. Coffin, member of the Connecticut Chapter
gone on to the Cambridge School of in 1945, serving in all offices including Helene made good use of her talent
Domestic Architecture and Landscape president of the Chapter in 1957, and in far-ranging travels throughout the
Architecture. Mr. Desmond was her was Trustee from 1964 to 1970, serving United States and Canada, Bermuda,
first employer, and at the time she was with distinction in all positions. the Caribbean, Japan, Hawaii, and
his only employee. Among these many projects for Europe. She was ASLA delegate to
For the next ten years or so, which Miss Warner was responsible meetings of the International Federa-
during which the firm incorporated as were the estates of Mr. and Mrs. Fred- tion of Landscape Architects in Japan
Desmond, Eddy & Warner, Inc., she erick B. Rentschler (now Renbrook and Europe.
became the member who produced School in West Hartford) the estate She has been an active participant
most of the planting plans (as often of Mr. and Mrs. George J. Mead, and in Middletown affairs having served on
happened in those days with women many other large and small residential the Planning and Zoning Commission
in professional offices). But, as with all works. She was also involved in the site and for the Park Department and
Desmond associates, she was expect- work for the original plant for Pratt & the local hospital. She has interests
ed to take on any phase of the work Whitney Aircraft, Chance Vought Air- in Wesleyan University, has designed
required for the wide variety of clients craft, and Hamilton Standard Propeller the garden for the Historical Society
served by the firm — from the choice of complex in East Hartford. of Middletown, of which she is an
site, through design, grading, construc- Her own home, La Morada officer, and is active in the DAR and
tion details, graphic presentation, close (the “Home”), on George Street in Soroptimist Club.
work with the client, and follow-up Middletown was designed by a Cali- It was my good fortune to work
through construction. She also confirms fornia woman architect. Helene sited with Helene Bliss Warner as a member
that she ran the gun, and took her turn the house, patterned after an early of the Desmond firm and to have her
holding the chain and the rod for field California farmhouse, so that it settled as a good friend from the 1940s on and
surveys. Engineers did not always give comfortably on a sloping New England as a fellow worker in our profession-
us the data we needed, so we made our acreage which included her own small al Society. Her ability as a landscape
own surveys and often staked the work. golf course and informal swimming architect was manifest from the start
In the 1920s much of the work was pool with extensive gardens where she of our acquaintance in 1929 as shown
on residential grounds and Helene had could experiment with plants. by the many properties for which she
an increasing number of private clients Miss Warner retired from the firm was, either independently or as a mem-
who expected her personal attention at in 1932 and after some work outside ber of the firm, responsible. The long
all stages. Her many clients returned of the profession (in banking) she con- association with many private clients
consistently when they expanded their tinued her own private practice with indicates how well they thought of
grounds, revised their lifestyle, or projects throughout Connecticut as her as a warm, human person and an
moved to new homes; and they recom- well as consulting for Bradford College accomplished landscape architect.
mended her to their friends. and Wellesley College, and as far away Editor’s Note: Colleagues remembered
Helene joined the American as Bermuda for a private client. Helene as “a good Hula dancer.”
Society of Landscape Architects in Always interested in photography,

30 SPRING 2021 | CTASLA.ORG

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