The National Register of Historic Places is pleased to promote awareness of and appreciation for historic places important in Landscape Architecture history and a host of publications and programs to assist in their preservation. This site showcases historic properties listed in the National Register, National Register publications, and National Park units commemorating the events and people, the designs and achievements that help illustrate the contributions of Landscape Architecture to the Nation's history.

Lincoln Park Lily Pool, Chicago , IL

Lincoln Park's Lily Pool Photo from National Historic Landmark file Lincoln Park Gatehouse Photo from National Historic Landmark file

Designed by Alfred Caldwell (1903-1998), the 3-acre Lily Pool is an exquisite hidden garden in Chicago 's Lincoln Park that symbolically celebrates the natural and pre-history of the Midwest . Considered the last great Prairie-style landscape architect of the 20th Century, Caldwell was a disciple of renowned landscape architect and conservationist Jens Jenson and an accomplished planner, architect, teacher, poet and essayist. In addition to Jensen's influence on his life and work, Caldwell knew and was influenced by internationally acclaimed architects Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe and urban planner Ludwig Hilberseimer. In 1936, Jensen described Caldwell as the nation's most “outstanding prospect as a landscape gardener.” The Lily Pool clearly represents the fulfillment of Jensen's prediction. Today, the Lily Pool retains exceptionally strong historic integrity, due to its thoughtful and well-documented rehabilitation during 2000-2002. The Lily Pool's designation by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton as a National Historic Landmark on February 17, 2006, recognizes the nationally significant role that 20th-century park planning and landscape architecture played in developing urban parks.

Manitoga (Russel Wright Home & Studio), Garrison, New York

The Quarryside View of Manitoga Photo from National Historic Landmark file

Manitoga is the 77-acre self-designed home, studio, and landscape of nationally acclaimed American industrial designer Russel Wright. A founding member of the American Society of Industrial Designers, Wright was well-known as the designer of the “American Modern” style in domestic decorative arts (furniture, fabrics, glassware, and tableware) and as the inventor of the still popular sectional sofa. Wright's work was exhibited regularly at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and at such venues as the 1939 World's Fair. Wright's democratic “good design is for everyone” philosophy is embodied in the 1950 design manifesto, Guide to Easier Living, written with his wife, Mary. The house, studio, and landscape design retain a high degree of integrity and the studio has recently been restored. Restoration plans for sections of the house have been planned, are underway, or have been completed. The landscape is relatively unchanged since Wright's death in 1976 with the exception of expected plant growth and the loss of many hemlock trees because of disease. Manitoga was designated a National Historic Landmark by Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton on February 17, 2006.

The Moss Room Viewing Spot Photo from National Historic Landmark file	The Rocky Path Photo from National Historic Landmark file.

Several titles in the National Register of Historic Places bulletin series provide guidance on the identification, evaluation and documentation of a variety of historic landscapes--from parks and parkways to gardens and cemeteries to agricultural districts and institutional campuses--for listing in the National Register.

Historic Residential Suburbs

Designed Historic Landscapes

Rural Historic Landscapes

Historic Battlefields

Historic Cemeteries

Traditional Cultural Properties

Discover Historic Contexts featuring aspects of Landscape Architecture and History such as Historic Park Landscapes in National and State Parks MPS , Modernism in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Design, and Art in Bartholomew County, 1942-1965 MPS, Historic Designed Landscapes of Syracuse MPS and many others by searching the National Register Information System database.

Virtually visit the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historic Park and the associated Conservation Study Institute, and other National Parks with historic Landscape Architecture significance.

Investigate collections of Teaching with Historic Places classroom-ready lesson plans featuring landscape design, urbanization, conservationism, the role of public parks in U.S. history and celebrating National Park Week and Earth Day.

Associated National Park Service program links:

Guidance for making educated decisions and protecting cultural landscapes—both designed landscapes such as gardens and parks to working vernacular historic landscapes such as farms and industrial sites--from the NPS Historic Landscapes Initiative.

Like its sister programs, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) produces written and graphic records of interest to educators, land managers, and preservation planners documenting the variety of American landscapes.

The Park Historic Structures and Cultural Landscapes Programs provide direction and demonstrate high quality preservation practices regarding cultural landscapes—ranging from carriage roads to battlefields, designed gardens to vernacular homesteads, and industrial complexes to summer estates-- in the National Park System.

National Organizations:

American Society of Landscape Architects

Alliance Historic Landscape Preservation

Library of American Landscape History

National Association for Olmsted Parks

The Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University

The Garden Conservancy

Current Landscape Architecture Month Feature

 

Comments or Questions

JPJ/BLS