Charles William Eliot II (November 5, 1899 – March 16, 1993) was a prominent American

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manageme ...

. Eliot was son of Samuel Atkins Eliot II, a Unitarian minister, nephew of Charles Eliot, the celebrated landscape architect, and grandson of

Charles W. Eliot Charles William Eliot (March 20, 1834 – August 22, 1926) was an American academic who was president of Harvard University from 1869 to 1909the longest term of any Harvard president. A member of the prominent Eliot family of Boston, he transfo ...

, President of Harvard University, for whom he was named. Eliot was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard University. Despite leaving his studies in 1918 to join the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

as an ambulance driver in Italy, he graduated with his class in 1920 and received his master's degree in 1923 from the School of Landscape Architecture. He then apprenticed with the Olmsted Brothers, toured Europe, and on his return established his practice in Boston, serving as secretary of

The Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

as its first paid employee. In this role, he conceived and began the process of establishing the Bay Circuit Beltway, a green belt encircling greater Boston. In time he relocated to Washington, D.C., first as director of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission until 1933, involved in the development of the National Mall, then until 1943 as Director of the National Resources Planning Board, which formed part of the

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recove ...

. One of his most notable government projects was in planning and advocating for the George Washington Memorial Parkway along the Potomac River. As he wrote at the time, "No area in the United States combine so many historical monuments in so small a district as the Potomac River Valley in the Washington region." After a few years in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, he returned to Cambridge in the early 1950s as a consultant. In 1954 joined the faculty of the

Harvard Graduate School of Design The Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) is the graduate school of design at Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers master's and doctoral programs in architecture, landscape architecture, urban ...

as Charles Eliot Professor of Landscape Architecture, where he taught until 1966, and joined the board of

. Eliot also served as Assistant Editor of the American City Planning Institute's monthly magazine, ''City Planning'', contributing editor for ''Planning and Civic Comment'' (1935-1943), and on various roles on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Institute of Planners (1955-1958), and the publication board of ''

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

'' (1956-1959). He was a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and in 1982, was awarded its highest honor, the ASLA Medal. He died March 16, 1993, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sources

* ''Preliminary Report, PARK SYSTEM FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, submitted in Accordance with Program of Work adopted August, 1926'', December, 1926. National Archives, Record Group 79, Box 4. * "The George Washington Memorial Parkway," ''Landscape Architecture'', vol. XXII, April 1932, p. 191.
Guide to Charles W. Eliot II Papers, (1891-1993)
The Trustees of Reservations, 2016.
Charles W. Eliot II Papers, 1971-1976

Charles W. Eliot, II, The Cultural Landscape Foundation

Charles W. Eliot, II, Harvard Square Library

Eliot Talks About Role of Buildings
''Harvard Crimson, November 14, 1956 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot II, Charles W. American landscape architects Harvard Graduate School of Design alumni Harvard College alumni Eliot family (United States) 1899 births 1993 deaths