Warren Henry Manning (November 7, 1860–February 5, 1938) was an American landscape designer and promoter of the informal and naturalistic "wild garden" approach to garden design. In his designs, Manning emphasized pre-existing flora through a process of selective pruning to create a "spatial structure and character." (Karson, 1997) An advocate for the conservation of the American landscape, Manning was a key figure in the formation of the
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...
and a proponent of the
National Park System
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
.
History
Warren H. Manning was born in
Reading, Massachusetts
Reading ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 census.
History
Settlement and American independence
Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settle ...
, to
Jacob Warren Manning, who owned and operated a nursery. It was here that Manning developed an extensive knowledge of plant materials. Jacob Manning nourished his son's interest in horticulture by including him on botanical expeditions and visits to other nurseries including the Downing nursery, owned by Charles Downing, brother of
Andrew Jackson Downing
Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...
(Karson, 2000). Manning also credited his mother, Lydia, a watercolorist, for his appreciation of the smaller details found in nature by exposing him to the home garden, pointing out "birds, flowers, toads, butterflies and beetles (Karson, 1997). Manning wrote that he "modeled in sand and mud hills, valleys, tunnels, houses, roads, and gardens with pools" (Karson, 1997). In 1884, this exposure, coupled with the internship experience at his father's nursery, led to his desire to make "America a finer place in which to live" (Karson, 1997) and to choose landscape design as a profession.
By 1884, the 26-year-old Manning was designing landscapes for James Warren Manning's customers. During his time as an apprentice, Manning furthered his plant knowledge while attending Harvard's
Olmsted Olmsted may refer to:
People
* Olmsted (name)
Places
* Olmsted Air Force Base, inactive since 1969
* Olmsted, Illinois
* Olmsted County, Minnesota
* Olmsted Falls, Ohio
* Olmsted Point, a viewing area in Yosemite National Park
* Olmsted Town ...
designed
Arnold Arboretum for Saturday study sessions, foreshadowing what would eventually be one of Manning's greatest influences. During this time, Manning also found time to go on plant hunting trips in the
White Mountains (New Hampshire)
The White Mountains are a mountain range covering about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. They are part of the northern Appalachian Mountains and the most rugged mountains in New Eng ...
(Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens 2007).
In 1885, Manning married his wife, Nellie Hamblin Pratt. Three years later, he left his father's nursery pursuing his goal, seeking the company of the "most eminent man in the landscape profession" (Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens 2007). His searching landed him in the office of one of the most influential landscape architects of his time;
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
.
Here Manning's extensive knowledge of plant materials was utilized in the planting designs of such projects as the
Chicago Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
of 1893. Manning was responsible for the final planting scheme and installation of the horticultural displays of the park (Karson, 1997). At the Olmsted office, Manning also worked on the planting design of the
Biltmore Estate of
George Vanderbilt in
Asheville, North Carolina and extensive park designs in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
,
Buffalo,
Rochester
Rochester may refer to:
Places Australia
* Rochester, Victoria
Canada
* Rochester, Alberta
United Kingdom
*Rochester, Kent
** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area
** History of Rochester, Kent
** HM Prison ...
,
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Trenton and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Initially signed on as planting supervisor, his extensive horticultural knowledge quickly expanded his function at the firm, and during his eight-year employment, he participated in 125 projects in 22 states. While working under Olmsted, Manning gained invaluable experience in planned industrial settings, which would play a key role in his later career. While working with
Charles Eliot, a partner at the firm, on the Boston Metropolitan Park System, Manning was exposed to thorough and extensive research of a site and the method of overlaying sketches of topography, roads, water features, etc. over sketches of vegetation (Karson 2000). This method of resource-planning would be used over and over in Manning's career.
In 1896, Manning left the Olmsted office to begin his own business on Tremont Street near the
Boston Common
The Boston Common (also known as the Common) is a public park in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest city park in the United States. Boston Common consists of of land bounded by Tremont Street (139 Tremont St.), Park Street, Beac ...
. Aware that Frederick Olmsted Sr. would pass his business on to both of his sons and partner
Charles Eliot, Manning decided to start out on his own (Karson, 2000). When Manning left the firm, Olmsted allowed him to take about 15 jobs with him; one of these clients was
William Gwinn Mather
William Gwinn Mather (September 22, 1857 – April 5, 1951) was an American industrialist.
Mather was born in Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees. Mather headed the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company for 50 years f ...
. Mather heartily supported Manning and would employ him on sixty design and planning projects throughout their lives including the design of his home near Cleveland, Ohio (Karson, 1997). Now completely in charge, Manning was able to pursue designs of styles that interested him. This was largely an 18th-century English romantic style, adapted to the American landscape. The product of which was a sprawling, natural design, littered with native plants (Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens 2007).
Charles Gillette
Charles Freeman Gillette (1886–1969) was a prominent landscape architect in the upper South who specialized in the creation of grounds supporting Colonial Revival architecture, particularly in Richmond, Virginia. He is associated with the res ...
served as an apprentice in his office in 1909-1911.
In 1919, Manning's talents took him to
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, where he worked on a new design for the city. He recommended a radical resource-based plan which included "multiple neighborhood-based centers determined by available resources" (Karson, 2001). He also makes note of the importance of parks throughout the city stating that "the cities that are best designed have about one-eighth of their area in parks and about one acre to 75 people" (Manning, 1919). This approach was in direct contrast to the then-popular
City Beautiful movement
The City Beautiful Movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of the ...
which emphasized monumental civic centers and
Beaux Arts architecture
Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporat ...
style public buildings (Karson, 2001). The architectural design of the
Chicago Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
was based in the City Beautiful movement, but now, on his own, Manning decided on a different course following his own landscape theories which were based on the naturally available resources. This idea was the basis for his creation of the "wild garden" which he applied to many of his landscape designs.
During his career, Manning worked on more than 1700 projects including a number of park designs, private estates, city planning, college campuses, subdivisions, golf courses, and government and community projects. Manning's brother joined him as a business partnership between 1901 and 1904.
Bryant Fleming
Bryant Fleming (July 19, 1877 – September 19, 1946) was an American architect and landscape architect.
Early life
Fleming was born on July 19, 1877 in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1901, where he studied horticulture ...
(1877-1946) worked for him during this period.
Together they created a revolutionary park design for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania utilizing a new drainage and sanitation system. During the Depression years Manning's practice did not do well and by the 1930s he was receiving very few commissions. In 1938, Manning died of a heart attack at the age of seventy-eight (Karson, 2001). His remaining papers are collected at the
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...
and
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the ...
. A state forest located in
Billerica
Billerica (, ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 42,119 according to the 2020 census. It takes its name from the town of Billericay in Essex, England.
History
In the early 1630s, a Praying India ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, on land he donated, is named for him.
Manning's "wild gardens"
Early on in his career, Manning went against the then-popular formalistic approach to landscape design and emphasized a more naturalistic approach of native plants and naturalistic groupings. The formal gardens of the late nineteenth century relied heavily on a more symmetrical design and extensive use of ornament. Manning describes his wild gardening as "that form of floriculture which is concerned with planting in a nature-like manner colony of hardy plants that require a minimum of care" (Karson, 2001). In his early, unpublished essay "The Nature Garden," Manning writes:
:I would have you give your thoughts to a new type of gardening wherein the Landscaper recognizes, first, the beauty of existing conditions and develops this beauty to the minutest detail by the elimination of material that is out of place in a development scheme by selective thinning, grubbing, and trimming, instead of by destroying all natural ground cover vegetation or modifying the contour, character, and water context of existing soil.
This idea of selective thinning and pruning was at the core of Manning's landscape theory. He celebrated the smallest details in the landscape, emphasizing lichens and fungi in his design, which was contrary to his counterparts and unusual for this time in landscape design.
Gwinn: wild garden
In 1907,
William Gwinn Mather
William Gwinn Mather (September 22, 1857 – April 5, 1951) was an American industrialist.
Mather was born in Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees. Mather headed the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company for 50 years f ...
, owner of Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, asked Manning, along with
Charles A. Platt to design his property outside of
Cleveland, Ohio. Manning and Platt were hired to work together, but often with conflicting landscape designs for the same property. Platt, a more formalist designer, emphasized paths, gates and other architectural elements while Manning based his designs on the "wild garden" approach (Karson, 1995). Manning inventoried the site's pre-existing plants, and with selective pruning and thinning, created graceful planting groupings and spaces. Manning also shipped plants in from neighboring states including wildflowers from
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
and
rhododendrons from
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
(Karson, 2004). In 1912, Mather bought another large piece of property adjacent to the Cleveland location, at which Manning designed another "wild garden".
Privately held since 2007, Gwinn is not open to the public
Notable contributions
In 1899, three years after leaving the firm of Olmsted Sr., Manning wrote Eliot, seeking help in creating a professional organization for landscape architects. Eliot, however, was more interested in creating a public association. The final product of this idea would become the American Civic Association. After this was founded, Manning returned to his desire to create a professional organization. With the help of the
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...
, 11 charter members of the
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship ...
met for the first time in 1899 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 1914, Manning would serve as president (Karson 2000).
In addition to being an influential landscape architect, Manning was also an avid writer and proponent of the conservation of America's wilderness. As such, Manning worked on a large mapping project (1915-1916) and wrote a "National Plan" which advocated for the conservation of American's lands by establishing National and State Forest and Park systems.
Manning was responsible for the restoration of his family's early colonial homestead, the
Manning Manse in
Billerica, Massachusetts. In the 1890s, the property was in decline, and Manning led a carefully documented rehabilitation of the c. 1696 homestead. He occupied it as a summer home until his death. He also purchased large tracts of land surrounding the homestead, on which he maintained an office for a time. Much of this land is now for the core of
Warren H. Manning State Forest.
Projects
Residential
:William Gwinn Mather-Cleveland, OH
:F.A. and Gertrude Seiberling-
Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens, Akron, OH, one of the finest examples of his work remaining, open to the publi
:Gustave Pabst- Milwaukee, WI
:August and Adolphus Busch-St Louis,IL
:Cyrus and Harriet McCormick-Lake Forest, IL
:J.J. Borland-Camden, ME
:
Hill-Stead Museum,
Farmington, Connecticut
Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...
:
Clement Griscom
Clement Acton Griscom (March 15, 1841 – November 10, 1912) was an American shipping magnate and financier.
Griscom was "without question, the key figure in American transatlantic shipping" by 1900.
Biography
Griscom was born in 1841 to a long ...
-
Dolobran
Dolobran is a Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style house at 231 Laurel Lane in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Frank Furness for shipping magnate Clement Griscom in 1881, and was expanded at least twice by Furness. The h ...
, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
:
Lewis Mountain,
Charlottesville, Virginia
:
Cobe Estate,
Northport, Maine
Northport is a town on Penobscot Bay in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,550 at the 2020 census. The coastal Bayside residential area is home to over one hundred Victorian seaside cottages, a marina, and the Cobe Estate. ...
(circa 1912-1915)
Park systems
:
Wilcox Park -
Westerly, Rhode Island
Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...
br>
(Memorial and Library Association of Westerly) RI
Mackinac Island State Park MI
:Milwaukee, WI
:Minneapolis, MN
:Providence, RI
:Louisville, KY
:Cincinnati, OH
: Flint, MI
:Pennsylvania
Communities
:
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
Longview Gardens:
Gwinn, Michigan
Gwinn is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Marquette County, Michigan, Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place (CDP) for statistical purposes and has no legal status as an incorporated mun ...
:
Mountain Brook, Alabama
Mountain Brook is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States, and a suburb of Birmingham. Its population at the 2010 census was 20,413.
History
The city was originally developed in 1929 by real-estate businessman Robert Jemi ...
:
Bellevue Park,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
:
Warren, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in and the county seat of Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, United States. It is southeast of Tucson and north of the Mexican border. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,923, down from 5,575 i ...
Boulevards
:Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL -
Biscayne boulevard
U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Numbe ...
References
*Karson, Robin, Jane Roy Brown, and Sarah Allaback.
Warren H. Manning, Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner'. 2017. Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, and Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press.
*Karson, R. (1995). The Gardens-William Gwinn Mather's resident in Bratenahl, Ohio.
lectronic Version Magazine Antiques, March.
*Karson, Robin (1995).
The Muses of Gwinn: Art and Nature in a Garden Designed by Warren H. Manning, Charles A. Platt & Ellen Biddle Shipman'' Amherst, MA: Library of American Landscape History, and Sagaponack, NY: Sagapress.
*Karson, R.(1997). "Warren H. Manning: Pragmatist in the Wild Garden," ''Nature and Ideology: Natural Garden Design in the Twentieth Century,'' ed. Joachim Wolschke-Bulmahn, Volume 18 of Dumbarton Oaks Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
*Karson, R. (2000)
Retrieved October 28, 2007.
*Manning, W. (1919). The City Plan of Birmingham. Birmingham, Alabama: Subscription.
*Manning, W. "The Nature Garden," unpublished essay, Warren H. Manning Collection. Lowell, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell History.
*Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens (2007
Warren Henry Manning (1860-1938)*Warren H. Manning Papers, MS 218, Special Collections Department, Iowa State University Library
*
ttp://library.uml.edu/clh/client.htm Manning Client List: University of Massachusetts Lowell, Center for Lowell Historybr>
Victorian Landscape Architecture: A Speech by Warren Manning
External links
*
a
Iowa State University LibraryWarren H. Manning Digital Collectiona
Iowa State University LibraryLibrary of American Landscape History: ''Warren H. Manning, Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner'' by Robin Karson, Jane Roy Brown, and Sarah Allaback.Library of American Landscape History: ''The Muses of Gwinn: Art and Nature in a Garden Designed by Warren H. Manning, Charles A. Platt & Ellen Biddle Shipman'' by Robin Karson.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, Warren H.
1860 births
1938 deaths
American landscape and garden designers
American conservationists
American landscape architects
Arnold Arboretum
People from Reading, Massachusetts
American nature writers
American male non-fiction writers