Jacob Weidenmann (August 22, 1829 – February 6, 1893) was an

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 ...

from Switzerland known for his design of

rural cemeteries A rural cemetery or garden cemetery is a style of cemetery that became popular in the United States and Europe in the mid-nineteenth century due to the overcrowding and health concerns of urban cemeteries. They were typically built one to five ...

and public parks.

Biography

Weidenmann was born in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austri ...

, Switzerland on August 22, 1829. He was educated at the

Akademie der bildenden Künste The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

, Vienna, where he studied art, architecture, engineering, and botany.Favretti, Rudy J. "Frederick Law Olmsted's 'Other Partner': Jacob Weidenmann". Excerpted from a talk given on December 2, 1999.
The Connecticut Landscape Architect
'. Spring 2000. p. 6. Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. ctasla.org. Retrieved July 26, 2019. After graduating, he worked in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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 U ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, before settling in the United States in 1856. In 1861 he was named first superintendent of parks in Hartford, Connecticut, where he designed

Bushnell Park Bushnell Park in Hartford, Connecticut is the oldest publicly funded park in the United States. It was conceived by the Reverend Horace Bushnell in the mid-1850s at a time when the need for open public spaces was just starting to be recognized ...

and Cedar Hill Cemetery. Beginning in 1874 he shared an office with

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-d ...

, and they subsequently collaborated on projects including

Mount Royal Park Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

and the

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, ...

Capitol grounds. Weidenmann's Hartford designs include grounds for the

American School for the Deaf The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and the first school for children with dis ...

, the Butler-McCook Homestead gardens, Cedar Hill Cemetery, and the

Institute of Living The Institute of Living is a comprehensive psychiatric facility in Hartford, Connecticut, that offers care across the spectrum of psychiatric services, including: * A 24/7 crisis evaluation telephone assessment and triage: Experienced psychiatr ...

. His Midwest designs include the Iowa State Capitol grounds and Chicago's Mount Hope Cemetery. His national work includes landscape designs for the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the Legislature, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is form ...

, U.S. Quartermaster Depot,

Schuylkill Arsenal The Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, now known as the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, was founded as the Schuylkill Arsenal in 1799. History The Schuylkill Arsenal was built in 1800 to function as a quartermaster and provide the U.S. mili ...

, and Hot Springs Reservation. He died on February 6, 1893 and was interred at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.

Legacy

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

established the Jacob Weidenmann prize which is awarded annually to landscape architecture students who show outstanding ability and talent in landscape design.

Bibliography

*
Beautifying country homes
', Orange Judd, New York, 1870. Reprinted as ''Victorian Landscape Gardening: A Facsimile of Jacob Weidenmann's Beautifying country homes'', American Life Foundation for the Athenaeum Library of Nineteenth Century America, 1978. . * ''Modern cemeteries. An essay upon the improvements and proper management of rural cemeteries'', The Monumental news, Chicago, c1888.

References

External links

*
The Connecticut Landscape Architect, Spring 2000

Bushnell Park biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidenmann, Jacob 1829 births 1893 deaths Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni American landscape architects Burials at Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford, Connecticut) People from Hartford, Connecticut People from Winterthur

Biography

Legacy

Bibliography

References

Further reading

External links