preserve a beautiful forest from destruction , and when the cemetery association was formed , he not only deeded them the land , but took great interest in the subject , labored himself with vigor and became an efficient helper in this great enterprise .” ( T . H . Safford , The Ladies ’ Repository , Vols . 41 – 42 [ 1869 ], p . 46 ).
Laurence S . Caldwell Consulting Landscape Architect , 1929 – 1937
Alexander Wadsworth ( 1806 – 1898 ) Surveyor , civil engineer
Alexander Wadsworth was hired by the Garden and Cemetery Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in October 1831 to “ make an accurate topographical survey , and to locate the numerous avenues , which it was found necessary to establish , through the extensive and beautifully diversified grounds of the Cemetery and Garden , both for convenience and embellishment .” Wadsworth helped shaped the design of the Cemetery in its early years , assisting General Henry A . S . Dearborn in surveying and laying out the Cemetery ’ s lots , paths , and avenues to enhance the natural features of the land .
George Watson Brimmer ( 1784 – 1838 )
Owner of the original site , Cemetery trustee
Owner of the original Alexander Wadsworth ( 1806- 72-acre site that once 1898 ). Painting , 1889 . belonged to the Stone family of Watertown , George Watson Brimmer offered his Watertown estate known as Stones Woods to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the new cemetery . Brimmer had laid out several carriage avenues and landscaped the site with evergreens and other ornamental trees . He had purchased it “ to
Providing design advice at the Cemetery in the 1920s and 1930s , Laurence Caldwell redesigned the Lawn in 1937 , creating a terraced , circular focal point near the entrance . In 1942 , the Lawn was renamed Asa Gray Garden after the important American botanist buried at Mount Auburn . Caldwell also designed the Willow Pond area and Hazel Dell , and helped develop the southwest corner . He wrote : “ The new cemetery should become a park-like area with inspiring natural scenery carefully preserved and developed to attain a high degree of quiet dignity and peace .” ( Laurence S . Caldwell , “ Modern Cemetery Design and Development ,” The American City [ March 1935 ]).
Arthur A . Shurcliff ( 1870 – 1957 ) and Sidney N . Shurcliff ( 1906 – 1981 )
Consulting Landscape Architects , 1938 – 1960s
Providing consultation to Mount Auburn in the post-World War II era , the Shurcliffs ( father and son ) created designs with a more rectilinear layout , focused on low maintenance and maximum utilization of space with plantings . They continued the design of the southwest corner and created spaces that were conceived as a series of outdoor rooms to provide a sense of enclosure . The Colonial revival was a major design influence at this time .
Oakes I . Ames ( 1874 – 1970 ) Cemetery President , 1934 – 1963 and 1967 – 1968
As a hands-on president , Oakes Ingersall Ames reestablished the goal of horticultural diversity and augmenting the “ naturalness ” of the Cemetery landscape . He “ placed less emphasis on plants as objects within a collection and more on creating a naturalistic landscape which harmonized with the beauty of the site ” ( Master Plan II , p . 45 ). As Dearborn had done in the 1830s and Bigelow in the 1850s , Ames added a number of flowering shrubs at the ponds and inside the Mount Auburn Street fence . After the hurricane of 1938 , Ames oversaw large-scale replanting with over 340 different varieties of trees . Most of the important interment areas were re-designed during his presidency and the horticulture and landscape goals that he articulated continue to guide Mount Auburn ’ s landscape practices today .
2016 Volume 2 | 5