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Perhaps best known throughout the nation for one of his works in Washington – the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, located along the Tidal Basin – Bay Area landscape architect Lawrence Halprin died on Sunday of natural causes. The FDR Memorial features one of Halprin's boldest waterfall elements, a major feature for which his work was known. Fittingly, Halprin also believed that the well-loved FDR Memorial best represented his accomplishments. For those who have never toured the plaza, the FDR Memorial is divided into sequential landscape arenas, which represent significant stages of the President's life using text, seats, statues, and segmented space. Though the Memorial is driven by narrative and experience, nothing is sacrificed in terms of form or composition.
The FDR Memorial will stand as a testament to the President and to its designer. Many in Washington, however, have reason to love Halprin for a work down the road: The downtown, pedestrian-only mall along the main street in Charlottesville, Virginia. The San Francisco Chronicle has an obituary that lists many of his other parks and plazas throughout the nation.
Photo by wallyg
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That memorial is a jewel - away from the hustle and bustle and set into the trees, it is a place to escape. Brilliant design - especially the waterfall bit - which you can hear gently at first and then hits you fully once you enter that "section."
i love the FDR memorial. first came across it as an intern back in 2000. i didn't even know it was there—i was just walking on a grey day from the jefferson to the lincoln memorials. of course, that meant i went through the FDR memorial backwards. still didn't take away from the power and poignancy of it.
RIP mr. halprin, and thank you for sharing your life's work with us.
One of my strongest memories of my late mother took place at night at the FDR Memorial. She was visiting me here and it was the one place she wanted to see (that and she wanted a "big city" hairstyle.) She a kid during the Great Depression, and she stood in front of the Eric Siegel sculpture of the skinny, worn down farm couple and she talked about how it reminded her of her mom and dad. She would never talk much about how bad things were for them then, so those few sentences were floored me, and I think of of her whenever I go there.
Thank you, Mr. Halprin, for that experience.
kriston: i just looked at the interview below, and i was thinking, "jeez—that guy in the suit sure looks like kriston." then i read it. heh. rock on!
Like IMGoph, I didn't even know the memorial was there until I stumbled across it one day walking home from the Jefferson memorial. The design is not 'monumental' but in some ways that is what makes it a better experience--there is more space to ponder and remember. Memorials like Jefferson, Washington, and Lincoln reduce the memorial to a singular idea, which in some ways minimizes the experience.
Halprin, though, was a prolific designer and to reduce his entire life's work to a single project is a disservice to his memory. The FDR memorial is probably the best known in the DC area, but Californians know him for his work at The Sea Ranch, Embarcadero Center, Ghiradelli Square, and the conversion of the Presidio into George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic facilities. Chicagoans know him for designing Oak Brook Center. National Park goers know him for his transformation of the base of Yosemite Falls.
The FDR memorial stands out in part because of the painful process Halprin went through to see it finished--three design competitions and thirty years waiting for funding.
RIP, Halprin.
Like I like my scotch; on the rocks.