Carl Rust Parker (1882 – 1966 )
Biography
Born in Andover, Massachusetts, Carl Parker’s education ended when he graduated Phillips Academy in 1901. For the following nine years, he served in the office of Olmsted Brothers, working as a draftsman, planting designer, and field supervisor. In 1910, he opened his own design and construction firm with offices in Springfield, Mass., and Portland, Maine; his work focused on parks, subdivisions, and private estates.
During World War I, he served briefly in the construction division of the War Department. He then worked for 18 months in the United States Housing Corporation as assistant manager and manager of the Town Planning Division.
Following the war, he returned to Olmsted Brothers. Over the next 42 years of his association with the firm, he added town and city planning to his earlier areas of landscape work.
Over the course of his years of practice, he completed projects throughout the United States. He created a number of notable projects in New England, including the design of the grounds of Blaine House (the Maine governor’s mansion) as an Olmsted employee. Parker also created the landscape design for the Hilltop Farm estate in Suffield, Conn., which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In addition to his professional practice, Parker also served as the business manager of Landscape Architecture.
Sources/Further Information:
1. Memorial minute published in the ASLA Bulletin, No. 167, February 1, 1967, p. 4.
2. Connecticut Barns, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/d/2005/12/15/93.
3.
National Register Information System: http://www.nr.nps.gov/
