ORU_Coll144.xml Guide to the Walter H. and Florence Holmes Gerke Landscape Architecture Drawings and Photographs 1934-1946 Gerke (Walter H. and Florence Holmes) landscape architecture drawings and photographs Finding aid prepared processing staff Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives 2006
1299 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1299 spcarref@uoregon.edu http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-12-22. Finding aid is in English Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives
1299 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1299 spcarref@uoregon.edu http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll
Walter H. and Florence Holmes Gerke landscape architecture drawings and photographs Gerke, Walter Henry, approximately 1891-1982 Gerke, Florence Holmes, 1896-1964 Coll 144 1.1 linear feet 1 container, 2 oversize folders 1934-1946 Walter Henry Gerke (c. 1891-1982) and Florence Holmes Gerke (1896-1964) were landscape architects. The collection contains 2 flat file folders of architectural plans reflecting their work on the Bonneville Power Navigation project and the Washington Park Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. English . 1

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 Landscape architects--Oregon Women landscape architects--Oregon Gardens--Design Landscape architecture--Oregon Landscape architectural firms--Oregon Architecture Photographs Architectural drawings Landscape architecture drawings

Florence Homes Gerke (nee Hill) was born February 16, 1896 in Portland, Oregon. She was a graduate of Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) and of the Cambridge School of Landscape Architecture in Massachusetts. Gerke served as the landscape architect for the city of Portland. She was charged with designing the gardens in Washington Park, including the Portland International Test Garden, Amphitheatre, and Shakespeare Garden as well as Grant, Irving, and Dawson parks. With her husband, Gerke founded the Oregon Society of Landscape Architects and served as one of its presidents. She also wrote a column for the Oregon Journal in the late 1930s in the capacity of garden editor.

Florence Holmes Gerke died February 22, 1964.

Although the exact date is unknown, Walter Henry Gerke was born around 1891 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from Oregon Agricultural College in 1916. Gerke became the first arborculturalist, in 1921, to be hired by the Portland Parks Bureau. He married Florence Hill in 1922, and they worked together as architects from 1924 until her death in 1964. Together they designed the gardens for the Lloyd Center in Portland (a shopping mall), the Dammasch State Hospital grounds in Salem, and the grounds for the Shriners' Children's Hospital in Portland.

Walter Henry Gerke died November 29, 1982.

The blueprints and tracings found in this collection of landscape architectural drawings represent projects done in Oregon. Architectural drawings for the Bonneville Power Navigation Project include the planting plans for the permanent headquarters; the plans for walks, curbs, gutters and sprinkler systems for the permanent headquarters area; and the planting plan for the auditorium area.

Another project is represented in a drawing of the Dammasch State Hospital in Clackamas County, Oregon. (Note: this site plan is badly water damaged and torn) Also included are the landscape plans for various gardens in Washington Park, located in Portland, Oregon.

Three matted photographs consist of various angles of a garden designed for Mr. and Mrs. Herman Blessing, Jr. of Portland, Oregon.

 Guide to the Walter H. and Florence Holmes Gerke Landscape Architecture Drawings and Photographs

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