Collection is open to the public.
Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room.
Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Chester E. Corry (1906-1989) was an Oregon landscape architect who worked predominantly in southern Oregon. Corry is best known for his work at Ashland's Lithia Park. Born in Columbia, North Dakota, in 1906, Corry spent most of his childhood in Glendora, California. Corry received a professional degree in landscape architecture from Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University) in 1930. During the early 1930s, Corry worked for Portland's Lambert Gardens and the National Park Service at Mt. Lassen. This experience enabled Corry to become Ashland's assistant park superintendent in 1936 and then park superintendent in 1937, a position he held until his retirement in 1969.
Lithia Park, originally designed by John McLaren, officially open in 1916. Guided by McLaren's plans and by implementing his own designs, Chester Corry worked to expand areas of the park and enhance its natural beauty. Following his retirement, Corry remained a consultant to the park until his death in 1989. Corry's legacy continues to have an impact on the park and in 2019, the Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission dubbed 1929-1969 the "Chet Corry Era" on their Cultural Legacy Timeline for Lithia Park.
Sources:
Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission.
"Some Interesting Facts of the Chet Corry Story" autobiography, circa 1986-1986, Chester E. Corry papers, Coll 522, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries, Eugene, Oregon.
Kerr, Molly Walker. "Chester Corry: 'Mr. Lithia Park.'"
Powers, Dennis. "The Jewel of Lithia Park." In
The plans series contains primarily hand-drawn plans, as well as office copies, for Corry's residential and public landscape architecture projects. Supplemental project materials including building and irrigation plans from other architects, cost estimates, and notes can also be found with some landscape design projects. Most projects were conducted in Ashland and Medford, Oregon, however several other areas, including 17 cities and counties in Oregon, five cities in California, and one city in Massachusetts, can be found among the plans. Public projects of note include Corry's designs for Lithia Park (Ashland, Oregon); several banks and schools in Ashland and Medford, Oregon; Yreka City Park (Yreka, California); and work commissioned by the Oregon Shakespearean Festival Association.
The personal papers series contains a photocopy of a Certificate of Appreciation presented to Chester Corry by the city council of Ashland, Oregon, correspondence, clippings related to Corry's work, and an autobiography entitled "Some Interesting Facts of the Chet Corry Story."