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Geraldine Knight Scott Collection, 1914-1988
2000-3
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Title: Scott, Geraldine Knight collection,
Date (inclusive): 1914-1988
Collection number: 2000-3
Creator:
Scott, Geraldine Knight, 1904-1989
Extent:
9 boxes, 1 small box, 1 flat box, 1 flat file drawer
Repository:
Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.
University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, California
Abstract: The Geraldine Knight Scott Collection documents Scott's architectural projects and professional activities through drawings,
manuscripts and photographs. The collection includes biographical information written by Scott, education records, travel
journals from several journeys to Europe, teaching records, correspondence relating to professional topics, oral histories
and interviews given by Scott. Project records document projects designed by Scott from 1935-1987. The collection includes
documentation of her work for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, the Daphne Funeral Home in
San Francisco (1953), her work for the Oakland Museum (1963-1987), and her long range plan for the Blake Estate in Kensington
(1968). The collection also includes many private gardens, exhibitions, professional parks, commercial and educational projects.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language:
English.
Collection is open for research.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of item], Scott, Geraldine Knight Collection, 1914-1988, (2000-3), Environmental Design Archives. College
of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.
This material was acquired in 2000.
Arrangement and description of this collection was funded by the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Department,
University of California, Berkeley.
Landscape architects -- California.
Landscape architecture -- California.
Gardens -- California
Blake Garden (Berkeley, Calif.)
Scott, Geraldine Knight, 1904-1989
Imlay, Katherine
Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
Online Archive of California
Geraldine Knight Scott (1904-1989)
Geraldine Knight Scott was born in Wallace, Idaho in1904. In 1922 she enrolled in UC Berkeley's College of Agriculture, where
she received her degree in Landscape Architecture in 1926. Seeking additional instruction in art and design, Miss Knight continued
her formal education in Art and Architecture at Cornell University from 1926-1928. Upon graduation, Scott worked in the office
of A.E. Hanson in Southern California from until 1930. During these two years she worked on various residential estates and
gardens, including the Harold Lloyd estate in Beverly Hills.
A firm advocate of increasing one's self-knowledge and appreciation of different cultures and regionalism through travel,
Scott spent 22 months in Europe beginning in 1930. She surveyed historic Italian villas through the Academia della Arts in
Rome and explored the famous gardens of France and Spain. She also attended the Sorbonne in Paris where she pursued her interest
in housing, studying projects in Germany and Austria.
Returning to California in 1933, Scott joined the office of Helen Van Pelt in Marin County. After partnering in 1935, Scott
stayed for several years, working on the Pacific Area in the Pacific House at the Golden Gate International Exposition in
1939. In that same year, Scott married Mellier Scott, a Los Angeles journalist who would later become a well-known writer
interested in city and regional planning issues. With their shared interest in housing and planning, they traveled to Europe,
visiting projects in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Russia, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Holland.
They attended the 18th Congress of the International Federation for Housing and Town Planning in Stockholm in July of 1939,
but were forced to end their travels when war broke out in September of that year.
The couple returned to Los Angeles where Scott worked as the director of the Citizens Housing Council and later became the
first woman member of the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission, working on recreation planning and war housing. In 1941
she and Mel moved to Berkeley where she participated in the San Francisco Telesis group and the San Francisco Housing and
Planning Commission. Combined with her inherent interest in housing, the involvement with Telesis persuaded Scott to continue
working in the public sector.
In 1947 Scott moved to Palo Alto, where she worked with landscape architect Katherine Imlay. The following year she moved
to Berkeley and began her private practice, which she continued until 1968. She focused her efforts on housing, schools, private
gardens and professional office parks. Notable projects include the Oakland Museum (1963), Daphne Funeral Service (1953) and
a long-range plan for the Blake Estate (1968). Scott also lectured and taught landscape architecture at the University of
California from 1956-1968.
In addition to her private practice and teaching engagements, Scott actively participated in civic commissions and boards
in the Bay Area. She served as a member of the Berkeley Art Commission for seven years, was a founding member of the California
Horticultural Society in 1935, was a member and fellow of the ASLA, was awarded a distinguished membership to the Sigma Lambda
Alpha Honor Society in 1981, and participated in the ASLA Women in Landscape Architecture taskforce from 1974 to 1975. Scott
also established a Travelling Fellowship Program for landscape architecture students at UC Berkeley and established an Endowment
for Research into the History of Landscape Architecture, which includes support for maintaining and preserving the Documents
Collection of the College of Environmental Design.
Note
- Laurie, Michael. "75 Years of Landscape Architecture at Berkeley, Part II: Recent Years." Berkeley, CA: Department of Landscape Architecture, University of California, Appendix 1.
- Scott, Geraldine Knight. "Geraldine Knight Scott, Landscape Architect." Geraldine Knight Scott Collection, (2000-3), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
The Geraldine Knight Scott Collection documents Scott's architectural projects and professional activities through drawings,
manuscripts and photographs. The collection includes biographical information written by Scott, education records, travel
journals from several journeys to Europe, teaching records, correspondence relating to professional topics, oral histories
and interviews given by Scott. Project records document projects designed by Scott from 1935-1987. The collection includes
documentation of her work for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island, the Daphne Funeral Home in
San Francisco (1953), her work for the Oakland Museum (1963-1987), and her long range plan for the Blake Estate in Kensington
(1968). The collection also includes many private gardens, exhibitions, professional parks, commercial and educational projects.
The collection is arranged in six series: Personal Papers, Professional Papers, Faculty Papers, Office Records, Project Records
and Additional Donations. The Personal Papers include, photographs and writings not directly related to her professional life.
The Professional Papers include, writings, exhibitions and speeches, professional organizations and committees, reference
material collected,. The Faculty Papers include records documenting her teaching appointments and correspondence related to
academic issues, as well as course materials and examples of her students' work from San Jose's Adult Education School and
UC Berkeley. The Office Records include a list of people Scott employed as well as a flat folder of typical details used in
her office.
Scott collaborated with several of the Bay Area's most notable photographers of the time, including Phil Fein (Bartlett, Lincoln
and Nell residences, San Mateo Fiesta Exhibition), P. Palmer (Daphne Funeral Home, Menlo Park Professional Zone, and the Hinman
and Hutton residences), Morley Baer (Mayhew and Stout residences) and Ernest Braun (Scott and Imlay Studio Garden).
An Additional Donation from the Environmental Design Library, made in 1999, includes six sketchbooks/scrapbooks which document
Scott's 1939 travels through Europe.
The following is a list of architectural projects from the Scott Collection. For more complete information about collection
contents for each project, as well as shelf location and microfilming status, download the complete
Project Index in an Excel spreadsheet format by going to
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/pindex/scott.xls . For instructions on interpreting the Project Index, see
The Guide to the Project Index at
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/pindex/guide.htm .
The project list below, derived from the Project Index, is arranged alphabetically by Project/Client Name and contains information,
where available, about the location, date, project type, collaborators, photographers, and formats for each project in the
collection.
Project/Client Name (location, date, project type) Collaborator (role), Photographer [Format - Ms=Manuscripts, Dr=Drawings, Ph=Photographs]
- * Abraham High School ( San Jose , CA ; 1944 ; educational ) [Ms]
- * Allstate Insurance Company (see Menlo Park Professional Zone) ( Menlo Park , CA ; 1950 ; commercial ) Collaborator: Higgins & Root (architect) [Dr]
- * Alum Rock Elementary School ( unknown ; n.d. ; educational ) [Ms, Dr]
- * American Insurance Company (see Menlo Park Professional Zone) ( Menlo Park , CA ; n.d. ; commercial ) [Dr]
- * Arts Court College of Marin ( Kentfield , CA ; 1952 ; educational ) [Ms, Dr]
- * Baker, W.L. ( Hillsborough , CA ; 1955 ; commercial )
- * Baker, W.L. ( Hillsborough , CA ; 1955 ; residential )
- * Bartlett, C.H. ( Hillsborough , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Photographer: Fein, P. [Dr, Ph]
- * Berliner, Elmer ( Palo Alto , CA ; ca. 1950 ; residential ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect) Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Ms]
- * Blake Estate ( Kensington , CA ; 1968 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Borel Place ( San Mateo , CA ; 1967 ; commercial ) Photographer: Vano-Wells-Fagliano and Pearl, N. [Dr, Ph]
- * Burchfiel, Cecil ( San Jose , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Campbell Community Hospital ( Campbell , CA ; 1962 ; medical ) [Dr]
- * Carey, J.B. ( San Jose , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Chandler Tripp School ( unknown ; n.d. ; educational ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Chapman, Dean R. ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1953 ; residential ) [Ms]
- * Clarke, Don ( San Jose , CA ; 1948 ; residential ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect) Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Cohn, R.W. ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * College of Marin, Arts Court ( Kentfield , CA ; 1952 ; educational ) [Dr]
- * Colvin, T.E. ( San Francisco , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Crosby, Francis ( Woodside , CA ; 1935 ; residential ) Collaborator: Van Pelt (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Crummey, John D. ( unknown , ; 1949 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Crystal Springs School ( Hillsborough , CA ; 1963 ; educational ) [Dr]
- * Cypress Elementary School ( Campbell , CA ; 1955 ; educational ) [Dr]
- * Daphne ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Daphne Funeral Home, San Francisco Funeral Service ( San Francisco , CA ; ca. 1953 ; funerary ) Photographer: Palmer, P. [Dr, Ph]
- * Davis, George A. ( Berkeley , CA ; 1955-1956, 1964 ; residential ) [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * DeGolyer, J.B. Jr. ( Piedmont , CA ; 1956 ; residential )
- * Design: Identical houses ( unknown , ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Deutscher, Irvin ( Contra Costa County , CA ; 1963 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Dibblee, Ben ( Ross , CA ; ca. 1930 ; residential ) [Ms, Ph]
- * Duhring, Mrs. F.S. ( Berkeley , CA ; 1955 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * DuPrau, James ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1952 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Edelstein, Harold ( Berkeley , CA ; 1959 ; residential ) [Ms]
- * First Presbyterian Church ( Livermore , CA ; n.d. ; religious ) Collaborator: Stark & Diggle (architect) [Dr]
- * First Unitarian Church of Berkeley ( Berkeley , CA ; 1957 ; religious ) [Dr]
- * Flammer, Charles K. ( Ross , CA ; 1936-1937 ; residential ) Collaborator: Van-Pelt (landscape architect) [Dr, Ph]
- * Foley, Helen N. ( Berkeley , CA ; 1964 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation ( San Jose , CA ; n.d. ; industrial ) [Dr, Ph]
- * Fulley, D.S. ( Saratoga , CA ; 1947 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Glen Una Tract ( Los Gatos , CA ; 1947 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Golden Gate International Exposition Pacific House ( Treasure Island San Francisco , CA ; 1939, 1979 ; exposition ) [Ms]
- * Goodwin, A.T. ( Kent Woodlands , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Grebber, J.H. ( Los Angeles , CA ; 1941, 1946 ; residential ) [Ph]
- * Hantke, A.W. ( Berkeley , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Hart's Home Planning Center, "Grounds for Good Living" Show ( San Jose , CA ; 1949 ; exposition ) [Ms]
- * Hinman, Frank ( Atherton , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Photographer: Palmer, P. [Dr, Ph]
- * Hutton, Donald ( Menlo Park , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Photographer: Palmer, P. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * James Lick High School ( Santa Clara County , CA ; ca. 1951 ; educational ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect); Imlay, K. (landscape architect); Photographer: Herbert & Holden [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * Kennedy, Harry ( Contra Costa County , CA ; ca. 1956 ; residential ) Collaborator: Taylor, J. (architect) [Ms]
- * Kennedy, Harry ( Berkeley , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Photographer: Belcher, J. [Ph]
- * Kent, Mrs. William [Roger?] ( Kentfield , CA ; 1946 ; residential ) Collaborator: Van-Pelt (landscape architect) [Dr, Ph]
- * Kimball, Wm. R., Jr. ( Kentfield , CA ; n.d. ; residential )
- * Kretchmar, Gordon ( Menlo Park , CA ; 1956 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Lincoln, John ( Los Gatos , CA ; 1948, 1970 ; residential ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect); Imlay, K. (landscape architect); Photographer: Fein, P., Robinson, J. [Ms, Ph]
- * Linda Vista School ( unknown ; n.d. ; educational ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect); Imlay, K. (landscape architect)
- * Loive, G.E. ( San Francisco , CA ; 1962 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Magna Engineering Company (see Menlo Park Professional Zone) ( Menlo Park , CA ; 1952 ; commercial ) Collaborator: Higgins & Root (architect) [Dr]
- * Mayhew, Clarence W. ( Piedmont , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Collaborator: Mayhew, C.(architect) Baer, M. [Dr, Ph]
- * McMicking, Jos. R. ( Atherton , CA ; 1949 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * McMicking, Jos. R. ( Makati Rizal , Philippines ; n.d. ; residential ) [Ph]
- * McPherson, E.W. ( San Jose , CA ; 1949 ; residential ) [Ms]
- * Menlo Park Professional Zone ( Menlo Park , CA ; 1950 ; commercial ) Photographer: Palmer, P. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * Menlo-Atherton High School ( Atherton , CA ; 1951 ; educational ) Collaborator: Cobbledick, A. [Dr]
- * Michael, B.E. ( unknown , ; 1949 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Monsanto Chemical Company ( Santa Clara , CA ; n.d. ; commercial ) [Ms]
- * Morgan, A. ( Berkeley , CA ; 1957 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Moss, Malcolm ( Berkeley , CA ; 1952 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Nell, E.J. ( Atherton , CA ; ca. 1949 ; residential ) Collaborator: Stedman, M.(architect); Imlay, K. (landscape architect); Photographer: English, F., Robinson, J., Fein, P., Weymouth, M. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * Non-residential projects ( religious, educational, commercial ) [Dr]
- * Oakland Museum ( Oakland , CA ; 1963-1987 ; cultural ) Collaborator: Arbegast, M. (landscape architect) [Ms]
- * Pederson, Lars ( El Cerrito , CA ; 1958 ; residential ) [Ms]
- * Perkins & Scott Remodel ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1947 ; commercial ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Residential projects: A-M ( residential ) [Dr]
- * Residential projects: N-Z ( residential ) [Dr]
- * Roos, Mrs. C. ( Menlo Park , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Ross, Wm. A. ( Menlo Park , CA ; 1951 ; residential ) [Dr]
- * San Mateo Fiesta Exhibition ( San Mateo , CA ; 1946 ; exposition ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect); Photographers: Fein, P., Hodgson [Ph]
- * Santa Clara County Governmental Center ( San Jose , CA ; n.d. ; governmental ) [Dr]
- * Schweinhard, Mrs. ( unknown ; 1949 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]
- * Scott & Imlay Studio Garden ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1948 ; commercial ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (lanscape architect); Photographers: Parker, M.L., Braun, E., Stewart, S. [Dr, Ph]
- * Scott, Geraldine and Mel ( Berkeley , CA ; 1952 ; residential ) Photographer: Robinson, J. [Dr, Ph]
- * Sharon Estate ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Stanford University: Pine Hill Residence Hall ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1960 ; educational ) [Dr]
- * Stanford University: Library ( Palo Alto , CA ; 1970 ; educational ) Collaborator: Arbegast, M. (landscape architect) [Ms]
- * Steincke, M. ( Piedmont , CA ; 1954 ; residential ) [Ms, Dr]
- * Stout, Frank ( Portola Valley , CA ; n.d. ; residential ) Photographer: Baer, M. [Ms, Dr, Ph]
- * University of California (UC):Botanical Garden, Japanese Strolling Garden ( Berkeley , CA ; ca. 1986 ; educational ) [Ms]
- * Unidentified: projects [Dr, Ph]
- * Union Elementary School ( Santa Clara County , CA ; n.d. ; educational ) [Ms, Dr]
- * Van Pelt-Knight, studio ( San Anselmo , CA ; n.d. ; commercial ) [Ph]
- * Walter, A.M. ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential )
- * Weilerstein, R.W. ( unknown ; n.d. ; residential ) [Dr]
- * Williams, Dorothy ( Berkeley , CA ; 1950 ; residential ) Collaborator: Bryan & Murphey (civil engineer) [Dr]
- * Williamson, W.A. ( Los Gatos , CA ; 1947 ; residential ) Collaborator: Imlay, K. (landscape architect) [Dr]