Description
The records are arranged into two Series: Office Records and Project Records.The limited Office Records consist of correspondence,
public relations material, and two notebooks containing notes and sketches related to individual projects. The bulk of the
collection is comprised of Project Records including drawings, limited documentation, and photographs for a small number of
projects.
Background
Walter Guthrie attended the Jewish Farm School in Doylestown, PA, and served in the Military from 1956-1958 surveying the
East German Border. In 1958, he graduated from Oregon State in horticulture and design and went to work for the landscape
firm of Osmundson & Staley, where Staley met his wife, Lisa, also a landscape architect. The couple married in 1960. Guthrie
then left Osmundson to work for Thomas Church in 1961 (replacing Casey Kawamoto). After working more than a decade (1961 to
1973) with Church, Guthrie joined the firm which became Johnson, Leffingwell and Guthrie. This firm split up in 1980 and each
partner opened individual practices. Prior to his death, Guthrie was interviewed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation as one
of four Bay Area "landscape legendaries." Guthrie died in 2006 at the age of 74.
Extent
4 cartons, 2 tall boxes, 2 card file boxes, 48 tubes
Restrictions
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
Availability
Collection is open for research.