Carl Francis Pilat (1876–1933), the nephew of
Ignatz Anton Pilát
Ignatz Anton Pilát (June 27, 1820 – September 17, 1870) was an Austrian-born gardener who migrated to the United States to work on the design and planting of New York City's Central Park.
Pilát was born on June 27, 1820, in St. Agatha, Upper ...
, was an organizing member of the firm of Hinchman & Pilat,
then landscape architect for the city parks 1913–1918.
While with the city, Carl Pilat designed
Astoria Park
Astoria Park is a public park in the Astoria, Queens, Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The park is situated on the eastern shore of the Hell Gate, a strait of the East River, between Ditmars Boulevard to the north and Hoyt Avenu ...
, the Telewan project (later named
Jacob Riis Park
Jacob Riis Park, also called Jacob A. Riis Park and Riis Park, is a seaside park on the southwestern portion of the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Br ...
) in Queens, both around 1913,
and redesigns of
Union Square and
Isham
Isham is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the A509 road, three miles south of Kettering and a mile to the west of Burton Latimer. The River Ise is to the east of the village. Administratively, it forms part of ...
,
Gaynor memorial and
Silver Lake parks. Pilat drew landscape designs for estates of
C. H. Dodge,
Spencer Trask
Spencer Trask (September 18, 1844 – December 31, 1909) was an American financier, philanthropist, and venture capitalist. Beginning in the 1870s, Trask began investing and supporting entrepreneurs, including Thomas Edison's commercial production ...
,
E. M. Shepard, E. K. Cone and the Baroness von Zimmerman, some of the gardens at what later became the
Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, New Jersey, and the
Theodore Vail
Theodore Newton Vail (July 16, 1845 – April 16, 1920) was an American businessman who served as the general manager of the Bell Telephone Company from 1878 to 1887 and became the founding president of American Telephone and Telegraph Company ...
memorial
[ in Parsippany, New Jersey.][
]
Early life and education
Pilat was born on August 19, 1876, in Ossining, New York
Ossining ( ) is a town located along the Hudson River in Westchester County, New York. The population was 40,061 at the time of the 2020 census. It contains two villages, the Village of Ossining and part of Briarcliff Manor, the rest of which ...
. he received an AB from the College of Agriculture of Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
in 1900.
Career
He worked as a landscape architect of the New York City Parks Department
The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...
for five years. When work on Central Park slowed down, Pilat became the chief landscape gardener of the city of New York. He planned improvements for many parks, including Washington Square Park
Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...
, Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan#Manhattan Island, Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. The park is bounded by Battery Place on the north, with Bowling ...
, New York City Hall Park, Mount Morris and Prospect Parks. Later he designed numerous estates in New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
and in Westchester County
Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...
, New York.
Memberships
Pilat was a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.
...
.
Personal life and death
He died on May 26, 1933, in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey
Hasbrouck Heights (pronounced HAZ-brook /ˈhæz.bɹʊk/) is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,125, an increase of 283 (+2.4%) from the 2010 census ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilat, Carl Francis
1876 births
1933 deaths
American landscape architects
American landscape and garden designers
Cornell University alumni