Charles Nassau Lowrie (April 8, 1869 – September 18, 1939) was an American

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

. He was one of eleven founding members 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. ...

in 1899, president from 1909 to 1911, and was active in the ''

City Beautiful Movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...

''.

Biography

Born in Warriors Mark, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale University, Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Jos ...

in 1891. Lowrie was the landscape architect for the

Hudson County, New Jersey Hudson County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the Hudson River, the North Jersey county is part of the state's Gateway Region an ...

Park Commission for thirty years and designed several parks for the county's park system, including

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

and

Pershing Field Pershing Field is a city square and park in the Heights of Jersey City, New Jersey in the United States. Approximately it is adjacent to Jersey City Reservoir No. 3, with which it creates a large open recreational and nature area bounded by S ...

in Jersey City, Stephen R. Gregg Hudson County Park in

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

, Columbus Park in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

and

West Hudson Park The Hudson County Park System owns and operates several county parks in Hudson County, New Jersey. It has its roots in the City Beautiful movement around the turn of the twentieth century. The system comprises eight parks (the extension of one whic ...

Harrison Harrison may refer to: People * Harrison (name) * Harrison family of Virginia, United States Places Australia * Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin Canada * Inukjuak, Quebec, or "Port H ...

. He was a member of the New York's

Municipal Art Society The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) is a non-profit membership organization for preservation in New York City, which aims to encourage thoughtful planning and urban design and inclusive neighborhoods across the city. The organization was ...

. He was in charge of landscaping

Red Hook Houses The Red Hook Houses are two connected public housing complexes located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City. Managed by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), they comprise the largest housing development in Brooklyn. The Red Hook Houses ...

, a housing project in Brooklyn. He was on the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...

staff. Lowrie designed the 20th-century master plan for

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

's campus in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs ( ) is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The village is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, ...

. He made the first master plan developed for University Park,

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. He was also involved in city planning for

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

Lowrie made preliminary plans for a competition for a Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, DC, which was never built. In 1917, Lowrie was hired by William and Gertrude Ritter to prepare a landscape plan for the grounds of their new home in

Manchester, Vermont Manchester is a New England town, town in, and one of two shire towns (county seats) of, Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,484 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Manchester (village), Vermont, Mancheste ...

. Known as "Yester House," the property is now home to the Southern Vermont Arts Center. Some of his professional papers and architectural plans are archived at Cornell. He died in New York and was buried in

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowrie, Charles N. 1869 births 1939 deaths Lowrie Lowrie Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science alumni People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Architects from New York City Parks in Hudson County, New Jersey