Frank S. Curto (1898 or 1899 – February 23, 1971) was the chief

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

for the Pittsburgh Department of Parks and Recreation. Curto received his Master of Science degree in ornamental horticulture from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. His career with the city's bureau of Parks and Recreation began in 1946 and ended in 1970 after a decade as foreman of Phipps Conservatory, where he directed the popular Fall Flower Shows for 23 years. Throughout his life, Curto was active in several gardening societies. He was a member of the American Rhododendron Society and was active within its Great Lakes Chapter. He was also served as secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania Nurserymen's Association and as president of Pittsburgh Florists and Gardeners Club. He was a Director of the Men's Garden Club of America and won the association's

Johnny Appleseed Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman; September 26, 1774March 18, 1845) was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced trees grown with apple seeds (as opposed to trees grown with grafting) to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, I ...

Award in 1969. The Society of American Florists bestowed him with the Sylvan Award in 1970.

Legacy

Frank Curto Park, in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, Pennsylvania, was named for him, as he was the city's

for many years. Also, in Allegheny County, in the neighborhood of

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, a bridge on Forbes Avenue traversing Panther Hollow bears his name: the Frank Curto Bridge. A street in Pittsburgh, near the Phipps Conservatory in

Schenley Park Schenley Park () is a large municipal park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located between the neighborhoods of Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland, Greenfield (Pittsburgh), Greenfield, and Squirrel Hill. It is also listed on the Nat ...

, is also named after him: Frank Curto Drive.

Frank Curto Park

Frank Curto Park is a sculpture-filled city park in

, Pennsylvania, between Downtown and Polish Hill, alongside Bigelow Boulevard. The park contains a collection of works by contemporary

urban art Urban art combines street art, guerrilla art, and graffiti and is often used to summarize all visual art forms arising in urban areas, being inspired by urban architecture or present urban lifestyle. Because the urban arts are characterized by exi ...

ists and a flock of wild turkeys which began to occupy the park and surrounding hillside. It was named for Frank Curto, one of the city's longtime

s. His career with the city's bureau of Parks and Recreation began in 1946 and ended in 1970 after a decade as foreman of Phipps Conservatory. In 1977, a large yellow metal abstract sculpture by John Henry, entitled ''Pittsburgh,'' was installed. In 1999, Stephanie Flom, a research fellow in

Carnegie Mellon Carnegie may refer to: People *Carnegie (surname), including a list of people with the name **Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist * Clan Carnegie, a lowland Scottish clan Institutions Named for Andrew Carnegie * ...

's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry, embarked on an art garden project, the Persephone Project, whose purpose was "to connect the public to art and the environment by promoting gardening as a contemporary art medium and recognizing gardeners as artists." Pittsburgh's mayor at the time, Tom Murphy, suggested Frank Curto Park, which was widely considered an unused resource. In 2002, Philadelphia environmental artist Lily Yeh installed a circular garden, made entirely from plants donated by local communities. In the center of the circle stands ''Goddesses Adorned''; three sculptures nearly twelve feet tall, designed by Yeh and crafted by Westmoreland County tree carver Joe King. Black enamel designs, developed at a local community workshop which Yeh conducted and painted by volunteers, adorn the statues. In May 2005,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

sculptor Gail Simpson built her ''Broken Hardscape'' sculpture on the old exposed roadbed beside the main park's cinder walking path, using a pattern of hollow logs and plants that suggest the original paved road. The installation was commissioned by

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

's STUDIO for Creative Inquiry's Persephone Project. That same summer, about 100 yards away from Yeh's work,

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

sculptor Dan Ladd installed a

living sculpture Living sculpture is any type of sculpture that is created with living, growing grasses, vines, plants or trees. It can be functional and/or ornamental. There are several different types of living sculpture techniques, including topiary (prune plant ...

consisting of three pairs of 14-foot

sycamore Sycamore is a name which has been applied to several types of trees, but with somewhat similar leaf forms. The name derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning . Species of otherwise unrelated trees known as sycamore: * ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', a ...

trees, which he

grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

into

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es, framing different views of the city. Frank Curto Park became the central venue for what is now known as the ArtGardens of Pittsburgh; a citywide undertaking of community-based art gardens populated with works by local artists. Sculptor Paul Bowden, who lives in Polish Hill, was chosen to install a garden there. Jorge Myers, who grew up in Hill District, was chosen to design and install another garden there. Each garden was filled with plants donated by the local communities. Flom called them "Magic Penny Gardens," after a folk song by Malvina Reynolds entitled "Magic Penny," dealing with both love and pennies, and the idea that the more one gives away, the more one receives.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curto, Frank Sculpture gardens, trails and parks in the United States Botanical gardens in Pennsylvania Art museums and galleries in Pennsylvania Contemporary art galleries in the United States American gardeners American horticulturists 1971 deaths Year of birth uncertain