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HELP US PUBLISH A NEW BOOK ABOUT INNOCENTI – WEBEL!
In 1931, Richard K. Webel and Umberto Innocenti formed one of the most significant landscape architectural partnerships in midcentury America. Based in Roslyn, NY, and initially specializing in private estates, Innocenti – Webel soon expanded geographical range to the Deep South and scale of projects to include parks, corporate campuses, museums, hotels, racetracks, an airport, two World’s Fairs, and an innovative plan for the National Mall. Master plans for Furman University and the University of South Carolina, the vast Milliken campus in Spartanburg, and plans for several federal projects dominated the 1950s and ’60s. Through all this work, the partners were guided by classical principles—a reflection of Webel’s Harvard roots and his years at the American Academy in Rome. Innocenti’s lyrical planting compositions, highly unusual for the time, featured full-grown trees and remarkably complex understory combinations. Author Robin Karson, whose works include Fletcher Steele and A Genius for Place, discusses more than fifty of the firm’s major projects. Illustrated with plans, drawings, and fine photographs by Samuel H. Gottscho.