American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920: a Study Collection from the Harvard Graduate School of Design

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Go directly to the collection, American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920: a Study Collection from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.

American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920, provides images that can be used as the starting point for fictional and persuasive writing projects, such as the creation of travel brochures. Put other analytical skills into practice by using the collection to curate an exhibit on a theme of your choice. Or, practice public speaking by taking on the role of a planner and giving a presentation based on development plans from the collection. Numerous images can be used to explore the significance of setting in fictional writing.

This collection will assist in connecting visual content with research and documentary writing. Create a curated or documented display of images from the collection to portray a message or theme. Select a theme represented in the collection such as one of the topics covered in the U.S. History section of this Learn More About It. Searching on terms related to the chosen topic, gather images that best represent the theme or message that you would like to portray.

Having collected the images, arrange them by time, architect, or another schematic theme. Then, create captions appropriate to the images. Captions should convey the basic facts about the image such as those included in the bibliographic information. In addition, include commentary that will lead the reader towards understanding the theme of your curated exhibit.

For example, searching on the terms school garden or children's garden retrieves the images on the right. You can do further searches for playgrounds and parks and then create an exhibit about the way children played or used the outdoors at the turn of the century, comparing these activities to what children do today.

DeWitt Clinton Park, Children's Garden, 1908, New York, NY.

School Gardens, Children in Garden, 1912, Delaware St., New York, NY.

Bessemer Park, Two Children on Path to Manister Avenue, South Park System, 91st St. and S. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL, 1903; Completed 1904.		In contrast to the previous exercise of expository writing, use the images to inspire fictional stories. By browsing the collection with the Subject Index, find an image that interests you. Using the image as a starting point, create characters and a plot to go along with the image. Ask yourself questions about the image to develop the content of your story. For example, using the image to the left, you might create a story about these two children. Where are they coming from and where are they going? What city are they in? What year is it? What is the emotional relationship between the children? Where did they get those hats? Who do they run into on the path? View the bibliographic record of the image to gain additional information.
In developing your story, create a plot with a climax and a resolution. Create dialogue appropriate to the characters' age, background, and education. You can create a book cover for your story using the image from the collection that inspired your work.

3. Public Speaking

Develop your research, writing, and public speaking skills by creating an oral presentation based on development plans in this collection. Search on plan to retrieve a landscape architect's, designer's, or developer's plan for a community development project. Assume the role of the plan's creator with the task of convincing the local government and community that the plan should be adopted for future growth.

Town Plan, Fairfield, AL.

Research the plan and its location. Analyze the plan to determine its benefits. Create an outline of the major points that you will focus on in your speech. A good practice is to anticipate opposition to the proposal and include counter arguments in the presentation. When writing the final speech, consider how the arguments will come across to the audience. Your points must be clear, concise, and easy to follow. You may wish to create visual aids to augment your speech.

If in a classroom setting, you can present your work to the class and share constructive feedback. A follow-up presentation will allow you to incorporate the feedback while it is fresh in mind.

Persuasive writing techniques can be developed by writing a travel brochure for a specific location featured in this collection. The brochure should highlight all of the features of that location in a way that would draw tourists. As a starting point, gather tourist brochures from travel agents and chambers of commerce or search American Memory for travel guides, brochures, and literature. Read the materials and analyze the language used by the writers.

• How does the brochure involve the reader so that readers can picture themselves at this tourist location?
• What features of the attraction are highlighted in the materials? What information is difficult to find on the brochure? Might this be intentional? Why or why not?
• Is the tourist site portrayed as a family destination? An adventure holiday?
• What images of the site are included? What emotional response do they create in the viewer?
• Has the brochure enticed you to visit this location? Why or why not?

View Down Canal, Cincinnati, OH.

Eden Park, Concert in Park, Cincinnati, OH.

Having critiqued other travel brochures, use your observations to write your own materials. Browse the State Index to find sites of interest, such as an estate, city, park, or public building. Through outside research, gather facts about the site that you've chosen for your brochure. Then, create the travel brochure based on your research. The images from the collection can be used to illustrate the brochure.

5. The Importance of Place

Drawing of New Orleans, Aerial View, 1852, New Orleans, LA.

The collection provides many opportunities to explore the importance of "place" in the literary imagination. Write an expository essay on the role of the setting in a specific work of American literature. Choose a fictional work and search the collection on the name of the city, town, or state where the story takes place, to locate images of that location, or use the State Index. Analyze the images and written work using the questions below and write an essay on the importance of the story's setting.

• Do the images and the story's descriptions of the setting convey the same sense of the location? What aspects and characteristics of the location does each emphasize?
• How does the location of the story relate to the plot? What is the relationship between the location and the characters?
• How does the story's setting, its appearance and culture, relate to the symbolism and themes of the work?
• Is there a relationship between the setting and the writing style?
• Could this story have been written with a different setting? Why or why not?