Episode 36: Florence Bell Robinson
Florence Bell Robinson was born on November 1, 1885 in Lapeer, Michigan. She received two bachelors of philosophy degrees from Kalamazoo College and University of Chicago in 1908. After school she moved to Detroit where she taught various subjects at high schools in the area for 18 years. While teaching, she attended University of Michigan to get a bachelor's degree in architecture in 1915 and a masters in landscape design in 1924. During this time she also ran her own small landscape design firm and worked as a draftsperson for J.W. Case in Detroit. In 1926, Florence took a job as an associate in landscape design at the University of Illinois teaching plant material and planting design. Florence traveled extensively around the world and developed a thorough knowledge of plant types and Chinese garden design. In 1929, Florence was put on the tenure track when she was hired as an assistant professor. In 1946, she was made associate professor and in 1951, she finally achieved tenure when she became a full professor and one of the first women to achieve this at a co-ed university in the landscape architecture academic world. She published many books on plant identification and planting design over the years, many of which would be used as textbooks for landscape architecture programs around the world. Florence retired in 1953 and she passed away on August 13, 1973 in Hendersonville, NC at 88 years old.
Caryatid: Martha Schwartz, FASLA
Martha Schwartz is a successful landscape architect, urbanist, artist, and climate activist. Originally from Philadelphia, she got a Bachelor of Fine Arts at University of Michigan and then went on to work on a masters at U of M for two years before transferring to the Harvard GSD to finish her degree in landscape architecture. In 1980 she started her own firm Martha Schwartz Partners which is still going strong today and has offices in Cambridge, MA, London, and Shanghai. She is also a tenured professor of landscape architecture at the Harvard GSD, and from what I could find I believe she is the first woman to be tenured in that department. She began teaching there in 1987.
References
Alpert, Natalie, and Gary Kesler. “Florence Bell Robinson and Stanley Hart White: Creating a Pioneering School of Landscape Architecture.” No Boundaries: University of Illinois Vignettes, edited by Lillian Hoddeson and Dianne Harris, University of Illinois Press, 2004, pp. 113–23, www.google.com/books/edition/No_Boundaries/02eFrTPIo4gC?hl=en&gbpv=1.
“Florence Bell Robinson.” The Cultural Landscape Foundation, tclf.org/pioneer/florence-bell-robinson. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.
“Martha Schwartz.” Martha Schwartz Partners, msp.world/practice/partners/martha-schwartz. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.
“Martha Schwartz Named Tenured Professor at GSD.” Harvard Gazette, 19 July 2007, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/07/martha-schwartz-named-tenured-professor-at-gsd.
“Robinson, Florence Bell (1885–1973).” University of Illinois Archives, archon.library.illinois.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=913. Accessed 14 Sept. 2021.
Zhou, Lulu. “GSD Prof Alleges Discrimination in Department.” The Harvard Crimson, 17 Jan. 2007, www.thecrimson.com/article/2007/1/17/gsd-prof-alleges-discrimination-in-department.
