Landscape Architect Articles

LASN Stewardship February 200602-02-06 | News

One for the Gipper

By James Dean, ASLA, James Dean Landscape Architecture

A planting of crabapples at the Reagan library (at bottom left here) is known as Gipper?EUR??,,????'???s Grove. The circular pathways are intended to recall the circles and ellipses at the White House and in Washington, D.C.

The Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library & Museum sits on a hilltop overlooking the Tierra Rejada Valley in the city of Simi Valley, Calif. On a clear day, one can see the Channel Islands off the coast of Ventura County. We are told that President Reagan chose the site for its rural charm and magnificent views.

Our first work at the library began in early 2001 working with Peck and Peck, the project architects from Virginia. We first prepared landscape development plans for the Presidential Learning Center?EUR??,,????'??+which was a fee-based project for us. We were chosen to perform this work along with California Civil Design Group of Westlake Village, Calif. Design work and construction was completed during 2002-2003.

The site is operated by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). We soon developed a friendship with Duke Blackwood, the on-site director. Mr. Blackwood was responsible for the entire library and grounds. Alfred Johnson assisted Mr. Blackwood as the on-site manager.

In early 2003, Mr. Blackwood asked me to visit the site to look at a few problems and to comment on future plans. At the end of the visit he took me into a restricted area and asked what I thought of it. When he told me that this was the President?EUR??,,????'???s burial site I was astounded. Here, there was a planting of Pyres kawaka (Japanese pear), in a formal arrangement. One of the four trees had been replaced with a much smaller 36?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? boxed tree, creating a significant imbalance. The area lacked continuity. It did not have a cohesive concept. I was surprised that these modest plantings were part of how the nation planned to honor this great leader.

Holiday poinsettias brighten the burial place of President Ronald Reagan in Simi Valley, Calif. Landscape Architect James Dean completed design work for this spot on a volunteer basis less than a year before the ex-president?EUR??,,????'???s death.

After the tour, the firm was officially retained by the Ronald Reagan Foundation on a pro-bono basis?EUR??,,????'??+to redesign the west lawn area (which includes the interment site) and Gipper?EUR??,,????'???s Grove. The idea was to be build over a five-year period as funding became available.

Our design is influenced by the White House grounds of President Rutherford B. Hayes (1878), and Fredrick Law Olmstead Jr. (1930). The White House design features a large oval and connecting walkway with a circular planter in the middle.

The walk connects to the south where the crabapple trees of ?EUR??,,????'??Gipper?EUR??,,????'???s Grove?EUR??,,????'?? were transplanted. The new placement of the crabapples is laid-out on a formal 20???20-foot grid with grass beneath. This walk also passes the burial site.

All during 2003 we volunteered every extra moment (and every holiday) on the plans. Each time we presented plans to the library I made sure that they were my best effort and were rendered dramatically. Mrs. Reagan approved the plan herself and the project became a one-year project instead of a five years?EUR??,,????'??? one.

The plan called for major grading with an import of 2,800 yards of soil. With the project?EUR??,,????'???s government status, we brought in the Navy Sea Bees to perform the grading. The project was completed with a formal presentation to Mrs. Reagan in November of 2003. The timing turned out to be good?EUR??,,????'??+President Reagan passed away on June 5, 2004. In 2004 and 2005 we planned and constructed a replica of the White House Rose Garden and the Air Force One Pavilion. This work was also completed on a pro-bono basis by the firm.

We are very proud of the job and will continue to serve there on future projects.