Name Ossian Simonds Role Designer | Education University of Michigan Books Landscape-gardening | |
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Died 1931, Chicago, Illinois, United States | ||
Ossian Cole Simonds (1855–1931), often known as O. C. Simonds, was an American landscape designer. He preferred the term 'landscape gardener' to that of 'landscape architect'. A number of Simonds' works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
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Early life
Simonds was born near Grand Rapids, Michigan and, from 1874-1878 studied civil engineering at the University of Michigan and, briefly, architecture with William Le Baron Jenney.
Career
In 1878, Simonds joined Jenney's architectural practice in Chicago where he worked next to William Holabird. Shortly after receiving the commission to extend Graceland Cemetery, Jenney passed it on to his assistants who, in 1880, established the firm of Holabird & Simonds to carry out this job. In 1881, Martin Roche, who had also worked in Jenney's office, joined them as a third partner. In 1883, Simonds left the firm to concentrate solely on Graceland Cemetery. He eventually became a sought after independent landscape designer and consultant. In 1899, he was a founding member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and served as its president in 1913.
Simonds authored Landscape Gardening in 1920.
Death
Simonds died in 1931.