Rose Greely

Rose Ishbel Greely (1887 – May 23, 1969) was an American landscape architect and the first female licensed architect in Washington, D.C.

Early life and education Rose Isabel Greely was born in Washington, D.C., in 1887. She was the daughter of Arctic explorer, Adolphus Greely and Henrietta H.C. Nesmith.

Greely studied fine art at a number of different organizations, including Maryland Agricultural College, the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied interior design, and metal work while in Washington. In Florence, Italy, she studied silver repoussé and metal enameling before deciding to study landscape architecture. She returned to the United States to attend Smith College, studying under Henry Atherton Frost and graduating around 1920 and trained as both architect and landscape architect at the Cambridge School of Domestic and Landscape Architecture for Women, graduating in 1919. Among her fellow students was Gertrude Sawyer, with whom she would later work on an estate that is now the Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum. After graduation, she worked for Fletcher Steele as a drafter in Boston.

Career She opened her own architectural firm in 1925 during the Country Place Area (1890-1940), becoming the first female licensed architect in Washington. The period she opened was a booming time for landscape architects with work from country estates with much planning and construction to create outbuildings and large gardens, commissioned by the new rich after World War I. Greely's designs for small city gardens were enclosed spaces, scaled with the house which made connections with the indoor space. Country estates were designed through a set of "rooms" emphasizing the landscape's vastness to create a parklike experience. Her suburban designs frequently featured a step-down entrance on the sidewalk, and a smaller set of "rooms" for differing activities. When working with clients, she prioritized their desires first, followed by the house (if built), and lastly by the existing landscape. John Russell Pope House, Woodland Drive NW, Massachusetts. 1942 Paul S Putski house, Garfield Street NW, 1938 Mr. and Mrs. William H. Taylor House, 28th and Q Sts, Washington, DC, 1936-37 Mr. and Mrs. Morris Cafritz House, Washington, D.C., 1937-38 Volta Place, Georgetown. Owned by Frances A. Sortwell and collaborated with Horace Peaslee, 1930.

Writing

"Planting Around the City House", House Beautiful, 1922 "An Architect's Garden in the City." House Beautiful, November 1926, 557. "Some of the Factors , Both Practical and Aesthetic, That Influenced the Design of the Grounds," House Beautiful, 1932 "Designing the Garden in Harmony with the House," House Beautiful, 1932 "Balance and Rhythm of Landscape Design," House Beautiful, 1932 "A Child's own Garden." House Beautiful, 1932

Gallery