Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938

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Landscape designer.

From the description of The Mayfield Country Club report, 1915 / Warren H. Manning. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 19898879

Warren H. Manning was a well known Massachusetts landscape designer. He was a promoter of National Parks.

From the guide to the Warren H. Manning Papers, 1925-1928, (Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.)

Landscape architect Warren Henry Manning (1860-1938) was one of the most influential practitioners in the profession's nascent years. Horticulturist, landscape architect, town and city planner, and author, Manning was mentored by Frederick Law Olmsted and went on to practice in almost every state in the country, tallying more than 1,700 diverse projects in his fifty-year career. Hundreds of these properties still survive. Among other notable achievements, Manning was a founding member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, trained several influential landscape architects of the twentieth century, and developed a method of site analysis that was later refined by Ian McHarg to form the basis of today's computer-aided design (excerpted from Library of American Landscape History, Inc., http://www.lalh.org/manningrp.html, accessed February 2011).

From the description of Warren H. Manning Agassiz Park Collection, Circa 1920. (Michigan Technological University). WorldCat record id: 745436245

Massachusetts architect.

From the description of Warren H. Manning list, [193-]. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34421338

Landscape architect. Warren Manning (1860-1938) began his career working in his father's nursery in Reading, Massachusetts. Although he had no formal training, the knowledge he gained working in the nursery and his fascination with plant materials provided him with a substantial background in the use of plants suited for landscape design. In 1888, he was employed by the firm of Fredrick Law and John C. Olmstead, Landscape Architects of Brookline, Massachusetts. While in the Olmstead office he worked on numerous projects including the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. In 1896 he became an independent landscape designer, and formed a partnership with his brother in 1901. After this partnership dissolved in 1905, he continued to practice under his own name.

In 1914, Manning began work on the National Plan which culminated in a "National Plan study brief," printed in Landscape architecture, July 1923. The full report was never published but provides interesting viewpoints on how state boundaries could be changed to more effectviely take advantage of natural land formations and boundaries. His practice continued into the 1930s. The list of his employees includes key figures in the profession such as Albert D. Taylor, Fletcher Steele, and Dan Kiley.

From the description of Papers, 1900-1930. (Iowa State University). WorldCat record id: 27352377

Landscape designer, landscape architect, and regional planner from Reading Mass. Manning did not have formal training in the landscape design field but gained experience while he was manager of his father's plant nursery. During this time he also made botanical collecting trips in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. From 1887 to 1896 he was associated with the Frederick Law Olmsted landscape architecture firm and designed over 125 planting projects. He also assisted in the planning of numerous park systems and arboretums. In 1896 he started an independent landscape architecture business and from 1901 to 1905 he and his brother, J. Woodward Manning, were partners in the Manning Brothers.

Landscape architecture firm. Over the course of his life Manning designed nearly 1700 landscape projects for colleges, universities, public parks, and private estates including the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, N.C. and the Village at Pinehurst, N.C. He met Kittie Dorcas Dees of Grantsboro, N.C. at Pinehurst who had attended the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro) from 1895-1897. She was a secretary of the Pinehurst hotels and he offered her a job with his landscape architecture firm in Boston, Mass. While in his employment, she requested he design the grounds for her alma mater which was to be her gift to the school; the only expense to the school would be the cost of clerical help, drafts, and traveling.

From 1901 to 1904 Manning corresponded with Dr. Charles D. McIver, the first president of State Normal about the landscape design for the school. From 1908 to 1921 Manning also corresponded with Dr. Julius I. Foust, the second president of the school. This correspondence is housed in the University Archives. Manning made numerous site visits to the school to give advice and show sketches to Drs. McIver and Foust. Additional biographical information can be found in The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

From the description of [Warren Henry Manning drawings]. 1902-1920. (University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 37234975

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Jamestown, Va., maps, 1900-1907. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers, 1882-1980 Columbia University. Avery Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Department of Drawings and Archives.
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938. Master site plans for the University of Virginia [manuscript] 1908-1914. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn James Franklin Collins papers, 1883-1942 Harvard University, Gray Herbarium
creatorOf Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924. Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers, 1882-1980. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Warren H. Manning Papers, 1925-1928 Special Collections, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
referencedIn Bullard, Helen. Helen Bullard papers, 1920-1950. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Cautley, Marjorie Sewell, b. 1891. Marjorie Sewell Cautley papers, 1847-1995. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. Cleveland Cliffs Iron Mining Company records 1907 - 1918 Olson Library, Northern Michigan University, Lydia M. Olson Library
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938. Papers, 1900-1930. Iowa State University, Parks Library
referencedIn Marjorie Sewell Cautley papers, 1847-1995. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938,. Jamestown exposition clippings, 1904-1907 (inclusive). Harvard University, Frances Loeb Library
creatorOf Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933. House for William G. Mather, Esq., Cleveland, Ohio [graphic] : Project 288. [Part 2] / Charles A. Platt, Architect. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf McIver, Charles Duncan, 1860-1906. Chancellor Charles Duncan McIver records, 1855-1906. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, UNCG University Libraries
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-. Warren H. Manning landscape architecture blueprints and drawings, 1903-1914. Cornell University Library
creatorOf Cornell University. Campus Planning Office. Cornell University. Campus Planning Office plans, 1874-1990. Cornell University Library
referencedIn Botanical correspondence of Arthur Stanley Pease, 1895-1947(inclusive) Gray Herbarium Library
referencedIn Cambridge Plant and Garden Club. Records, 1889-1991 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938. [Warren Henry Manning drawings]. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, UNCG University Libraries
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), 1860-1938. Warren H. Manning list, [193-]. Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Manning, Warren, 1860-1938 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933. House for William G. Mather, Esq., Cleveland, Ohio [graphic] : Project 288. [Part 1] / Charles A. Platt, Architect. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. Chancellor. Office of the Chancellor : Julius Isaac Foust records, 1903-1970. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, UNCG University Libraries
referencedIn Mather Inn (Ishpeming, Mich.). The Mather Inn records 1923-1986. Olson Library, Northern Michigan University, Lydia M. Olson Library
referencedIn Warren H. Manning : vertical file. Centre canadien d'architecture, | Canadian Centre for Architecture | CCA
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry), b. 1860-. The Mayfield Country Club report, 1915 / Warren H. Manning. Western Reserve Historical Society, Research Library
referencedIn Massachusetts Horticultural Society, 1816-1928. Massachusetts Horticultural Society
referencedIn McCormick, Harold Fowler, 1872-1941. Harold Fowler McCormick papers, 1892-1947. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
referencedIn Helen Bullard papers, 1920-1950. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Warren H. Manning landscape architecture blueprints and drawings, 1903-1914. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
creatorOf Manning, Warren H. (Warren Henry) 1860-1938. Warren H. Manning Agassiz Park Collection, Circa 1920. Michigan Technological University, J.R. Van Pelt & Opie Library; Michigan Tech
referencedIn Mira Lloyd Dock Papers, 1814-1951, (bulk 1899-1945) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records, 1889-1991 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Letters to Frederick Gillan Floyd, 1883-1916 Gray Herbarium Library
referencedIn University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Chancellor. Office of the Chancellor : Julius Isaac Foust records, 1903-1970. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, UNCG University Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bullard, Helen. person
associatedWith Cambridge Plant and Garden Club corporateBody
associatedWith Cambridge Plant and Garden Club. corporateBody
associatedWith Cautley, Marjorie Sewell, b. 1891. person
associatedWith Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. corporateBody
associatedWith Cornell University corporateBody
associatedWith Cornell University. Campus Planning Office. corporateBody
correspondedWith Dock, Mira Lloyd, 1853-1945. person
associatedWith Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924. person
associatedWith Marjorie Sewell, Cautley b. 1891. person
associatedWith Mather Inn (Ishpeming, Mich.) corporateBody
associatedWith Mayfield Country Club (Cleveland, Ohio) corporateBody
associatedWith McCormick, Harold Fowler, 1872-1941. person
associatedWith McIver, Charles Duncan, 1860-1906. person
associatedWith North Carolina College for Women corporateBody
associatedWith North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College corporateBody
associatedWith Platt, Charles A. (Charles Adams), 1861-1933. person
associatedWith University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Chancellor. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Virginia corporateBody
associatedWith Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. Chancellor. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
University of Virginia Lawn (Charlottesville, Va.)
Calumet (Mich.)
Cleveland (Ohio)
North Carolina--Greensboro
Agassiz Park (Calumet, Mich.)
City planning--Alabama--Birmingham
Virginia--Charlottesville
United States
Blacksburg, Va
Upper Peninsula (Mich.)
Michigan--Calumet
Subject
Architects
Blacksburg (Va.)
City planning
Landscape architectural drawing
Gardens
Landscape architects
Landscape architecture
Landscape design
Local/Regional History
Memorials
Montgomery County (Va.)
Parks
Planting design
Occupation
Collector
Activity

Person

Birth 1860-11-07

Death 1938

Americans

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Ark ID: w68915nc

SNAC ID: 63137861