Thiene, Paul G.

Biographical Note

Paul Thiene (1880-1971)

Landscape architect Paul Thiene was born in Germany in 1880, and immigrated to the United States in 1903. After receiving his landscape technical degree and completing an apprenticeship in Germany, Theine came to the United States. He worked with Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (Olmsted Brothers, Massachussetts) until 1910, then moved to San Diego to participate in the landscape design for the Panama-California Exposition with Frank Lloyd Wright's son, Lloyd Wright. Thiene and Wright were business partners for one year and continued to collaborate with one another through 1918.

After working on the San Diego Exposition, Thiene's office designed the landscapes of major estates in Southern California, including homes in Santa Barbara, Pasadena, and Beverly Hills. He was an innovator in the use of running water in gardens, and created a cascading, 80-foot waterfall on the Doheny "Greystone" estate in Beverly Hills.

Thiene was a fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects, and retired in 1951. He lived in Pasadena and died in 1971.

From the guide to the Paul Thiene Collection, ca. 1915-1930, (Environmental Design Archives. College of Environmental Design.)