Inventory of the Records of the National Peace Garden, 1985-2002
Gar-Yin Lee
Environmental Design Archives
© 2011
College of Environmental Design
230 Wurster Hall #1820
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Phone: (510) 642-5124
Fax: (510) 642-2824
Email: designarchives@berkeley.edu
http://www.ced.berkeley.edu/cedarchives/
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Inventory of the Records of the National Peace Garden, 1985-2002
Collection number: 2006-8
Environmental Design ArchivesUniversity of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Processed by:
- Gar-Yin Lee
- Date Completed:
- July 2011
- Encoded by:
- Emma Keefe
© 2011 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Title: Inventory of the Records of the National Peace Garden
Dates: 1985-2002
Collection number: 2006-8
Creator:
National Peace Garden
Collector:
Environmental Design Archives
Collection Size:
5 cartons, 2 tubes, 2 flat files
Repository:
Environmental Design Archives.
College of Environmental Design.
University of California, Berkeley.
Berkeley, California
Abstract:
Inventory of the Records of the National Peace Garden, 1985-2002
Physical location: Environmental Design Archives
University of California
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
University of California
Berkeley, California, 94720-1820
Languages: Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection open for research.
All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the
Curator.
[Identification of Item], Inventory of the Records of the National Peace Garden, 2006-8, Environmental Design Archives. College
of
Environmental Design. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, California.
Records of the National Peace Garden, (1985-2002)
In 1985, after viewing Washington D.C.'s many monuments to war, Elizabeth Ratcliff wondered why there were no monuments to
peace. Ratcliff, a former English teacher from Berkeley, reasoned that since the nation's Capital was meant to showcase
the ideals of the country, those who visited, especially children, should come away with the knowledge that Peace is counted
among them.
Thus began the grassroots movement for the creation of a Peace Garden in Washington D.C. Garnering enthusiastic support from
local Berkeley activists, members of the national design community, and the National Park Service, the Bill to establish a
National Peace Garden was passed by Congress, and signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
Following a rigorous site selection process, members of the Peace Garden Project Committee, headed by Garrett Eckbo, chose
Washington D.C.'s Hains Point as the future site of the Garden. In 1989, the National Endowment for the Arts provided a $75,000
grant to help finance a design competition for the Garden. The competition attracted nearly a thousand entries from all over
the country. Each entry interpreted the idea of a Peace Garden differently. A jury made up of Hideo Sasaki, J.B. Jackson,
and several other artists, writers, and designers, considered the many designs which varied widely, from vistas for quiet
contemplation, to areas for active celebration. Both permanent and changing landscapes were featured, as were naturalistic
designs, highly geometric designs, gardens as art, and gardens for food. One submittal called for no Peace Garden at all,
until America became a true advocate of peace, and peace actually existed in the world.
After considering hundreds of entries, the Design Competition jury unanimously selected architect Eduardo Catalano's olive
branch design as the future plan for the National Peace Garden. Born in Argentina, and educated at the University of Pennsylvania
and at Harvard University, Catalano designed buildings in the U.S. and abroad, two of which were U.S. embassies. He taught
at North Carolina State University in the 1950s, and, at the time of the competition, was an emeritus professor of architecture
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while running his own firm. His design for the Peace Garden used the olive branch
pattern as an organizational framework; the stems and veins of leaves acted as raised walkways, which partitioned spaces of
solitude and interaction, interplanted in soothing shades of green and white.
While Catalano's design had received unanimous acceptance from the competition jury and tentative approval from the National
Capital Memorial Commission and the National Capital Planning Commission, in the spring of 1992, it was unanimously rejected
by the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members found it to be disconnected from its environs, and awkward in circulation.
Though the rejection of Catalano's design was disheartening, the Peace Garden Project Committee immediately launched a new
search for a Peace Garden designer. Rather than holding another competition or going back to old competition entries, they
invited twenty designers to submit proposals. While this received criticism from some former competition entrants, the committee
believed that it was critical to minimize costs (a growing concern as they struggled to raise funds), expedite the search
process, and find a designer based on the designer's skills, rather than on a single design. After careful consideration,
they settled on the firm of Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abbey (RHAA), headed by Robert Royston a renowned landscape architect
and former professor at UC Berkeley.
After many sketches and visualizations of what the Peace Garden could be, and many long conversations with members of the
Peace Garden Project Committee and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, Royston & his team developed an axial concept that complemented
the McMillan plan for the National Mall. A stepped water feature, aligned with the Washington Monument, would run the length
of the Point, reflecting the sky above and referencing the rivers surrounding the site. It would then terminate in a circle
of bell towers at the Point's tip (later this circle of bells would be exchanged for a jet fountain). The plan was approved
by the Commission in July of 1993.
Royston's design reflected the original vision of the garden: to educate children on the value of peace. Some teaching elements
included in the design were pavement inscriptions about peace from visionaries and world leaders; a walk to honor those who
served in the Peace Corps; and a Peace Bell that required teamwork to sound. The Peace Garden Project, now The National Peace
Garden Foundation, also developed a classroom curriculum sent out to teachers to help educate students on the importance of
peace and the National Peace Garden.
In spite of massive support from world leaders, funding had been a struggle since the inception of the project. Donations
were solicited through brochures and pamphlets, fundraising dinners, a national tour of 900 +competition boards, and even
the sale of Peace Garden paraphernalia. In 2003, unable to raise the necessary $20 million for the construction of the garden,
and the additional $2 million for its maintenance endowment fund, the authorization period for the National Peace Garden expired,
and the 18-year project was abandoned.
Sources:
Records of the National Peace Garden, (2006-8), Environmental Design Archives, University of California, Berkeley.
The Records of the National Peace Garden span the years 1985-2002. The Records are organized into five series: Board Records,
Public Relations, Design Competition, Catalano Design & Collaboration, and Royston Design & Collaboration. Within these series,
subseries have been organized according to category and chronology.
The Records contain information on the operations of the Board of the National Peace Garden, as well as fundraising and marketing
measures, correspondence related to the Garden, design competition logistics and submissions, and drawings and discussions
on the design of the Garden from many designers including Garrett Eckbo, Eduardo Catalano, Charles Atherton, Robert Royston/RHAA,
and many others. Audio and video cassettes of design discussions are also included.
The Records were donated by Elizabeth Ratcliff, founder of the Peace Garden, in 2006.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Architects--California.
Architecture--California.
Architectural firms--California.
Architecture--California--San Francisco Bay Area--20th century.
Architecture--Domestic--California--San Francisco Bay Area.
Architectural records.
Photographs.
Architectural drawings.
Architectural photographs.
Clippings.
Slides.
- Garrett Eckbo Collection (1990-1), Environmental Design Archives.
- Karl Linn Collection (2004-4), Environmental Design Archives.
- Robert Royston/RHAA Collection (2005-17), Environmental Design Archives.
- Robert Royston/RHAA Collection (2010-12), Environmental Design Archives.
- Ron Wigginton Collection (2006-7), Environmental Design Archives.
Series Description and Container List
Series I. Board Records 1985-2002
Physical Description:
Boxes 1-3
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series contain inspiration and design ideas (including pamphlets and brochures for other Peace Environments) for the
Garden from members of the board and other supporters. It also includes records of the Garden's Board operations, including
articles of incorporation, minutes, event information, and contact information, as well as information on board members, financial
records, and general design logistics and discussion. Correspondence to garner political support for the garden is also included
here, as is the legislation needed to authorize the design and building of a National Peace Garden in Washington D.C. This
series also includes information on potential and actual donors, fundraising events, and the site selection process. Proposals
from architects following the rejection of Catalano's design in 1992 are also included here.
A. Inspiration and Design Ideas
B. Board Operations
C. Participating Individuals
D. Financial Forms
E. General Design Logistics
F. Political Support and Legislation
G. Donors
H. Site Selection
I. Architect Proposals
A. Marketing
B. Press
C. Correspondence
Series III. Design Competition ca. 1988-1989
Physical Description:
Box 1
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series includes records related to the 1989 Design Competition, including informational packets, information of the competition
jurors, and design entries. It also includes the lists of winning entries, and information on the display of the entries.
Video of the competition's Media Conference and the Exhibition of the entries is also contained in this series.
A. Information and Logistics
B. Entries
Series IV. Catalano Design and Collaboration ca. 1989-1992
Physical Description:
Box 2, Tubes 1-2
Series Scope and Content Summary
This series includes Eduardo Catalano's winning design for the 1989 competition. It also documents the development of the
design, in collaboration with Christopher Ratcliff, Garrett Eckbo, and others involved with the Garden. This series also contains
criticism to Catalano's design, and its ultimate rejection by the Commission of Fine Arts.