Frederick Todd
Encyclopedia
Frederick Gage Todd was the first resident landscape architect
in Canada. For the majority of his life he was one of a small group committed to the art and practice of structuring urban growth in the first half of the century. His projects ranged from Vancouver, B.C. to St John's, Newfoundland
, from the smallest scale details of garden design to a study of the nation's capital.
. He attended the agricultural college in Amherst, Massachusetts
where he studied botany, biology, agriculture and site engineering. After completing school in 1896 be became an apprentice as a landscape architect with the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot
, in Brookline, Massachusetts
until he moved to Montreal
in 1900. During Todd's time in Montreal he established the first resident practices of landscape architecture in Canada. In 1903 Todd prepared a comprehensive report on the future growth of the nation's capital for the Ottawa
Improvement Commission. Between 1904 and 1907 he Todd prepared and executed the plans for Assiniboine Park
in Winnipeg and Wascana Park in Regina, and developed a prototype for future garden cities. In 1905 he became a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects
. Between 1907 and 1912 Frederick designed three major garden city projects in British Columbia
; Shaughnessy Heights and Point Grey in Vancouver
, and Port Mann
on the Fraser River
. From 1913 to 1918 he designed and supervised major urban parks in Quebec City
and Bowring Park
in St. John's, Newfoundland as well as developed the model city plan for the town of Mount Royal
Montreal. Todd also worked as a consultant for Alcan and designed a number of private gardens and institutional grounds as well as urban parks for smaller urban communities between 1918 and 1930. From 1930 to 1940 he designed and supervised major public works projects in Quebec during the depression including St. Helen's Island (1936), Beaver Lake in Mount Royal Park (1939) and developed a proposal for an impressive sports centre for the British Empire and Olympic games
in Maisonneuve Park, Montreal (1938). In 1939, Todd was elected president of the Quebec Horticultural Society. In 1945, he was appointed vice-president of the City Improvement League, Montreal. Between 1945 and 1948 he initiated plans and supervised construction of the Garden of the Way of the Cross adjacent to St. Joseph's Oratory. On February 15, 1948 he died in Montreal at the age of 71.
's firm, Todd helped with the design plan for Mount Royal
along with many Maxwell-designed houses. It is said that when Frederick Todd began working on his own that his "influence on his home city of Montreal was profound" which included many works created for private or public along with individuals and groups. Some of his works in Montreal included, St. Helene Island Parks, or otherwise known as Ile de Ste. Helenehttp://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/Central/Quebec/Montreal_-_Ile_Ste-Helene/, some work on Mount Royal Mountain, Memorial Cemeteryhttp://ancestorsatrest.com/cemetery_records/mount-royal-montreal.shtml, and the Garden of the Way of the Cross. Todd was also the designer for some other public spaces like Plains of Abraham
and the National Capital, which was the Ottawa Improvement Commission Report (Cultivating,1), Shaughnessy Heightshttp://www.greenclub.bc.ca/Regions/Vancouver/West/Shaughnessy/shaughnessy.htm, Bowring Park, and some design plans for Trinity College
in Toronto. Todd also worked on a number of smaller projects, including some residences and works for other cities within Canada.
Todd was involved in a number of organizations including the Civic Improvement League, the Olmsted Legacy, the director of the Parks and Playgrounds Associationhttp://www.archives.mcgill.ca/resources/guide/vol2_3/gen10.htm#MONTREAL%20PARKS, the Community Garden League of Montreal, and finally the councilor of the Montreal Municipal Council. He was very active and "devoted much time and energy to a variety of civic institutions and was a fellow of three professional organizations: the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architectshttp://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/csla.html and the Town Planning Institute of Canada" (Todd, 1).
One of the most defining points of Frederick Todd as a designer was how he "popularized naturalistic landscape
designs and the idea of a ‘necklace of parks’ as linked open spaces- a concept still used today" (OALA, 1). Many people respect Canadian landscape architects for three main features that most exhibit in their professional practices; creativity, sensitivity, and practicality. Todd was a person that, although not widely known, was considered "one of the great landscape architects and urban planners in Canada at the end of the 19th Century" who had created a respectable image as a designer that will remain prominent in Canadian history over time.
Backgrounder: American Society of Landscape Architects http://www.asla.org/nonmembers/publicrelations/backgrdrbiog.htm
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects http://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/briefhis.html
City Planning and Urban Beautification http://cac.mcgill.ca/maxwells/essay/06.htm
Cultivating Canadian Gardens http://www.collectionscanada.ca/garden/h11-2024-e.html
Frederick G. Todd http://jph.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/1/29
Ontario Association of Landscape Architects http://www.oala.on.ca/articles.aspx?catID=314
The Canadian Encyclopedia http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0011496
http://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/briefhis.html
Jacobs, Peter. (1983). Frederick G. Todd and the Creation of Canada's Urban Landscape.15(4).27-34
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
in Canada. For the majority of his life he was one of a small group committed to the art and practice of structuring urban growth in the first half of the century. His projects ranged from Vancouver, B.C. to St John's, Newfoundland
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, from the smallest scale details of garden design to a study of the nation's capital.
Chronological events
Frederick G. Todd was born March 11, 1876 in Concord, New HampshireConcord, New Hampshire
The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....
. He attended the agricultural college in Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
where he studied botany, biology, agriculture and site engineering. After completing school in 1896 be became an apprentice as a landscape architect with the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
, in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
until he moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
in 1900. During Todd's time in Montreal he established the first resident practices of landscape architecture in Canada. In 1903 Todd prepared a comprehensive report on the future growth of the nation's capital for the Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
Improvement Commission. Between 1904 and 1907 he Todd prepared and executed the plans for Assiniboine Park
Assiniboine Park
Assiniboine Park is a park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was established in 1904 and is located north of the Assiniboine Forest. Today, it covers , of these are designed in the English landscape style....
in Winnipeg and Wascana Park in Regina, and developed a prototype for future garden cities. In 1905 he became a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects
American Society of Landscape Architects
The American Society of Landscape Architects is the national professional association representing landscape architects, with more than 17,000 members in 48 chapters, representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, and 42 countries around the world, plus 68 student chapters...
. Between 1907 and 1912 Frederick designed three major garden city projects in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
; Shaughnessy Heights and Point Grey in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and Port Mann
Port Mann
Port Mann townsite was created in 1911 in the municipality of Surrey, British Columbia. The new town was to adjoin the new railway yard and roundhouse forming the terminus of the new trans-national rail-line operated by Canadian Northern Railway. Newspaper quoted that the town was intended to be a...
on the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. From 1913 to 1918 he designed and supervised major urban parks in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Bowring Park
Bowring Park, St. John's
Bowring Park, located in the Waterford Valley, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, is one of the most scenic parks in the city. Entrance to the park is via Waterford Bridge Road, passing a sculptured duck pond and a statue of Peter Pan. The park land was donated to the city in 1911 by Sir Edgar...
in St. John's, Newfoundland as well as developed the model city plan for the town of Mount Royal
Mount Royal
Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...
Montreal. Todd also worked as a consultant for Alcan and designed a number of private gardens and institutional grounds as well as urban parks for smaller urban communities between 1918 and 1930. From 1930 to 1940 he designed and supervised major public works projects in Quebec during the depression including St. Helen's Island (1936), Beaver Lake in Mount Royal Park (1939) and developed a proposal for an impressive sports centre for the British Empire and Olympic games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
in Maisonneuve Park, Montreal (1938). In 1939, Todd was elected president of the Quebec Horticultural Society. In 1945, he was appointed vice-president of the City Improvement League, Montreal. Between 1945 and 1948 he initiated plans and supervised construction of the Garden of the Way of the Cross adjacent to St. Joseph's Oratory. On February 15, 1948 he died in Montreal at the age of 71.
Design Projects
While working under Frederick Law OlmstedFrederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
's firm, Todd helped with the design plan for Mount Royal
Mount Royal
Mount Royal is a mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the city to which it gave its name.The mountain is part of the Monteregian Hills situated between the Laurentians and the Appalachians...
along with many Maxwell-designed houses. It is said that when Frederick Todd began working on his own that his "influence on his home city of Montreal was profound" which included many works created for private or public along with individuals and groups. Some of his works in Montreal included, St. Helene Island Parks, or otherwise known as Ile de Ste. Helenehttp://www.trekearth.com/gallery/North_America/Canada/Central/Quebec/Montreal_-_Ile_Ste-Helene/, some work on Mount Royal Mountain, Memorial Cemeteryhttp://ancestorsatrest.com/cemetery_records/mount-royal-montreal.shtml, and the Garden of the Way of the Cross. Todd was also the designer for some other public spaces like Plains of Abraham
Plains of Abraham
The Plains of Abraham is a historic area within The Battlefields Park in Quebec City, Quebec, that was originally grazing land, but became famous as the site of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, which took place on 13 September 1759. Though written into the history books, housing and minor...
and the National Capital, which was the Ottawa Improvement Commission Report (Cultivating,1), Shaughnessy Heightshttp://www.greenclub.bc.ca/Regions/Vancouver/West/Shaughnessy/shaughnessy.htm, Bowring Park, and some design plans for Trinity College
University of Trinity College
The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
in Toronto. Todd also worked on a number of smaller projects, including some residences and works for other cities within Canada.
Todd was involved in a number of organizations including the Civic Improvement League, the Olmsted Legacy, the director of the Parks and Playgrounds Associationhttp://www.archives.mcgill.ca/resources/guide/vol2_3/gen10.htm#MONTREAL%20PARKS, the Community Garden League of Montreal, and finally the councilor of the Montreal Municipal Council. He was very active and "devoted much time and energy to a variety of civic institutions and was a fellow of three professional organizations: the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Canadian Society of Landscape Architectshttp://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/csla.html and the Town Planning Institute of Canada" (Todd, 1).
Importance
Frederick G. Todd is an influential and important figure in history for a few reasons. Although he is not a well known landscape architect, even in Canada, he created many spaces that still remain today. He was considered a "modest man whose work and ideals are little known," however he is responsible for much of Canada's beauty and usefulness (Todd, 1). Todd worked on many improvement plans for the communities that also made him very influential to most of North America. He created many designs that dealt with "parks, open spaces, public institutions, roadways, and neighborhoods," some of which were donations and gifts to the communities (CSLA, 1).One of the most defining points of Frederick Todd as a designer was how he "popularized naturalistic landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
designs and the idea of a ‘necklace of parks’ as linked open spaces- a concept still used today" (OALA, 1). Many people respect Canadian landscape architects for three main features that most exhibit in their professional practices; creativity, sensitivity, and practicality. Todd was a person that, although not widely known, was considered "one of the great landscape architects and urban planners in Canada at the end of the 19th Century" who had created a respectable image as a designer that will remain prominent in Canadian history over time.
External links & References
Advisory Council's Report http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/acr03_e.htmlBackgrounder: American Society of Landscape Architects http://www.asla.org/nonmembers/publicrelations/backgrdrbiog.htm
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects http://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/briefhis.html
City Planning and Urban Beautification http://cac.mcgill.ca/maxwells/essay/06.htm
Cultivating Canadian Gardens http://www.collectionscanada.ca/garden/h11-2024-e.html
Frederick G. Todd http://jph.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1/1/29
Ontario Association of Landscape Architects http://www.oala.on.ca/articles.aspx?catID=314
The Canadian Encyclopedia http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0011496
http://www.csla.ca/eng/engdocs/briefhis.html
Jacobs, Peter. (1983). Frederick G. Todd and the Creation of Canada's Urban Landscape.15(4).27-34