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Alden Hopkins

Hopkins, Alden (landscape architect, 1905-1960)

Alden Hopkins was born in Rhode Island in 1905. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rhode Island State College in 1928 and later a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. In 1934, he was awarded the Rome Architecture Prize by the American Academy of Rome. He then spent two years traveling and studying landscape architecture in Europe and North Africa. Hopkins pioneered the Colonial Revival movement in landscape architecture, which informed his work at Mount Vernon, Gunston Hall, the University of Virginia Pavilion Gardens, and Colonial Williamsburg. At Williamsburg, he served as the first resident landscape architect. Hopkins became well-known for his contributions to the garden restorations at Colonial Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.

In the late 1950s, Hopkins became a consultant at Dumbarton Oaks and a member of the Garden Advisory Committee, where he served alongside Robert Patterson and John Thacher. In 1959, he began his largest contributions to the gardens: redesigning the Camellia Circle and replanting the Ellipse.  

 

References:

"Alden Hopkins: 1905-1960." The Cultural Landscape Foundation. Accessed June 10, 2014. http://tclf.org/pioneer/alden-hopkins

"The Colonial Williamsburg Gardens." Colonial Williamsburg. Accessed June 10, 2014. http://www.history.org/history/cwland/garden1.cfm

Garden Archives Correspondence.

The Harvard Crimson, May 15, 1934. Accessed January 29, 2015. http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1934/5/15/alden-hopkins-winner-of-rome-architecture/

Page, Philip. Interview with Donald E. Smith. Personal interview. July-September 1992. Last modified July 17, 2014.