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Male, US, born 1910-11-28, died 2000-05-15
Associated with the firms network
Eckbo Kay Associates, Landscape Architects; Eckbo and Williams, Landscape Architects; Eckbo, Dean and Williams, Landscape Architects; Eckbo, Dean, Austin and Williams, Incorporated, (EDAW), Landscape Architects; Eckbo, Garrett, Landscape Architect; Eckbo, Royston and Williams, Landscape Architects; Garrett Eckbo and Associates, Landscape Architects
Résumé
Landscape Architect, US Goverment, Farm Security Administration (FSA), Central Valley, CA, c. 1938. On 10/16/1940, Eckbo worked for the FSA office in San Francisco at 85 2nd Street. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 506, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Partner, Eckbo and [Edward] Williams, Landscape Architects, Los Angeles, CA, 1940-1945.
Partner, Eckbo, [Robert] Royston and Williams, Landscape Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1945-1958.
Partner, Eckbo, [Francis] Dean and Williams, 1958-1964.
Partner, Eckbo, Dean, [Donald] Austin and Williams, (EDAW), Incorporated, Landscape Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1964-1979.
Partner, Garrett Eckbo and Associates, Landscape Architects, San Francisco, CA, 1979-1983.
Partner, Eckbo [Kenneth] Kay Associates, San Francisco, CA, 1983-1989.
Teaching
Professor, University of Southern California (USC), School of Architecture, Los Angeles, CA, 1948-1956.
Professor and Chairman, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Department of Landscape Architecture, 1963-1969.
Professional Awards
Associate, National Academy of Design, New York, NY, 1964. (See "Associates: Architects," National Academy of Design 162nd Annual Exhibition, March 24-April 29, 1987, [New York: National Academy of Design, 1987], n.p.)
Archives
The Garrett Eckbo Collection, Collection #1990-1, is held in the Environmental Design Archives at the College of Environmental Design, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.
Graduated high school in 1929; coursework, Marin Junior College, (renamed the College of Marin in 1947), Kentfield, CA, c. 1932; B.S., Landscape Architecture, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Berkeley, CA, 1935; M.L.A., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1938.
Relocation
Garrett Eckbo was born in Cooperstown, NY, on 11/28/1910.
According to the US Census of 1920, Garrett Eckbo lived at 2052A San Jose Avenue in Alameda, CA. He resided with his mother and a stepfather, William S. Bell (born c. 1885 in MD), who was a buyer and seller of second hand goods, according to the census. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Alameda, Alameda, California; Roll: T625_87; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 11, accessed 03/21/2023.)
In 1930, Eckbo lived with his mother and another stepfather, Wallace Hood (born c. 1883 in MA), a serviceman for a water and filter company, at 2128 Central Avenue in Alameda, CA. The family paid $37 per month for this house. Garrett worked as a 19-year-old, bank messenger at this time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Alameda, Alameda, California; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0218; FHL microfilm: 2339835, accessed 03/21/2023.)
Eckbo and his wife resided at 372 Chestnut Street in San Francisco, CA, as per 1939 San Francisco voting records. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, San Francisco, 1939, accessed 03/22/2023.) The 1940 US Census indicated that Garrett and Arline shared an apartment with her brother, the landscape architect Edward A. Williams and his wife Ferne at 372 Chestnut. They collectively paid $45 per month in rent. The census indicated that Garrett, Edward and Ferne had all lived in Berkeley, CA, in 1935, while Arline lived here. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: m-t0627-00299; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 38-1, accessed 03/22/2023.)
While working for the Farm Security Administration in 10/1940, Eckbo and his wife Arline resided at 846 Green Street in San Francisco, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 506, accessed 03/22/2023.) Eckbo dwelled at 14 Macondray Street in San Francisco. (See San Francisco, California, City Directory, 1944, p. 472.)
In 1950, he lived with his wife and two daughters at 1659 South Van Ness Avenue in the Western Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 6183; Sheet Number: 11; Enumeration District: 66-1175, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Between 1987 and 1997, Eckbo lived at 1006 Cragmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA, 94708-1412. (See "Associates: Architects," National Academy of Design 162nd Annual Exhibition, March 24-April 29, 1987, [New York: National Academy of Design, 1987], n.p.)
Between 1998-2000, Garrett and Arline Eckbo lived at 33 Linda Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94611-4815.
Parents
Garrett Eckbo's parents split up soon after he was born, before 1918. His father, Axel J.C. "George" Eckbo, (born 08/26/1875 in Christiana, Norway), worked as a clerk at Inland Steel in Chicago, IL, in 09/1918. (See Source Citation: Registration Location: Cook County, Illinois; Roll: 1493511; Draft Board: 18. Source Information: Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.)
According to a declaration of intention to seek US naturalization filed on 05/21/1923, Axel had lived in Hamburg, Germany, before coming to the Port of New York on 07/05/1910 aboard the Hamburg America liner S.S. Kaiserin Augusta Victoria. By 1923, he had remarried to Florence Eckbo, who lived with him in Chicago, IL, and he had become an accountant. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Chicago; Chicago, Illinois; ARC Title: Petitions For Naturalization, 1906-1991; NAI Number: M1285; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: Rg 21, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Axel completed US naturalization documentation by 01/15/1930.(See Source Citation: Year: 1930; Microfilm serial: T715; Microfilm roll: T715_4872; Line: 1. Source Information: Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.)
His mother was Theodora "Dora" Munn (born 10/05/1878 in Utica, NY-d. 10/12/1947 in Los Angeles County, CA), whose maternal Pier line had deep roots in Otsego County, NY. (A Revolutionary War-era ancestor of hers, Thomas Pier, Jr., (1730-1816) founded a town in Otsego County and another relative, David Pier, died there. See Ancestry.com, Source Information National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books [152 Vols.] [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000, accessed 03/22/2023.) Theodora likely met Axel Eckbo in Cooperstown, shortly after he arrived in the US, as he was making his way from New York City to Chicago.
After Theodora parted with Axel during the 1910s, she had custody of Garrett, and relocated to Alameda, CA. She married William Bell, who, according the US Census of 1920, was a "buyer and seller of secondhand goods." He was seven years Theodora's junior. (See Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Alameda, Alameda, California; Roll: T625_87; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 11; Image: 314. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.) His mother's household struggled financially, and young Garrett went off for a time to live with a well-off uncle, Eivind Eckbo, in Norway.
Theodora split with Bell and married Wallace G. Hood on 06/25/1927 in Alameda County, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 03/22/2023.) In 1930, Theodora was living with Hood and Garrett in Alameda, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Alameda, Alameda, California; Page: 19B; Enumeration District: 0218; FHL microfilm: 2339835 Source Information, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Spouse
He married Arline Williams, (b. 10/06/1912 in Stowe, PA-d. 03/15/2003 in Oakland, CA) on 09/19/1937 in Manhattan, NY. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014, accessed 03/22/2023 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania (State). Birth Certificates, 1906-1913; Box Number: 501; Certificate Number Range: 156301-159150, accessed 03/22/2023.) She was the elder sister of landscape architect Edward A. Williams.
Arline's parents were Albert Delmont Williams (born 06/14/1883 in Pittsburgh, PA) and Effie Mirtte Sherrer (born 02/01/1887 in PA-d. 12/24/1918 in Rosslyn Farms, PA). Effie was sick between 12/18/1918 and 12/24/1918 with influenza, and died on the latter date. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, Pa; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 189001-192000, accessed 03/22/2023.) In 1930, Albert was a Vice-president of the Standard Cable Company, and his family lived in Plainfield, NJ, in 1930. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Plainfield, Union, New Jersey; Page: 21B; Enumeration District: 0113; FHL microfilm: 2341123, accessed 03/22/2023.)
As noted in the 1940 US Census, Arline had completed five years of college by this time, while Garrett had finished a four-year degree. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: San Francisco, San Francisco, California; Roll: m-t0627-00299; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 38-1, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Children
He and Arline had two daughters, Marilyn Eckbo (born c. 1942 in CA) and Alison Eckbo (born c. 1944 in CA).
Biographical Notes
In 1932, Garrett Eckbo was a registered voter in the Republican Party. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, Alameda County, 1932.) By 1939, his political affiliation had switched to the Democratic Party. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation California State Library; Sacramento, California; Great Register of Voters, San Francisco, 1939, accessed 03/22/2023.)
Eckbo was a founding member of the Telesis group of architects, landscape architects and urban planners, along with Francis Violich (1911-2005), Edward A. Williams (1914-1984), Francis Joseph McCarthy (1910-1965) and others.
According to his World War II draft registration card, Eckbo was Caucasian with a light complexion, brown eyes and brown hair. He stood 5-feet, 9-inches tall and weighed 130 pounds. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For California, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 506, accessed 03/22/2023.)
SSN: 032-09-1013.
PCAD id: 77
