by Chris Stevens, ASLA
Results of the ninth annual Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) Challenge, Memorialization, Commemorating the Great War, were announced at the HALS Meeting in Philadelphia during the ASLA Annual Meeting and EXPO on Saturday, October 20, 2018. Congratulations to the winners! Sponsored by the National Park Service, cash prizes were awarded to the top three submissions. This challenge resulted in the donation of 17 impressive HALS short format historical reports and a few measured drawings and large format photographs to the HALS collection. This competition marks the 100th Anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, on November 11, 1918.
2018 HALS Challenge: Memorialization, Commemorating the Great War
Sponsored by HALS-National Park Service
First Place: Golden Gate Park, Heroes’ Grove and Gold Star Mothers’ Memorial Boulder, HALS CA-49-B
San Francisco, San Francisco County, California
by Cate Bainton with large format photographs by Les Tabata and Cate Bainton
Second Place: American Academy in Rome, Thrasher-Ward Memorial, HALS US-10-A
Rome, Italy (Please check with the NPS HALS Office before documenting foreign sites to make sure they meet the criteria to be considered a Historic American Landscape.)
by James O’Day, ASLA
Third Place: Monument Terrace, HALS VA-79
Lynchburg, Campbell County, Virginia
by Laura Knott, ASLA, RLA, MSHP
Honorable Mention: Liberty Row, HALS OH-13
Passing through Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and Shaker Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
by P. Jeffrey Knopp, ASLA
The 13 other outstanding entries (alphabetical by state):
Fort Lowell, HALS AZ-24
by Gina Chorover, ASLA (and 17 others, including University of Arizona students)
Elysian Park, Victory Memorial Grove, HALS CA-141-A
by Michael O’Brien
Golden Gate Park, Pershing & Doughboy Monuments, HALS CA-49-C
by Doug Nelson, ASLA
Memorial Auditorium, HALS CA-140
by Melissa Mourkas
Soldiers Memorial Monument, HALS CA-142
by Chris Pattillo, FASLA
New Britain World War Memorial, HALS CT-3
by W. Phillips Barlow, ASLA
USDA WWI Memorial, HALS DC-61
by James O’Day, ASLA
Battery D Memorial HALS MA-4
by James O’Day, ASLA
NCSU Memorial Tower, HALS NC-8
by Marlys de Alba, ASLA
Miantonomi Memorial Park, HALS RI-3
by Elena M. Pascarella, ASLA, and Anne M. Benson
Camp Logan, HALS TX-12
by Anne Vance, Memorial Park Conservancy with assistance from Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
Humboldt Park WWI Memorial, HALS WI-17
by Kristi Sherfinski, ASLA
Des Moines Memorial Drive Park, HALS WA-2
by Kassandra D. Bryant, Student ASLA
The Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) was created in 2000 as a federal program to document historic landscapes in the United States and its territories. Documentation is critical to preserving these significant sites for the benefit of future generations. Like its companion programs, the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), HALS produces written and graphic records used by educators, land managers, and preservation planners as well as the general public.
The National Park Service (NPS) administers the planning and operation of HALS, standardizes formats and develops guidelines for recording landscapes, and catalogs and/or publishes the information when appropriate. The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) provides professional guidance and technical advice for the program through its Historic Preservation Professional Practice Network. The Library of Congress (LOC) accepts and preserves HALS documents, furnishes reproductions of material, and makes records available to the public.
The HALS office is continuing the challenge again in 2019 with a new theme, Historic Streetscapes. Many cities have come to appreciate the cultural and commercial value of their historic streets. Disneyland and Walt Disney World have welcomed arriving visitors with an idealized nostalgic representation of Main Street U.S.A. since their inception. Main Street Programs across the nation have encouraged the revitalization of commercial historic districts, and now the Complete Streets movement is sweeping the design world.
Short format histories should be submitted to HALS at the NPS no later than July 31, 2019 (c/o Chris Stevens, 202-354-2146, Chris_Stevens@nps.gov). Sponsored by HALS, cash prizes will again be awarded to the top three submissions. Results will be announced at the ASLA Conference on Landscape Architecture 2019 in San Diego, during the HALS Meeting.
Look for more information on the 2019 HALS Challenge here on The Field next month.
Thank you to all entrants for expanding the HALS collection and raising awareness of the historic World War I memorial landscapes you documented!
Chris Stevens, ASLA, is NPS HALS Landscape Architect, Past Chair of the ASLA Historic Preservation Professional Practice Network (PPN), and current HALS Subcommittee Chair / Coordinator.