 | |
| Vol. 18, No. 15 | Dec. 17, 1998 |
| |
| Vol. 18, No. 15 | Dec. 17, 1998 |
As renovations to the interior of Memorial Hall near completion, attention has been turned outdoors to the grounds surrounding this campus landmark at the heart of the Mall.
Beginning next month, significant landscaping changes will be made to the area surrounding Memorial, Alison Hall Annex and the Morris Library.
The landscaping will follow closely the original design for the grounds of Delaware College and the Women's College-now the University of Delaware-developed by Marian Coffin, a highly regarded landscape architect who directed UD landscaping projects from 1918 until 1952.
Coffin was a woman in what was then almost solely a man's job in the early part of the century. Those few women who were in the field were relegated to work on private residences. Her commission for the Newark campus is considered a hallmark in the history of American landscape design and her UD landscaping design is called her most significant professional achievement by Nancy Fleming, a landscape historian, in her book on Coffin entitled, Money, Manure & Maintenance.
Coffin was hired to work at UD after landscaping private residences for three trustees- H. Rodney Sharp, Lammot du Pont and Henry du Pont.
The landscape sub-committee of the trustee Committee on Grounds and Buildings has been very supportive of projects that restore UD grounds in keeping with Marian Coffin's original design, according to Executive Vice President David Hollowell.
Shortly after the holiday break, UD grounds crews will plant new paulownia trees to replace the aged and dying trees originally planted in the 1940s in an alley south of Memorial Hall, Thomas C. Taylor, UD landscape engineer, said
The average age of paulownia trees, which blossom with lavender flowers each spring, is 40-50 years, Taylor explained. "After that," he said, "the trees start to get brittle. But, paulownias are fast-growing trees, and the new ones will be in place in no time."
In her book, Fleming notes that Coffin became familiar with paulownias through her associations with the du Pont family. The tree, native to China, was introduced when its seed pods were used as packing material for porcelain and furniture shipped to the United States, including what Samuel Francis du Pont had shipped to Wilmington in the 1850s.
Also scheduled is removal of the yew hedge and berm that parallel the main walk from Memorial Hall to Magnolia Circle near the Morris Library, to establish an open vista in the area and reflecting landscaping in Coffin's original plans.
Additionally, several crab apple trees and other assorted plantings at the northeast corner of the Morris Library will be removed and a walkway will be constructed to connect the library terrace (food court) with the main library entrance. A lawn will be re-established at this corner of the library, and trees that flower in the spring will be planted there.
The asphalt walk that connects Memorial Hall with Magnolia Circle will be replaced with brick pavers to match the other side of the walkway closer to the library.
In the spring, the tulip poplar trees near Memorial Hall that have been lost to storms and the renovation project will be replaced with spring-flowering trees.
Finally, plans call for the re-establishment of open lawns between Memorial Hall and Magnolia Circle.
"The plan will fall into place over the next six months in conjunction with the work on Memorial Hall," Taylor said. "The overall plan is more simplified, but still allows for plantings that have year-round interest."
-Beth Thomas
Photo: Courtesy: The Winterthur Library: Winterthur Archives
