Wilcox Park

Restoring the work of old masters

Landscape Elements LLC was part of a project team that prepared a landscape master plan for historic Wilcox Park. This master plan focused on preserving the cultural and historic character of the park, enhancing the important landscape features and updating the plantings while maintaining the character of the original design.

The park was established in 1898 through a donation of funds and a 7-acre parcel by Harriet Wilcox as a memorial to her late husband. Noted landscape designer Warren H. Manning was hired to design a Victorian strolling garden with
perimeter walks, open meadow, formal entrances, native trees and understory shrubs, and dense border plantings on the Wilcox property. Subsequent designers included Frank Hamilton (1905) and Arthur A. Shurcliff for a formal terrace (1924), balustrade (1929) and a WWI Memorial (1937). The park has since become an arboretum with a unique collection of native and specimen plantings.

In 2004, the listing on the National Register of Historic Places was
upgraded to that of national significance due to the park’s
importance in the body of Warren Manning’s work.

• This master plan report includes the following:
• Detailed site assessments to identify the opportunities and limitations of all the vegetation,
• Schematic designs showing multiple design alternatives,
• Design development drawings,
• Construction document drawings,
• Planting specifications and details,
• and an estimate of implementation costs.

The focus of this master plan is to maintain and restore Manning’s design ideals while improving the Park’s arboretum specimens. Issues surrounding invasive plants versus historic plant palette has been