The influence of George Kessler on the urban form of Fort Wayne, Indiana

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Authors
Schultz, Gary W.
Advisor
West, John H.
Issue Date
2022-07
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Thesis (M.U.R.P.)
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Abstract

This paper examines the life and work of George Edward Kessler, a notable landscape architect and urban planner who brought these new disciplines into practice in the American Midwest in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in Germany, emigrating to the United States, returning to Germany to study, and returning to the United States as a young, trained professional gave Kessler a unique experience and talent for combining formal European design elements with the American Midwest landscape. After outlining the main events in Kessler’s life, the paper summarizes Kessler’s characteristic design philosophy, particularly his parks and boulevards systems which were used in many of the cities in which he worked. Kessler highlighted the natural features of a community, often anchored with a series of parks, and connected the system with smaller parks and boulevards to create a unified and accessible cohesive whole that united an entire community. The paper uses Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a case study of Kessler’s work. First, the circumstances of the early development of the urban form are considered. Then, the people, groups, and events leading up to Kessler’s work are surveyed. Then, Kessler’s work of design and planning in the city is summarized. Finally, those who helped to implement Kessler’s design in Fort Wayne are examined, along with more recent expansions of the park and recreation infrastructure in Fort Wayne that flows from Kessler’s foundational work.

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