Jacob Weidenmann

Who was Jacob Weidenmann?

Jacob Weidenmann was a noted American landscape architect.

Weidenmann was born in Winterthur, Switzerland, and educated at the Akadomie der Bildenden Kunste, where he studied art, architecture, and engineering. After graduating, he worked in Munich, Paris, London, New York City, Panama, and Peru, before settling in the United States in 1856. In 1861 he was named first superintendent of parks in Hartford, Connecticut, where he designed Bushnell Park and Cedar Hill Cemetery. In 1874 he became a collaborator with Frederick Law Olmsted on projects including Mount Royal Park in Montreal, and the Washington, D.C., Capitol grounds.

Weidenmann's Hartford designs include grounds for the American School for the Deaf, Bushnell Park, Cedar Hill Cemetery, and the Institute of Living. His midwest designs include the Iowa State Capitol, Iowa State Fair Grounds, and Mount Hope Cemetery. His national work included landscape designs for the United States Capitol, U.S. Quartermaster Depot, Schuylkill Arsenal, and Hot Springs Reservation.