George Yarwood was born in Binghamton New York in 1903. After graduating from UMass in 1926, he went on to attend the Harvard Graduate School of Design from September 1927 to March 1928. After working in New York City, Yarwood came to Connecticut in 1929, to work with Thomas H. Desmond and Associates in Simsbury. He was an early practitioner of landscape architecture in the state of Connecticut and was later granted license #02.

 

From Yarwood’s ASLA Council of Fellows Data Sheet, it appears that he left Desmond in 1933 to work with the National Park Service's CCC Camp in Chicopee, MA for three months and then the Central Design Division. He then left to work with nationally renowned landscape architect, A.D. Taylor. In 1943 Yarwood came back to Connecticut to again work with Desmond Associates, eventually becoming a partner.

 

Historic plans from 1950 to 1954 list the firm as Yarwood and Block. However, Yarwood did not list this affiliation in his biographical data, perhaps feeling that it was a continuation of Desmond Associates. James Block had been an employee of Desmond Associates.

 

George Yarwood was a prolific designer, producing many plans for low income housing and school sites across the state. Notable projects listed in his ASLA biographical data include work at Trinity College, Renbrook School, United Technologies (East Hartford) and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Unfortunately, most of the Desmond Associates/Yarwood archives were lost in the 1955 flood.

 

His service to the profession of landscape architecture includes:

 

• Founding member of the Connecticut Chapter of ASLA, 1948

• First President of CTASLA, 1952-1954

• Chapter Trustee, 1956-1957

• Member of the State Board of Landscape Architects, 1967-1972

 

He was elected an ASLA Fellow in 1964, and received the national ASLA Presidents Award in 1980. George A. Yarwood died in 1987.

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1987 E. Robert Gregan

1988 Dean Johnson

1989 Cathyann Plumer

1990 Dickson DeMarche

1991 W. Thayer Chase

1992 Richard E. Kent

1993 George Chassé

1994 Richard L. Kent

1995 Norma Williams

1996 Stephen Wing

1997 Vincent McDermott

1998 Keith Simpson

1999 Chris Ferrero

2000 Norma Williams

2001 Robert Clapper

2002 Karen Shopis

2003 Whitney Talcott

2004 Channing Harris

2005 Diane Devore

2006 Thomas R. Tavella

2007 Roderick E. Cameron

2008 Frank Gagliardo

2009 Sarah Middeleer

2010 Aris Stalis

2011 Kristin Schwab

2012 W. Phillips Barlow

2013 Robert J. Golde

2014 William Pollack

2015 Jane Didona

2016 Susan Cohen

2017 Barbara Yaeger

2018 Jeffrey Olszewski

2019 Peter Viteretto

2020 Louis Fusco

2021 Oliver Gaffney