The Cultural Landscape Foundation® Pioneers of American Landscape Design® ___________________________________ ROBERT ROYSTON ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT ___________________________________ Interviews Conducted August 2007 By Charles A. Birnbaum, FASLA, FAAR, with J.C. Miller The Cultural Landscape Foundation® Pioneers of American Landscape Design® Oral History Series: Robert Royston Interview Transcript Contents PRELUDE .......................................................................................................................................... 5 BIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 5 CHILDHOOD ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 A California Walnut Orchard .................................................................................................................................. 5 Building a Model Town .......................................................................................................................................... 7 From Swimming Holes to High School ................................................................................................................... 8 EDUCATION................................................................................................................................................................ 8 From High School to the University of California, Berkeley................................................................................... 8 Looking at Art in San Francisco as a Student ......................................................................................................... 9 The Inspirational Professor Vaughan ................................................................................................................... 10 Early Impressions of Tommy Church and Garrett Eckbo ..................................................................................... 11 Becoming a Landscape Architect ......................................................................................................................... 12 Discovering Tommy Church ................................................................................................................................. 13 EARLY PRACTICE....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Working for Tommy Church ................................................................................................................................ 14 The Eagle Pencil ............................................................................................................................................... 15 Tommy Church, the Dancer ............................................................................................................................. 16 Living with Tommy Church .............................................................................................................................. 16 Tommy Church and Pruning ............................................................................................................................ 17 WORLD WAR II ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 Enlisting for Service ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Building Models in the Navy ................................................................................................................................ 19 POSTWAR PRACTICE AND TEACHING ...................................................................................................................... 19 The Formation of Eckbo, Royston & Williams ..................................................................................................... 19 The Decision to Leave Tommy Church................................................................................................................. 20 Teaching at Berkeley ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Hiring Students from the University .................................................................................................................... 22 New Towns and Teaching .................................................................................................................................... 23 The Loyalty Oath and Going East to Teach .......................................................................................................... 23 DESIGN .......................................................................................................................................... 24 The Model Box and Tension .................................................................................................................................... 25 Telesis ...................................................................................................................................................................... 27 Listening to and Learning from People .................................................................................................................... 27 The Human Being As the Module of Activity ........................................................................................................... 28 The Design of Golden Gate Park .............................................................................................................................. 28 Designing Street Furniture ....................................................................................................................................... 29 © 2020 The Cultural Landscape Foundation, all rights reserved. May not be used or reproduced without permission. 2 The Cultural Landscape Foundation® Pioneers of American Landscape Design® Oral History Series: Robert Royston Interview Transcript Understanding Space ............................................................................................................................................... 30 Elements of the Landscape That Should Be Preserved ............................................................................................ 31 The Long View.......................................................................................................................................................... 32 Learning from People and Connecting to Age Groups ............................................................................................ 32 Plan View Versus Aerial View .................................................................................................................................. 33 The Expanding Landscape ........................................................................................................................................ 34 Design Intent and the Element of Time ................................................................................................................... 34 Landscape As the Primary Determinant .................................................................................................................. 35 A Total Composition ................................................................................................................................................ 36 Parks and the Human Response to Smaller Spaces ................................................................................................. 37 The Garden Starts in the House ............................................................................................................................... 38 PROJECTS ...................................................................................................................................... 38 PARKMERCED .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 POTRERO HILL .......................................................................................................................................................... 39 VALENCIA GARDENS AND NORTH BEACH................................................................................................................ 39 VALLEJO HOUSING ................................................................................................................................................... 40 THE HART GARDEN .................................................................................................................................................. 42 THE CHINN GARDEN ................................................................................................................................................ 43 THE ROYSTON RESIDENCE ....................................................................................................................................... 44 Panels by Florence Swift ...................................................................................................................................... 44 Screens................................................................................................................................................................