Walter Guthrie (1932-2006)

Walter Guthrie attended the Jewish Farm School in Doylestown PA, and served in the military in the mid-1950s. In 1958, He graduated from Oregon State with a degree in horticulture and design, and went to work for the landscape firm of Osmundson & Staley. There he met his wife Lisa, also a landscape architect; the couple married in 1960. Guthrie then left Osmundson to work for Thomas Church in 1961 (replacing Casey Kawamoto). After working more than a decade (1961 to 1973) with Church, Guthrie joined the firm which became Johnson, Leffingwell and Guthrie. This firm split up in 1980, with each partner opening an individual practice. Prior to his death, Guthrie was interviewed by the Cultural Landscape Foundation as one of four Bay Area “Landscape Legendaries.” Guthrie died suddenly in an accident.

The Collection consists mostly of project records created during Guthrie’s professional career. Primarily the files contain drawings and some documentation. There are photographs for a small number of projects. There are also a very small number of personal and office records in the collection. Some notable projects include the Tanner Fountain at Stanford, and various wineries throughout California.