Geraldine Knight Scott (1904-1989)

Geraldine Knight Scott graduated from the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Agriculture with a degree in landscape architecture in 1926 and also received a degree in art and architecture from Cornell University in 1928. Scott worked in the office of A.E. Hanson in Southern California until 1930, working on various residential estates and gardens. She then spent 22 months in Europe and attended the Sorbonne in Paris, returning to California in 1933 to join the office of Helen Van Pelt in Marin County. Scott was an active member of Telesis and during the war was involved in recreation planning and war housing. In 1947 Scott moved to Palo Alto where she worked with landscape architect Kathryn Imlay. The following year she moved to Berkeley and began her private practice which continued until 1968. She focused her efforts on housing, schools, private gardens, and professional office parks. She was also a member of the UC Berkeley Department of Landscape Architecture faculty between 1952 and 1968.

Scott’s notable projects include the Harold Lloyd Estate, the Living Plants Exhibition at the Golden Gate International Exposition, the Oakland Museum, Daphne Funeral Home, and early industrial complexes. The Scott collection documents projects and professional activities through personal, professional and faculty papers and office and project records. Materials include travel journals sketchbooks and scrapbooks from several tours of Europe; oral histories and interviews given by Scott; course materials and examples of her students’ work; and project records including drawings, files, and photographs.