Leon Henry Zach

Leon Henry Zach

Quick Facts

Significance:

Partner at Olmsted Firm

Place of Birth:

Jamaica Plain, MA

Date of Birth:

1895

Date of Death:

1966

Notable Projects while at Olmsted Firm:
Middlesex School, Concord, Massachusetts
Mary Curtis Bok Estate, Mountain Lake, Florida
Mary Curtis Bok Estate, Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Mary Curtis Bok Estate, Rockport, Maine
Private Estates in Chocomount Development, Fisher's Island, New York
Fort Tryon Park, Claremont Park, and Riverside Church, New York City, New York
 

Son of an Austrian-born father, who was a violist and one-time conductor of the St. Louis Symphony, Zach was urbane and well traveled. He was also an excellent manager. These qualities made him a valued on-site supervisor for Olmsted Jr.’s most prestigious private clients, including Mrs. Mary Curtis Bok and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Among his many projects for Mrs. Bok were several in the Camden-Rockport, Maine area, such as restructuring the downtown areas and developing residences for musicians as part of the summer programs for the Curtis Institute for Music.
 

His work for Rockefeller included the grounds for Riverside Church, overseeing the development of Fort Tryon and Claremont Parks in New York City, doing studies for Acadia National Park drives, and designing various Rockefeller properties in Pocantico Hills, New York. During the Depression years, Zach worked with firm partner James Frederick Dawson on several public projects for educational institutions in Alabama. In 1941, Zach left the Olmsted firm to work for the U.S. Department of the Army as Chief of the Planning Branch, Engineering Division for Military Construction.  In that role, he planned numerous army bases around the world. Zach served as president of the American Society of Landscape Architects from 1953 to 1957 and as the U.S. Army representative on the National Capital Planning Commission from 1953 to 1956.