William Lyman Phillips

William Lyman Phillips

Quick Facts

Significance:

Landscape Architect at Olmsted Firm

Place of Birth:

West Somerville, MA

Date of Birth:

1885

Place of Death:

North Miami, FL

Date of Death:

January 1963

Notable Projects while at the Olmsted Firm: 
Crocker Field, Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Estates in the Mountain Lake Development and The Bok Sanctuary for Birds, Lake Wales, Florida
Country Club Development, Daytona, Florida
 

After graduating from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, Phillips went to work for the Olmsted Brothers firm in 1911. He would work for them and as a consultant off and on for 20 years. At Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.’s recommendation, Phillips became the landscape architect for the U.S. government on the Panama Canal project in 1913, fostering a life-long interest in tropical design.

By 1925 he had settled in Florida where he worked closely with the Olmsted firm on both the Bok Sanctuary for Birds with its “Singing Tower” carillon and on the Mountain Lake residential development, designing many of the individual estate landscapes. He continued to advise the firm on many of their other projects in the South. Working in the Sunshine State forced Phillips to develop a set of design principles appropriate for tropical environments. He noted that “in Florida small landscape units and close views of vegetation are apt to be more attractive than wide views, and walks in the shade more agreeable than walks in the sun.” 

 

In his private practice in Florida, he designed for both public and private environments, always respectful of the native plant palette. He had a long association with the Fairchild Botanic Garden, and worked on the developments around Key Biscayne and at the University of Miami.