Front Page | History | Dining | Accommodations | Membership | Staff | The Update | Reciprocal Clubs
Background | Hale's Vision | Landscape | Architect

THE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

Florence Yoch and Lucile Council were partners throughout most of their careers. From the 1920s through the 1960s they designed and executed more than 250 gardens and film sets, from Pasadena estates to small backyards in Carmel, from the Hollywood palaces of Jack Warner and George Cukor to sets for Gone With the Wind and Romeo and Juliet. Students of the great gardens of Europe, they adapted the formal designs to the climate and lifestyle of Southern California.

Although technically a public garden, the landscaping at The Athenaeum has a casual domestic quality, with potted plants in the corners and vines draped on the eaves. Rows of olive trees with aged, twisted trunks evoke the Tuscan countryside. Yoch and Council carefully supervised the planting themselves. Their attention to detail was costly, but resulted in satisfied customers and an enviable reputation. According to the account book at Yoch & Council, The Athenaeum landscaping cost more per square foot than any other job prior to World War II but still resulted in a loss to Yoch & Council of $396.49 for planning and supervision.