Central Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Arthur Ross, Tree Lover And Conservationist, Is Dead At 96

Photo by Malcolm Pinckney

Arthur Ross, a native New Yorker, a champion of New York City parks, and one of the city's leading conservationists, died on Monday, September 10. Today friends, family, and colleagues including Commissioner Adrian Benepe and former Parks Commissioners Henry J. Stern, Gordon J. Davis, and Betsy Gotbaum, along with Central Park Administrator Doug Blonsky, attended his funeral at Temple Emanu-El and celebrated his life. He was 96.

Mr. Ross parlayed his successful career managing the investments arm of Central National-Gottesman, a pulp and paper company, his strong respect for the American wilderness, and his love of trees into a far-reaching philanthropic endeavor to beautify, restore, and expand forestry and horticulture in New York City parks. With his wife Janet, he became a "patron saint" of all things horticultural.

"Arthur Ross’ love of nature transformed Central Park and continues to enhance City parks, one tree at a time," said Commissioner Benepe. "His aesthetic appreciation and conservationist concern for beautifying and preserving the City’s natural environment was born of deep personal conviction and a city kid’s love of nature. He will be deeply missed for his intellect, generosity, spirit, and kindness."

In 1971, Mr. Ross first approached the Parks Department with the idea to plant trees in Central Park on the West Drive. In 1978, he worked with Parks Commissioner Gordon J. Davis and then with Central Park Administrator Elizabeth Barlow to expand the pinetum from an informal planting of trees to a formal collection of pine trees of the world. The result was the creation of the Arthur Ross Pinetum, a four-acre sanctuary of trees located northwest of the Great Lawn. The pinetum expanded over the years with annual tree plantings and is currently composed of a variety of pine and coniferous tree species. It remains one of the great hidden treasures of Central Park. During the summer, it is one of the coolest places in the park, and during the winter, especially when it snows, it resembles a quaint and contemplative piece of New England, right in the middle of New York City.

Mr. Ross funded the publication of The Pine Tree Book and The Arthur Ross Pinetum: A Walking Tour in Central Park in 1980, of which a second edition was printed in 2004, as well as Great Trees of New York City in 2000.

Mr. Ross also generously financed the restoration of other points of interest in Central Park, including the Vanderbilt Gate at the Conservatory Garden, the Ladies Pavilion at Hernshead on the Lake, Bethesda Terrace, Grand Army Plaza, and the wisteria pergola on the Mall.

"Arthur Ross was one of the leaders of the renaissance of Central Park before the Central Park Conservancy even existed," said Blonsky, Central Park Administrator and President of the Central Park Conservancy. "Today, thanks in part to his leadership in founding the Conservancy, the Conservancy model has spread to parks across the entire country."

In addition to funding major restoration projects in Central Park, Arthur Ross devoted personal time and energy towards the stewardship of the park. He was an early member of the Central Park Community Trust, which later merged with the Central Park Task Force in 1980 to become the Central Park Conservancy, the private, not-for-profit organization currently tasked with managing Central Park. A founding member of the Conservancy, Mr. Ross served as a trustee for 25 years and was named a lifetime trustee in 1993. Throughout his involvement, he provided significant operational support to the conservancy, established adult education programs, and enabled the archiving of the design history of the park.

Henry J. Stern, who as Parks Commissioner for over 15 years under two different mayors, had fond memories of Mr. Ross: "He was the city version – the spiritual kin – of another man born in 1910 who lived well into his 90’s – Laurance Rockfeller. What Laurance Rockefeller did for state and national parks, Arthur Ross did for small parks and pine trees and gardens and meteorites. His heart was in parks and in all the surprising gifts he made and programs he supported – like planting Chinese elms and Himalayan pines – these were uniquely parks gifts."

In the early 1990’s, he worked with then Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum and made a generous donation to restore the old nursery in Van Cortlandt Park. The facility was renamed in his honor. This year, Mr. Ross made another grant of $350,000 to expand the Arthur Ross nursery. His grant will enable the propagation of the patented "Central Park Splendor" elm tree, as well as to fund a tree propagator position at the nursery. The "Central Park Splendor," also known as Ulmus Parvifolia, is a tree species in New York City that dates back to the 1870’s. It is believed that the original tree was given to the City as a gift from the King of Prussia. Approximately 1,000 "Central Park Splendor" elms exist throughout New York City parks. Construction on the nursery is scheduled to begin next spring. He also made a $250,000 grant to create a Winter Walk in Fort Tryon Park with pine trees and other seasonally attractive plants.

Mr. Ross’ love of trees and nature was marked by his concern for matters diplomatic and scientific. He was a board member and generous donor to the New York Botanical Garden, American Museum of Natural History, and Municipal Arts Society.

Each year on the last Sunday in December, the Urban Park Rangers host a public educational tour of The Arthur Ross Pinetum for park-goers to learn about the history of the pinetum as well as the different tree species. For years Arthur and Janet, friends and family, and Parks and Conservancy staff have joined together, often in a picturesque bosque of newly fallen snow on the pines, to walk, to listen to carols, and to drink hot chocolate. This annual walk-through is a fitting annual tribute to a man who loved nature and parks.

Mr. Ross is survived by his wife Janet, his sons Alfred and Clifford, his daughter Beverly Plewak, his brother Chester, and his grandchildren Caroline and Adrian Ross, all of whom attended his funeral today.

"He who plants a tree,

He plants love,

Tents of coolness spreading out above

Wayfarers he may not live to see.

Gifts that grow are best;

Hands that bless are blest;

Plant! Life does not rest!

Heaven and earth help him who plants a tree,

And his work its own reward shall be."

From Plant a Tree by Lucy Larcom

(1824-1893)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center