The landscape surrounding the mansion is extraordinary. James Allison chose master landscape architect Jens Jensen to design the grounds for his expansive estate. Jensen, known affectionately as the “Prophet of the Prairie,” created a uniquely American style of landscape architecture, much as his contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright did with the design of structures. Born in Denmark in 1860, Jensen immigrated to Chicago and worked his way up to the position of Park Superintendent of the West Chicago Park District. His unique designs, which focused on native Midwestern plants, can be seen in Garfield, Columbus, and Humboldt parks in Chicago. Many currently are being restored through the efforts of Julia Bachrach Snyderman and the Jens Jensen Legacy Project, a joint effort of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Chicago Park District (www.jensjensen.org).
In 1909, Jensen began work as a consulting landscape architect, accepting private estate commissions from nationally known figures such as Allison (1911), Henry (1914) and Edsel (1922-34) Ford, J.M. Studebaker, Jr. (1924), J. Ogden Armour (1906-16), and Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks (1913), as well as prominent Hoosiers including F.D. Stalnaker (1921-28), Dr. Goethe Link (1922), F.D. Frawley (1922), and possibly Carl Fisher (1910), and Frank Wheeler (1912). The estates of Henry and Edsel Ford are among the best known of Jensen’s work and are listed on the National Historic Register and open to the public (See, www.henryfordestate.com and www.fordhouse.org). Jensen also designed landscapes for many public places, subdivisions, hospitals, and schools, including Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana. Hired by Fisher, Ford, and others, he designed the “Ideal Section” of the Lincoln Highway, running from Dyer to Schererville, Indiana.
Other Jensen Projects in Indiana
Although few survive today, Jensen designed numerous other private estates in Indiana including the estates of:
- Mrs. Barker (Michigan City)
- Martin Beiger (Mishawaka)
- Bohm/Ye Four Winds (Long Beach)
- Morse Dell Plain (Hammond)
- Frank Evans (Crawfordsville)
- F.S. Fish (South Bend)
- Norman Perry (Culver)
- Emmett Scott (LaPorte)
- J.M Studebaker Jr. (South Bend)
- W.E. Whitaker (Crown Point)
- Jensen also designed parks in East Chicago, Kendallville, and Miller, as well as portions of what is now Indiana Dunes State Park and the grounds of the Culver Military Academy.
In creating the Prairie Style of landscape design, Jensen developed ten signature design elements:
- Native vegetation
- Water features
- Horizontal layering
- Light and shadow
- Rockwork
- Spatial manipulation
- Movement, time, and change
- Players’ greens
- Council rings
- Formal gardens
Jensen’s design for Riverdale’s grounds included all of these signature features, as well as more traditional structures such as a palm house, greenhouses, and arbors. A series of spring-fed lakes encircle a central clover meadow at the base of the bluff upon which the house stands in an area of the landscape which features more than a mile of driving and walking trails amid extensive native plantings.
The features of the formal garden adjacent to the Allison Mansion include a picturesque stone colonnade, a player’s green designed for outdoor theatrical performances, a circular perennial gardens and fountain and lush lawn terraces. The colonnade serves as a modified council ring and is the focal point of the formal gardens. Extraordinary examples of Jensen’s rockwork are found in three boulder bridges and dams, several “frog” ponds, and a unique flat bridge.
Although Jens Jensen designed more than 350 private estates during his career, fewer than 10% of them survive intact today. In Indiana, Jensen designed 17 estates and only eight survive in any form. Riverdale is one of them, and is the largest and most intact Jensen designed landscape in Indiana. According to Jensen’s biographer, Robert E. Grese, author of Jens Jensen: Maker of Natural Parks and Gardens, Riverdale is one of the 10 most significant Jensen landscapes in the country.
