Albert Davis Taylor, the subject of this study, occupies a prominent position in landscape architecture history. He was chairman of the committee on Professional Practice which was responsible for promulgating the ASLA statements: Official Statement of Professional Practice (1920); Methods of Charges, Recommended Minimum Charges, and Code of Professional Ethics. These documents are recognized as milestones in the development of The American Institute of Landscape Architects.1 Taylor's efforts helped the profession to survive the difficult years of the Great Depression and the period of national defense, war, and post war planning. He served as Trustee, Vice President, and President of the ASLA. His archives provide valuable information for tracing the development of the Profession and the ASLA.
Taylor's private practice also provides examples of design excellence. Projects such as the Pentagon, Forest Hill Park and Father Flanagan's Boys Town gained national recognition; while projects such as the Cleveland Waterfront Development, the Tri-City Waterfront Development (Daytona, Daytona Beach, Seabreeze), Daisy Hill Farm, The Estate of Oris P. and Manis J. Van Sweringen (Cleveland, Ohio), and The Julius Fleischman Estate in Cincinnati, Ohio have become the subjects of published articles.
Research into the career of A. D. Taylor was begun by a careful study of archival materials located in the Ohio Historical Society, in the American Society of Landscape Architects records located at The Library of Congress, and his material located in the files of Jot Carpenter at The Ohio State University.
A literature and data search was instigated to develop a bibliography off articles written by or about A. D. Taylor. A search was also conducted to find plans, drawings and correspondence outside of the archival material. This was especially important in the case of A. D. Taylor because very few of the graphic records documenting his executed works are contained within his archives. One of the goals of this project is to create a directory on the Life and Career of A. D. Taylor. In order to make the information gleaned from this study easily available to others, a computer data base was chosen. The Data Base created for this study enables scholars to access the contents of the Archives to discover the location and amount of material available on a given subject. The results of research into A. D. Taylor's Archives, the investigation, and literature search numbering over 2,000 records were recorded in the data base. A discussion of A. D. Taylor's life and accomplishments in Landscape Architecture, supported by information derived from the data base, can be found in Chapter 4: Life and Times of A. D. Taylor. The Appendices contain a listing of the contents of the data base in addition to information on the installing, retrieval, and printing of the information. The versatility of the A. D. Taylor Data Base is demonstrated in Appendix C: Contents of the A. D. Taylor Data Base on Committees of The American Society of Landscape Architecture, and Appendix D:Contents of the Albert D. Taylor Data Base Concerned with the Site Specific Projects of the A. D. Taylor Firm. While Appendix E and F are a listing of Mr. Taylor's Projects arranged geographically and chronologically. Appendix G is a list of possible papers.
A compilation is not new but the use of computers to create one is; as the advantages are realized its use will increase. The A. D. Taylor Data Base and List of Projects, to date, represents the most comprehensive information on the projects and archives of A. D. Taylor and should encourage research into the career of A. D. Taylor.