Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (1910-2004)

By Henry J. Stern
July 12, 2004

Laurance S. Rockefeller, who died yesterday at 94, was the preeminent figure in the 20th century with regard to creating parks and conserving open land, among his other achievements. His full-page obituary, on page B7 of today's Times, was written by Michael T. Kaufman, a veteran Times reporter and father of a Parks alumnus. Biographical articles by the Sun's Stephen Miller, Newsday's Herbert Lowe, the Post's Ian Bishop and the Daily News' Jane H. Furse appeared in today's New York dailies.
 
The country and the city are fortunate that a man of such wealth and influence devoted so much of his life to the cause of improving the environment. He lived across the street from the Arsenal, and many of us sensed that he was always looking over the park and those who cared for it. He donated huge tracts of land to the United States for national parks, and founded and supported many organizations devoted to parks and recreation.

To mention just one of his numerous gifts to parks, he and his younger brother, David, along with other family members, were generous donors to the Heather Garden endowment in upper Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park. The three-acre garden overlooks the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge. The park contains the Cloisters, a medieval abbey brought from France and reconstructed here. The entire park, including the Cloisters, was given to the City of New York by their father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. The park was opened to the public in 1935.
 
In his private life, "Mr. Laurance," as he was called to distinguish him from his four brothers, was an extraordinarily modest and gracious person. When I asked him years ago if he would care to choose a park name for himself, he said "White Rabbit." As a child, he had raised rabbits, while his younger brother, David, raised turtles.
 
Mr. Laurance left a significant imprint on the map of America. The amount of land he acquired for public use would be beyond anyone's reach today. We have all been enriched by his life and good works.