June 30th, 2014
By: Sarah Boha
In my pursuit of a Bachelor of Arts at Penn State, I, like
any student pursuing their B.A. had to master a course load of humanities. The advisors advised matriculating students,
such as myself at the time, that it would make us a “well rounded human being
when we entered the real world” – “The Sea Around Us”, “Study of Paris” and
“Theater 101” were among the humanities I dabbled in. In my
sophomore year at Penn State I took a landscape architecture class. Landscape Architecture was a class that
seemed interesting to me, enrollment wasn’t filled and it was considered a
humanity; jackpot. I learned about the
meticulously precise garden parterres in France, the spiritual importance of
the landscape at the Taj Mahal and a community that was ahead of it’s time in
the ‘green movement’, Park Forest.
I remember my landscape architecture professor dedicating an
entire class to the community of Park Forest (it was a big deal, especially
when a local community is sandwiched between lectures about the Taj Mahal and
Versailles!). Established in 1956, this
development introduced a new and innovative approach, for it’s time, in the
layout of a suburban neighborhood. The
curved streets, abundance of trees and layout of the homes in Park Forest would
shatter the conventional post World War II neighborhood. The idea of keeping as many trees as possible
in building process would inspire the design of neighborhoods across America.
Pictured Above: An
example of the greenery and gardening that can be accomplished in Park Forest
Driving down, or walking, jogging, bicycling down, (Park
Forest was designed to be extremely pedestrian friendly with an implementation
of sidewalks throughout the community), the main access to Park Forest, Park
Forest Ave., I can almost hear my professor when she described the first houses
of Park Forest. Predominantly initiating
with ranch style homes, in the 1950s and 60s it was all about convenience. “Easy living”, was one of the phrases the LA
professor used in painting a picture of the first homes sitting slightly tilted
for an aesthetically pleasing look on their plot of land. A cross breeze billowing through the living
rooms of open front and back screen doors added a tranquil “easy” feeling. To live in this community was to live in a park,
easy living and pedestrian friendly. To
enjoy the cool breezes, fresh air and overall greenery was the forest element
that J. Alvin Hawbaker, real estate developer, and Carl W. Wild, assistant
designer and architect, had in mind when they designed Park Forest.
Picture Above: The
“Easy living” of an open back door to a patio in Park Forest
Today, Park Forest pays reverence to the past and tells of
story of it’s history to the present day as you drive, walk or jog through the
winding streets and admire the ever changing residential architecture. An original intention in the design of the
neighborhood was easy accessibility to surrounding parks in the area;
presently, the area is adjacent to Trader Joe’s plaza, the Colonnade and a
drive through Starbucks (which I frequent as a resident of Park Forest and
shows my impartiality as a writer and to my shameless love of coffee). In their original conception of Park Forest,
I don’t think Hawbaker and Wild could have ever imagined how their community
would evolve over the decades and become a model for suburban layouts across
the country. The next time you drive,
walk or jog through Park Forest, remember that you’re in a place that was
worthy to featured alongside the great Taj Mahal.
Pictured Above: The
beauty of the souring trees in Park Forest, even in the icy winter.
Interested in homes in the Park Forest and surrounding State
College area? Click here for the newest
homes available and give us a call if you’d like to schedule a showing, http://sarahb.annetteyorksgroup.com/community/area/State%20College/
