America, including former First Lady Laura Bush (seated middle).
By Dan Murphy
Stephen Byrns, President of the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy, was recently honored by the Garden Club of America, GCA, for his restoration efforts at Untermyer Gardens in Yonkers. Byrns, joined other notable honorees, including former First Lady Laura Bush, to celebrate their honor from GCA, a national leader that works to promote horticulture, environmental protection, and community improvement.
Byrns was presented with the Historic Preservation Medal. His nomination, submitted by The Little Garden Club of Rye and Millbrook Garden Club, reads:
The Historic Preservation Medal is awarded for outstanding work in the field of preservation and/or restoration of historic gardens or buildings of national importance. The medal was designed in 1973 by Joseph Kiselewski of New York City and presented and endowed by Mrs. John Leddy-Jones, Founders Garden Club of Dallas, Zone IX, and Mrs. Leonard Kirby, Jupiter Island Garden Club, Zone VIII. Previous recipients include Dr. William Seale, Jr. (2004), J. Reid Williamson (2006), Peter J. Hatch (2011), The Garden Conservancy (2012).
In 1915, Samuel Untermyer hired Welles Bosworth, a famous Beaux-Arts landscape architect, to create a magnificent garden for his mansion on a site overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades. The Persian walled gardens with water features, Greek columns, and a Temple of Love became one of the most important private gardens of the early 20th century. After the Depression and Untermyer’s death in 1940, the mansion was razed; the gardens, which had needed 60 gardeners for maintenance, were in ruins. In 1946 the land was given to the city of Yonkers and became a public park. The gardens were abandoned.
In the 1990s, Stephen Byrns, a founding partner of BKSK Architects in Manhattan, first visited the skeletal remains of the Untermyer Gardens, languishing within a dilapidated park in a city strapped for resources. Upon researching the former rich history of Untermyer’s estate, Steve envisioned plans to restore the once famous gardens. Over the next 15 years, as Steve pursued his career, he continued to dream.
In 2010, Steve began in earnest and within a few short years had established a conservancy, recruited a board of directors, negotiated a public/private agreement with the City of Yonkers, and secured funding to replant the walled garden and install deer fencing around the 43 acres.
Since then, restoration has continued at an energetic pace such that under Steve’s inspiring and creative leadership, the once-neglected gardens have now been restored to national prominence. With visitors from around the world, the Untermyer Gardens have again become a crown jewel of the city of Yonkers.
Congratulations to Stephen Byrns for this honor, and more important, for your work at Untermyer Gardens. This weekend, and every weekend through November, public tours are given by docents on Sundays. The 90 minute tours will alternately focus on history and gardens.
There is a $10 fee for each individual on the tour and $25/individual on the President’s Tour, given by Byrns. The gardens are located at 945 North Broadway. Visit their Facebook page for more details at www.facebook.com/UntermyerGardens/