Paul Benjamin Riis

Paul Benedict Riis (1876-1944) was a Swiss-born landscape architect, national authority on park development, conservationist, author, photographer, hiker, bird lover, golfer, and grower of prize-winning irises, who also had a secret weakness for eating sugar cubes dipped in water.  

Riis served as the superintendent of parks from 1912 to 1927 in Rockford, Illinois  He was hired as director of the county parks for Allegheny County upon the recommendation of County Commissioner Edward Vose Babcock.  

Riis was tasked with designing the county’s first two parks, South and North Parks, and served from 1928 to 1932 in that capacity. 

In addition to the Corrigan Drive swimming pool, he designed the Cascades, the Vale of Cashmere's stone channels and pools, council rings, shelters, bridges, scenic drives, bridle paths and nature trails within South Park.

Riis didn’t wish to merely create non-descript and functional places for people to enjoy the outdoors but wanted to integrate the beauty of the natural world into all aspects of his designs within South Park.  He treated landscape architecture as fine art.  Everything from trails, roads, golf courses, choice of trees planted in the park, water features and shelters were designed to be aesthetically pleasing under his directorship.  

His work was strongly influenced by Jens Jensen, the highly regarded, Danish-born landscape architect from Chicago, who was instrumental in creating the Prairie style or naturalistic school of park design.

South Park was patterned to be a quiet place of rest and tranquility away from the dirt and noise of the city.  Beautiful walking trails, wide views of the surrounding hills and valleys, rock outcroppings, rustic waterfalls and the use of native plants were incorporated to look like they had always been a natural part of the landscape. He called this concept “Poetic Park Trails” and it comprised much more than just trails.  Riis believed parks were a public necessity and also felt that they should be designed to be used throughout the year.  Although decried by his critics as a “dreamer” and an “artist,” Riis was a visionary who was years ahead of his time.

Riis died on March 27, 1944 at the age of 67 at his home in Rockford, Illinois.

Parks are primarily intended to counteract the ill effects of city life, to gratify tired eyes and minds with the grace and beauty of nature; fill strangling lungs with pure, fragrant air of grasslands, forest and growing things; delight ringing ears with the soothing music of singing waters and the lyric carol of wild birds, that mind and nerves may relax and unbend, revive and refresh themselves and gather bodily strength, assurance and fortitude of soul.

                                                                                                 Paul B. Riis