Dewey Donnell garden

The famous garden for Dewey Donnell designed by Thomas Church, assisted by a young Lawrence Halprin, was completed several years before the house was built, due in part to World War II restrictions on building materials. In contrast swimming pools were permitted because they were seen as water reservoirs that could be used to fight brush fires common in the summer in Sonoma County. Shown here is one of the preliminary pool studies, as well as a sketch of the bathhouse by architect George Rockrise. The sculpture in the center of the pool and featured alongside the preliminary drawing was designed by notable sculptor Adaline Kent – measuring nine feet high with a subsurface opening that  allowed swimmers to pass through. Kent was married to John Galen Howard’s son Robert Howard also a sculptor.