George Burnap

George Elberton Burnap (December 28, 1885 – June 17, 1938) was an American landscape architect. Born in Massachusetts, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University before being appointed lead architect in the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds (OPBG) in Washington, D.C. During his years with the OPBG, he designed the first White House Rose Garden, Montrose Park, Rawlins Park, landscaping and roadways in East Potomac Park, and initiated the planting of Japanese cherry trees along the Tidal Basin. His most well-known design was of Meridian Hill Park, a large urban park built on elevated land. Due to disagreements over his salary and outside work, Burnap was dismissed in 1916. His former student, Horace Peaslee, oversaw the completion of Meridian Hill Park.

Burnap later designed parks in numerous states, including St. Joseph Parkway in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he worked for several years, and Hagerstown City Park in Hagerstown, Maryland. He was also a landscape consultant to the Office of Engineering Commissioners and Veterans Bureau, authored Parks: Their Design, Equipment and Use, and was a contributing writer to American Architecture and Building News and Architectural Record. He continued his education later in life, earning an urban planning diploma from the University of Paris's graduate school. Burnap married his American wife in Paris, but they separated a few months later. Their divorce proceedings and alimony court battle were the subjects of numerous articles in local newspapers. He died in 1938 and was buried in his home state.