Arnold Berke and Jake Pearce: The Landmarks in the Landscape

Arnold Berke and Jake Pearce: The Landmarks in the Landscape

For Arnold Berke and Jake Pearce, Grand Canyon National Park and Glacier National Park top their extensive list of favorite parks. “We spent considerable time at the Grand Canyon when Arnold was researching his book on Southwest architect Mary Coulter,” Jake says, “and it gave us the time to get to know the park very well.”

Like many people, Jake and Arnold love the natural vistas in both parks. But they are also huge fans of the parks’ architectural heritage.

“We took a bus tour of Glacier National Park,” says Arnold, “and it gave us an exhilarating view of the entire park, including both the natural and the built environments. The beloved 1930s buses, restored by the Ford Motor Co., and Going-to-the-Sun Road are unique American treasures.” For Arnold and Jake, “the landmarks in the landscape” make the national parks incredibly unique and precious.

Both Arnold and Jake have both made a commitment to the future of our iconic parks by leaving a gift to the National Park Foundation in their wills. They want future generations to be inspired by the high peaks and tranquil lakes just as they have.

“This country is a leader in terms of our national parks,” says Arnold. “And we want to ensure that the innovation and leadership America has put into the park system is sustained for years, decades, and centuries to come.”

Jake: An Architect in Love with National Parks

“The first national parks I can remember were Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park on our family vacations in the 1950s. Since we had no mountains or caves near our home in Louisiana, I was eager to visit more dramatic landscapes. I grabbed any chance I could to travel in my teen and college years, including a long‐planned driving trip to western states in 1969, when I took in the splendors of Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park. That travel also widened my exposure to the national forests, and to the extensive system of western state parks, of which Oregon’s “beaded chain” of parks along the Pacific is an impressive example.

“My career as an architect landed me in Washington, D.C. in 1972, and I began to appreciate the wealth of National Park Service sites in Washington and the mid‐Atlantic area. In 1979, I took a position with the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission in urban design and got a crash course in regional planning. I saw firsthand how funding shortfalls plagued the National Park Service and decided this would be a good focus for my philanthropy. In addition to my annual support, I decided to leave a gift to the National Park Foundation in my will, too. I love knowing that I’m playing a role in ensuring that people many years from now will still be falling in love with our magnificent national parks.”

Arnold: Preserving American History in the Parks

“When I moved to Washington, D.C., I learned that the beautiful parks I enjoyed here in the Nation’s Capital were part of a nationwide system managed by the National Park Service. Then I got hungry to see more of them. Luckily, my job gave me the chance to travel and visit many other national parks.

“Most people know about our national parks, but many people don’t know that the National Park Service is also the bedrock of the American preservation movement. I work in historic preservation and appreciate what the Park Service does to preserve not just the beautiful vistas, but also the amazing architecture and history of our parks.”