Gilmore David Clarke[1] (July 12, 1892[2] – August 8, 1982[3]) was an American civil engineer and landscape architect who designed many parks and public spaces in and around New York City.
Born in New York, Clarke went to Cornell University to study landscape architecture and civil engineering, graduating in 1913 with a B.S.
He had closely worked with Robert Moses and combined the examples of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Merritt Parkway to give the highway an efficient and beautiful appearance.
In addition to his practice in New York, Clarke was appointed in 1932 to the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C., and served as its chairman from 1937 to 1950.
He led the Commission in opposition to several controversial issues during this period, including the design of the neo-classical Jefferson Memorial by John Russell Pope, the siting of the new Pentagon complex near Arlington Cemetery, and the construction of the so-called "Truman Balcony" within the south portico of the White House.