Between 1953, when James Rose built his house and garden, and 1991, when he died, the site was the residence of a pioneer of modern landscape design. More than a house and garden, it was Rose's living laboratory for the exploration and expression of his then radical ideas about the meaning of the house and garden. He described his residence as "neither landscape nor architecture, but both; neither indoors nor outdoors, but both."
The Ridgewood house and garden is a clear expression of James Rose's ideas about sculpting continuous or interlocking space ("inside" or "outside,") to serve the needs of people. He built three one story, free standing apartments, for his mother, his sister, and himself, joined by gardens. In the early 1970's he added a roof garden, just one of the many changes through the years. Indeed, change was a guiding principle in the site's conception and development.
As Rose put it his goal was to "set up the basic armature of walls and roofs and open spaces to establish their relationships, but leave it flexible in details to allow for improvisation. In that way, it would never be 'finished,' but constantly evolving; a metamorphosis such as we find, commonly, in nature."
Before his death, Rose established a non-profit corporation for the purpose of converting his house and garden to the James Rose Center for Landscape Architectural Research and Design. The center's mission is, in the words of its founder, "..to investigate the subject of ecology-the interrelationship of man upon his environment and the environment upon man" and to serve as a kind of "halfway house" to "bridge the gap between classroom education and practice" in the art of enviromental design. It seeks to "remove the obstacles between the self and nature" through study, meditation, and direct sympathetic imaginative design on the land. It is intended to supplement contemporary classroom education by exploring the meaning of the garden as a place for self-discovery and of self-discovery as a means for designing gardens. It seeks to promote a better balance between direct improvisation and fixed plans. It provides classes, internships, scholarships, and research opportunities, as well as a place to study and retreat.
Providing a place for this mission has meant reviving the Rose home without losing the vitality which created and sustained it during Rose's life. In harmony with his design philosophy, revival of his home will not yield a "museum," but a resource which may be used "for meditation, retreat and self-discovery; to assist students, scholars and the general public in exploring the meaning of the private garden in the contemporary world; to serve as a 'halfway house' between the landscape schools and the landscape profession; and to assist in the preservation of other important American gardens."