Born in Yonkers, New York, Abbott received a B.A. in landscape architecture from Cornell University and began his career in park design and land use planning with the Finger Lakes State Parks Commission and the Westchester County Parks Commission.
Allen maintained a landscape architectural practice based in New York City, designing residential gardens primarily in the New York and New England area.
Chester Glenn Allen was a leader in the profession of landscape architecture, both in practice as one of the original principals of Hargreaves Associates and as a Professor at LSU.