Experiencing Olmsted: The Enduring Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted's North American Landscapes

by The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Charles Birnbaum, Dena Tasse-Winter, Arleyn Levee

Overview

200 Iconic Landscapes That Define North America 

Frederick Law Olmsted is the father of American landscape architecture. His firm, and the successor firms that sprung from it, worked through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to shape some of our most beloved green spaces, including national, state, and city parks, suburban neighborhoods, and academic campuses. He is most famous for creating New York’s Central and Prospect Parks, Stanford University’s campus, and the Capitol Grounds. What is less known and surprising about his legacy is that he worked widely across North America. 

By highlighting 200 iconic landscapes, many of which are still open to the public today, Experiencing Olmsted brings a fresh approach to the firms’ work and philosophy. It highlights not only grand city parks, but also other public venues born out of a desire for social equity. Olmsted was an early voice for parks as democratic spaces that could be reached on foot by a large percentage of any city’s populace. He viewed parks as restorative places—what he termed “the lungs of a city.” Brimming with contemporary and archival photography as well as original drawings and plans, this truly remarkable record brings these places to vivid life. 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643260365
Publisher:	Timber Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	177,837
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

A non-profit established in 1998, The Cultural Landscape Foundation® (TCLF) connects people to places. TCLF educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible, identify its value, and empower its stewards. 

Table of Contents

Introduction 10

Acknowledgments 14

Alabama

Birmingham City Parks Plan 17

Alabama Educational Institutions 19

University of North Alabama, Florence 19

Huntingdon College, Montgomery 21

California

California State Park System 23

Yosemite National Park and Mariposa Grove 27

Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland 29

Stanford University Campus, Palo Alto 31

St. Francis Wood, San Francisco 34

Palos Verdes Syndicate, Palos Verdes 37

Palos Verdes Parkway, Los Angeles 40

Colorado

Boulder Park System 43

Denver Park and Parkway System 45

Denver Mountain Parks System 47

Connecticut

Beardsley Park, Bridgeport 51

Hartford Parks System 52

Goodwin Park, Hartford 53

Keney Park, Hartford 54

Pope Park, Hartford 55

Bushnell Park and Connecticut State Capitol Grounds, Hartford 56

Walnut Hill Park, New Britain 58

Waveny Park, New Canaan 59

Hillside Cemetery, Torrington 60

District of Columbia

United States Capitol Grounds 63

White House Grounds (President's Park) 64

Rock Creek Park 65

McMillan Plan 67

Thomas Jefferson Memorial 68

Lincoln Memorial Grounds 70

Washington Monument 71

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial 72

National Cathedral Grounds 74

Delaware

Brandywine Park, Wilmington 76

Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington 76

Florida

Memorial Park, Jacksonville 79

Mountain Lake, Lake Wales 80

Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales 81

Pinewood Estate, Lake Wales 82

Georgia

Druid Hills, Atlanta 84

Grant Park, Atlanta 88

Piedmont Park, Atlanta 90

Bradley Olmsted Garden, Columbus 92

Idaho

University of Idaho, Moscow 95

Illinois

South Park System, Chicago 97

Riverside Community, Riverside 99

Indiana

Indiana University, Bloomington 101

Oldfields, Indianapolis 102

Kentucky

Bernheim Arboretum, Clermont 105

Kentucky State Capitol Grounds, Frankfort 106

Ashland Park, Lexington 107

Parks and Parkways System, Louisville 109

University of Louisville 111

Louisiana

Audubon Park, New Orleans 114

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 116

Maine

Acadia National Park, Mount Desert 119

Maine State Capitol Grounds, Augusta 121

University of Maine, Orono 122

Portland Parks, Eastern and Western Promenades 123

Maryland

Parks and Parkways System, Baltimore 127

Roland Park, Baltimore 129

Sudbrook Park, Baltimore County 130

Guilford Park, Baltimore 131

Homeland Park, Baltimore 132

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore 133

Massachusetts

Metropolitan Park Commission, Boston 136

World's End, Hingham 140

Amherst College, Amherst 141

Phillips Academy, Andover 142

Moraine Farm, Beverly 144

Emerald Necklace Park System, Boston 146

Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Fairsted), Brookline 149

Harvard University, Cambridge 151

Middlesex School, Concord 153

Parks of Fall River 155

Newton City Hall 157

North Easton Town Complex 158

Stonehurst, Waltham 159

Williams College, Williamstown 160

Michigan

Belle Isle Park, Detroit 162

Barton Hills, Ann Arbor 164

Washtenong Cemetery, Ann Arbor 165

Mississippi

Alcorn State University, Alcorn 167

University of Mississippi, Oxford 169

Missouri

Liberty Memorial, Kansas City 171

New Hampshire

Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter 174

Swasey Parkway, Exeter 176

New Jersey

Essex County Park System 178

Branch Brook Park, Newark 179

Eagle Rock Reservation, West Orange-Verona-Montclair 183

South Mountain Reservation, Maplewood-Millburn-West Orange 184

Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville 186

Cadwalader Park and Cadwalader Heights, Trenton 187

Union County Park System 188

Warinanco Park, Elizabeth 190

Echo Lake Park, Mountainside 190

Rahway River Parks, Rahway 190

Watchung Reservation, Mountainside 192

New York

Buffalo Park and Parkway System 195

Niagara Reservation, Niagara Falls 198

Brooklyn Park and Parkway System 200

Prospect Park, Brooklyn 201

Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn 204

Ocean and Eastern Parkways, Brooklyn 205

Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn 207

Central Park, Manhattan 209

Morningside Park, Manhattan 211

Riverside Park, Manhattan 213

Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan 215

Forest Hills Gardens, Queens 217

Gold Coast Estates, North Shore of Long Island 218

Rochester Parks System 220

Highland Park, Rochester 222

Genesee Valley Park, Rochester 223

Seneca Park, Rochester 224

Thompson Park, Watertown 225

North Carolina

Biltmore, Asheville 228

Duke University, Durham 231

Village of Pinehurst 232

Capitol Square, Raleigh 233

Ohio

Fine Arts Garden, Cleveland Museum of Art 237

NCR Projects, Dayton 239

Denison University, Granville 241

Oregon

Elk Rock Garden at the Bishop's Close, Portland 244

Portland Park System 246

Terwilliger Parkway, Portland 248

Pennsylvania

FDR Park, Philadelphia 251

Vandergrift Town Plan 252

Stoneleigh, Villanova 254

Kirby Park, Wilkes-Barre 256

Rhode Island

Newport City Plan 259

Newport Estates, Newport 260

Blackstone Boulevard, Providence 263

South Carolina

Yeamans Hall Club, North Charleston 265

Tennessee

Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, Gatlinburg 268

Woodmont Estates, Nashville 271

Fisk University, Nashville 271

Utah

Utah State Capitol Grounds, Salt Lake City 274

Vermont

Sherburne Farms, Burlington 277

Virginia

Masonic Memorial to George Washington, Alexandria 280

Washington

Thornewood, American Lake 283

Washington State Capitol, Olympia 285

Dunn Gardens, Seattle 286

Seattle Parks and Boulevard System 287

Seward Park, Seattle 290

Volunteer Park, Seattle 290

Lake Washington Boulevard, Seattle 291

Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle 292

University of Washington, Seattle 293

Park System of Spokane 295

Wisconsin

Town of Kohler 298

Washington Park, Milwaukee 300

Lake Park, Milwaukee 302

Canada

Capilano Estates, Vancouver 304

The Uplands, Victoria 307

Mount Royal, Montreal 309

Olmsted Firms 313

Selected Biographies of Principals and Members of Olmsted Firms 316

Selected Bibliography 328

Photography and Illustration Credits 332

Index 334

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/18/2022

Birnbaum, Levee, and Tasse-Winter, members of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, celebrate in this gorgeous tome the 200th birthday of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Birnbaum writes in the introduction that “the Olmsted firm literally shaped the nation from coast to coast,” a position bolstered by the survey that follows. In New York City, there’s Central Park, where Olmsted’s career began, as well as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which captures the firm’s “vision of the pastoral.” Washington, D.C., boasts his work on the White House grounds; Torrington, Conn., features the Hillside cemetery, which has a “verdant tranquility”; Asheville, N.C., is home to the Vanderbilts’ Biltmore estate; and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in Gatlinburg, Tenn., was never fully completed but still met its goal to “provide views on both sides of the notch.” Abundant photographs, both vintage and contemporary, come alongside fascinating blueprints, drawings, and maps. The authors make a strong case for just how influential Olmsted’s firm was, as he created and promoted “the comprehensive park system... parkways... and performative, ecologically driven design.” The result is a beautiful look at how some landmarks came to be. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Experiencing Olmsted, profusely illustrated and expertly annotated, allows us to admire the full range of Olmsted’s vision. This exceedingly beautiful volume makes us newly grateful that Olmsted persisted.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Abundant photographs, both vintage and contemporary, come alongside fascinating blueprints, drawings, and maps. The authors make a strong case for just how influential Olmsted’s firm was…The result is a beautiful look at how some landmarks came to be.” —Publishers Weekly
 

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