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Cover image of Frederick Law Olmsted
Cover image of Frederick Law Olmsted
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Frederick Law Olmsted

Plans and Views of Public Parks

edited by Charles E. Beveridge, Lauren Meier, and Irene Mills

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A superb visual overview of the major public parks designed by the foremost landscape architect in American history.

Winner, John Brinkerhoff Jackson Book Prize, Foundation for Landscape Architecture, FY16

Lavishly illustrated with over 470 images—129 of them in color—this book reveals Frederick Law Olmsted's design concepts for more than seventy public park projects through a rich collection of sketches, studies, lithographs, paintings, historical photographs, and comprehensive descriptions. Bringing together Olmsted's most significant parks, parkways, park systems, and scenic reservations...

A superb visual overview of the major public parks designed by the foremost landscape architect in American history.

Winner, John Brinkerhoff Jackson Book Prize, Foundation for Landscape Architecture, FY16

Lavishly illustrated with over 470 images—129 of them in color—this book reveals Frederick Law Olmsted's design concepts for more than seventy public park projects through a rich collection of sketches, studies, lithographs, paintings, historical photographs, and comprehensive descriptions. Bringing together Olmsted's most significant parks, parkways, park systems, and scenic reservations, this gorgeous volume takes readers on a uniquely conceived tour of such notable landscapes as Central Park, Prospect Park, the Buffalo Park and Parkway System, Washington Park and Jackson Park in Chicago, Boston's "Emerald Necklace," and Mount Royal in Montreal, Quebec. No such guide to Olmsted's parks has ever been published.

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) planned many parks and park systems across the United States, leaving an enduring legacy of designed public space that is enjoyed and defended today. His public parks, the design of which he was most proud, have had a lasting effect on urban America.

This gorgeous book will appeal to landscape professionals, park administrators, historians, architects, city planners, and students—and it is a perfect gift for Olmsted aficionados throughout North America.

Reviews

Reviews

Anyone interested in the fields of landscape design would surely want this book as a reference or simply as a celebration of the first and foremost American landscape architect.

Peer into the mind of the nation’s most prolific park maker with this book, which showcases more than 70 public spaces designed by Frederick Law Olmsted... Plans and Views of Public Parks is a visual compendium of Olmsted’s work, taking readers on a visual tour through some of America’s most significant public landscapes.

Enlightening and lavishly illustrated... Whether your interest is in Olmsted and his work, landscape architecture in general, the development of nature-based recreation, or American history, Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Public Parks can provide a substantial expansion and deepening of your thoughts in your area of interest, as well as help connect it to other related (and perhaps even previously unconsidered) areas of study.

A welcome addition to Olmsted scholarship and an excellent companion to the series documenting his extensive papers.

A treasure trove of visual materials, with surprises for even the Olmstedian aficionado.

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About

Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
11
x
11
Pages
448
ISBN
9781421410869
Illustration Description
129 color illus., 348 b&w illus.
Table of Contents

Acknowledgment
Introduction
1. New York City, New York
Central Park
Tompkins Square
Union Square
Riverside Park
Morningside Park
2. San Francisco, California
Pleasure Grounds System
3. Yosemite Valley and

Acknowledgment
Introduction
1. New York City, New York
Central Park
Tompkins Square
Union Square
Riverside Park
Morningside Park
2. San Francisco, California
Pleasure Grounds System
3. Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Big Tree Grove, California
Reservation
4. Brooklyn, New York
Prospect Park
Fort Greene Park
Tompkins Park
Brooklyn Parkways
5. Bridgeport, Connecticut
Seaside Park
Beardsley Park
6. Newark, New Jersey
Proposed Park
7. Albany, New York
Proposed Park System
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Fairmount Park
9. New Britain, Connecticut
Walnut Hill Park
10. Buffalo, New York
Park System, 1870s
Parkways
Niagara Square
The Park (Delaware Park)
The Front
The Parade
Later Extensions and Alterations
South Park, 1888 (Proposed)
Southside Park System, 1890s
11. Fall River, Massachusetts
South Park
12. Hartford, Connecticut
System of Public Grounds
13. Chicago, Illinois
South Park- The Era of 1871-1893
The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893- The Lagoon and Wooded Island
Post-Exposition Redesign and Construction of Jackson Park
Washington Park, Post-1893
The Midway Plaisance
Boulevards
14. Amherst, Massachusetts
Town Common
15. Baltimore, Maryland
Mount Vernon Square
16. Montreal, Quebec
Mount Royal
17. Detroit, Michigan
Belle Isle
18. North Easton, Massachusetts
Memorial Cairn
19. Boston, Massachusetts
The Park System
Commonwealth Avenue
The Back Bay Fens
Muddy River Sanitary Improvement, Brookline and Boston
Olmstead Park, Boston and Brookline
Jamaica Pond and Environs, Boston
The Arborway
The Arnold Arboretum
Franklin Park
Franklin Field
Parkways from Franklin Park to Marine Park
Marine Park
Boston Harbor Islands Proposal
Charlesbank
Wood Island Park
Charlestown Heights
Charlestown Playground
20. New London, Connecticut
Memorial Park
21. St. Catharine's, Ontario
Montebello Park
22. Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Reservation
23. Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Public Recreation Grounds (Proposed)
24. Wilmington, Delaware
Kentmere Parkway
25. Trenton, New Jersey
Cadwalader Park
26. Rochester, New York
Park System
Genesse Valley Park
Highland Park
Seneca Park
27. Louisville, Kentucky
Park System
Cherokee Park
Iroquois Park
Shawnee Park
Louisville Parkways
Louisville Squares and Places
28. Kansas City, Missouri
Eleventh Street Parkway and Park System (Proposed)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Park System
West Park
River Park
Lake Park
30. Newburgh, New York
Downing Park
31. Newport, Rhode Island
Morton Park

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. He was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator.
Charles E. Beveridge
Featured Contributor

Charles E. Beveridge

Charles E. Beveridge (ALEXANDRIA, VA) is the leading Olmsted authority in the country and the series editor of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted.
Featured Contributor

Lauren Meier

Lauren Meier is a landscape preservationist and a coeditor of The Master List of Design Projects of the Olmsted Firm, 1857–1979.
Featured Contributor

Irene Mills

Irene Mills is a landscape designer. Beveridge, Meier, and Mills are the coeditors of Frederick Law Olmsted: Plans and Views of Public Parks.