Executive Secretary of Sanitary
Commission, Civil War
Manager of Mariposa Gold Mine in
California
Conservationist: A pioneer in preserving
Yosemite, Niagara Falls, Adirondack Mountains for all people by
preventing commercialism.
Father of Landscape Architecture in the
United States
Planner: Towns, colleges, universities,
private estates, asylums, Columbia World Exposition, many parks
across America (and influenced hundreds until today)
Artist: An American
Impressionist
Frederick Law Olmsted oil painting by John Singer
Sargent, 1895.
Questions to think
about?
Why should we study and try to
understand the life and works of Frederick Law
Olmsted?
Do you think his different "vocations"
in life are connected?
How do you think that American History
changed Frederick Law Olmsted?
How do you think Frederick Law Olmsted
changed American History? Or did he?
How do you observe your different
"classes in school" as related to Frederick Law Olmsted's life and
work?
How do you believe experiences of
"freedom," "democracy," and "community" are important, or
unimportant for Frederick Law Olmsted?
Does the experience of "tragedy" play an
important role in Frederick Law Olmsted's life? If so,
how?
How do the historical experiences of
"industrialization" and "urbanization" influence the life and work
of Frederick Law Olmsted?
Does the life and work of Olmsted help
us to understand the present conditions within the individual
lives of American society? World society?
Vocabulary Words for
discussion?
Park
Public Park
Private Park
Park System
Parkway
Scenic Reservations
Landscape
Landscape Architect
Landscape Qualities:
Picturesque
Pastoral
Sublime
Conservation
Scientific Forestry
Planned Community
Service
Barbarism
Civilization
Sources for the Play
Books and
writings:
Berenson, R. and R. Carroll. Barnes & Noble Complete
Illustrated Map and Guidebook to Central Park. Silver Lining
Books; NY, NY 2002.
Beveridge, Charles and Paul Rocheleau. Frederick Law
Olmsted: Designing the American Landscape. Universe Publishing;
NY, NY 1998.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 1. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 2. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 3. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 4. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 5. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Beveridge, Charles and C.C. McLaughlin. The Papers of
Frederick Law Olmsted: Volume 6. The Johns Hopkins University
Press; Baltimore, MD 1992.
Blackmar, E. and R. Rosenzweig. The Park and The People: A
History of Central Park. Cornell University Press; Ithaca, NY
1992.
Buell, Laurence. Emerson. The Belknap Press of Harvard
University Press; Cambridge, MA 2003.
Caryle, Thomas. Sartor Resartus. Edited by K. McSweeney and
P. Sabor. Oxford University Press, Inc.; NY, NY 1999.
Dunlap, Julie. Parks for the People: A Story About
Frederick Law Olmsted. Carolrhoda Books, Inc.; Minneapolis, MN
1994.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems.
Edited by R.D. Richardson, Jr. Bantam Books; NY, NY 1990.
Graff, M.M. The Men Who Made Central Park. Greensward
Foundation, Inc.; NY, NY 1982.
Hall, Lee. Olmstedís America: An
ìUnpracticalî Man and His Vision of Civilization.
Little, Brown & Co.; Boston, MA 1995.
Johnston, Johanna. Frederick Law Olmsted: Partner With
Nature. Dodd, Mead, & Co.; NY, NY 1975
Kalfus, Melvin. Frederick Law Olmsted: The Passion of A
Public Artist. New York University Press, NY, NY 1990.
Kay, Jane Holtz. Lost Boston. Houghton Mifflin Co.; Boston,
MA 1999.
Larson, Erik. The Devil In The White City. Crown
Publishers; NY, NY 2003.
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War
Era. Oxford University Press; NY, NY 1988.
Miller, Sara Cedar. Central Park: An American Masterpiece.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.; NY, NY date unlisted.
Mumford, Lewis. The Brown Decades: A Study of the Arts In
America 1865-1895. Dover Publications, Inc.; NY, NY 1931.
Olmsted, Frederick Law. Yosemite and Mariposa Grove: A
Preliminary Report, 1865î. Yosemite Association; Yosemite
National Park, CA 1995.
Olmsted, Frederick Law. The Cotton Kingdom: A
Travelerís Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the
American Slave States 1853-1861. edited by Arthur Shelesinger.
DeCapo Press; NY, NY 1996.
Olmsted, Frederick Law. Civilizing American Cities:
Writings on City Landscapes. edited by S.B. Sutton. DeCapo
Press; NY, NY 1997.
Olmsted, Frederick Law. Walks and Talks of An American
Farmer in England. The University of Michigan Press; Ann Arbor,
MI.
Raymo, Chet. The Path: A One Mile Walk Through the
Universe. Walker Publishing Co, Inc.; NY, NY 2003.
Roper, Laura Wood. FLO: A Biography of Frederick Law
Olmsted. The John Hopkins University Press; Baltimore, MD
1973.
Ruskin, John. Modern Painters. Edited by David Barrie.
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; NY, NY 1987.
Rybczynski, Witold. A Clearing In the Distance: Frederick
Law Olmsted & America in the 19th Century. Scribner; NY, NY
1999.
Stevenson, Elizabeth. Park Maker: A Life of Frederick Law
Olmsted. MacMillian Publishing Co., Inc.; NY, NY 1977.
White & Cramer, editors. Olmsted South: Old South
Critic/ New South Planner. Greenwood Press; Westport, CT
1979.
Zaitzevsky, Cynthia. Fairsted: A Cultural Landscape Report
for the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Volume 1.
Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation; Boston, MA
1997.
Zaitzevsky, Cynthia. Frederick Law Olmsted and the Boston
Park System. Belknap Press; Cambridge, MA 1982.
Visits to: Central Park, Prospect Park, Farm Sites, Homelands,
McLean Hospital, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
A Guide to the Biltmore Estate. The Biltmore Co.; Asheville, NC
2001
Dialogue with: Staff of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic
Site
Interviews
Gerry Wright at 617-524-7070 or email
FrederickLawOlmsted@yahoo.com
Links
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, 99 Warren
Street, Brookline, MA 02445 Telephone: 617-566-1689 http://www.nps.gov/frla/
National Association for Olmsted Parks, Parkside Lodge, 84
Parkside Ave. Buffalo, New York 14214 Telephone: 1-866-666-6905
multidisciplinary coalition of park advocates, landscape
architects, planners, historians, conservationists and civic
leaders committed to preserving our landscape heritage. http://www.olmsted.org/
New York City Central Park: The Central Park Conservancy, 14
East 60th Street, New York, NY 10022, 212-310-6600
contact@centralparknyc.org http://www.centralparknyc.org/
Yosemite Association, P.O. Box 230, El Portal, California
95318 TEL: 209-379-2646 FAX: 209-379-2486 E-MAIL:
info@yosemite.org http://www.yosemite.org
Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Parkside Lodge, 84 Parkside
Avenue Buffalo, New York USA 14214 Phone (716) 838-1249 | Fax
(716) 835-1300 http://www.buffaloolmstedparks.org
Olmsted in Buffalo -- The Park and Parkway System of Buffalo,
New York, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and listed in the
National Register of Historic Places http://bfn.org/preservationworks/bam/kowsky/kowold/
Frederick Law Olmsted at Biltmore Estate: Biltmore Estate, 1
North Park Square, Asheville, USA, NC 28801 http://www.biltmore.com/
Chicago World's Fair 1893: Frederick Law Olmsted transformed
marshes and sand dunes into a beautifully landscaped park that is
now on the National Register of Historic Places. http://www.hydepark.org/parks/jpac/jpkhistoryandfair.htm
Chicago Worlds Fair 1893: Illinois Institute of Technology
online digital plans for World's Columbian Exposition of 1893.
http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/
Frederick Law Olmsted, America's foremost landscape architect,
was responsible for laying out the fairgrounds. Jackson Park, the
product of that effort, is still one of Chicago's most beautiful
parks. http://www.chicagohistory.org/history/expo/ex1.html
Buttonwood Park Defense League: 609 Union St., New Bedford,
MA, USA 02740 An informative site containing all of Olmsted's
projects, related websites resources, and references, as well as a
list of other Olmsted organizations http://www.newbedford.com/olmsted.html
Olmsted Linear Park Alliance, P.O. Box 5500, Atlanta, GA
31107. OLPA's phone number is 404-853-7159; fax, 404-817-6745; and
email, olpa@ci.atlanta.ga.us A series of six parks along Ponce de
Leon Avenue between Moreland Ave./ Briarcliff Road and the City of
Decatur, Georgia. http://www.mindspring.com./~olmstedatlanta
Frederick Law Olmsted Society: P.O. Box 65, Riverside,
Illinois 60546 In 1868, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted
and his partner, Calvert Vaux, were commissioned to plan a unique
community just west of Chicago, Illinois. The result was
Riverside, a beautiful community along the Des Plaines River,
complete with curving lanes, abundant greenery, and gas street
lights. One hundred years later, the Frederick Law Olmsted Society
of Riverside was formed. In 1970, Riverside was named a National
Historic Landscape District http://www.olmstedsociety.org/
Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr.(1822-1903) landscape architect,
author, conservationist -- Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing the
American Landscape. http://www.olmsted.org/pages/olmsted.htm
Frederick Law Olmsted, who became known as the father of
American landscape architecture. Here are facts, photos and
resources. http://architecture.about.com/cs/olmsted/
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux in Buffalo, NY Olmsted
& Vaux: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Niagara Reservation by
Francis R. Kowsky; http://ah.bfn.org/a/archs/o&v/hp.html
Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, P.O. Box 37280,
Louisville, KY 40233-7280 The great master landscape architect,
Frederick Law Olmsted, and his firm designed these 18 parks and
six parkways over a 50 year period - from 1891 to 1940. Listed on
the National Register of Historic Places, our system of parks and
parkways is one of only five Olmsted systems in existence - adding
immeasurable value to the excellent quality of life enjoyed by the
citizens of our community. http://www.olmstedparks.org/
Frederick Law Olmsted --
one man play by Gerry Wright
For translations into different languages --
Arabic, Chinese, Italian, French, German, Russian, Spanish or others
visit the web site: http://babel.altavista.com
