Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Frederick Law Olmsted is often described as the father of American landscape architecture. He, his firm, and the successor firms that sprung from it worked in the early twentieth century to shape our parks systems, our suburban neighborhoods, and most of our best beloved green spaces, including national and state parks and famous academic campuses.
The Olmsted Legacy explores 200 of those spaces, including New York's Central and Prospect Parks, Stanford University's campus, the United States Capitol Grounds, Druid Hills in Atlanta, Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and many more. This overview gives a brief description and background on Olmsted's most important contributions, all supported by lavish photography. Author Charles Birnbaum is known as today's single most active advocate for preservation and thoughtful restoration of America's great green places. The Olmsted Legacy explores one firm's important legacy. Beautifully packaged and historically significant, this is a thoughtful gift book for fans of history, landscape, and design.
Synopsis
200 Iconic Landscapes That Define North America Frederick Law Olmsted is often described as the father of American landscape architecture. He, his firm, and the successor firms that sprung from it worked to shape our parks systems, our suburban neighborhoods, and most of our best beloved green spaces. Experiencing Olmsted explores 200 of those spaces, including New York's Central and Prospect Parks, Stanford University's campus, the United States Capitol Grounds, Druid Hills in Atlanta, Lake Park in Wisconsin, and many more. Readers will find contemporary and historical photography, original drawings and plans, and descriptions of each space that provide background on Olmsted's most important contributions. 2022 is the bicentennial of Olmsted's birth, and there is no better way to celebrate than the pages of this beautifully packaged, thoughtful exploration of the firm's important legacy on North America's landscape.
Synopsis
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.