List of Olmsted works explained

The landscape architecture firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, and later of his sons John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (known as the Olmsted Brothers), produced designs and plans for hundreds of parks, campuses and other projects throughout the United States and Canada. Together, these works totaled 355. This is a non-exhaustive list of those projects.

Frederick Law Olmsted Sr.

Academic campuses

Frederick Law Olmsted Sr. designed numerous school and college campuses between 1857 and 1895. Some of the most famous done while he headed his firm are listed here. Projects continuing past Olmsted's retirement in 1895 were completed by his sons, the Olmsted Brothers.

Selected private and civic designs

By Frederick Law Olmsted Sr.:

Project City State or province Date
Massachusetts 1877
1890s–1900
1884
Michigan master plan and landscape in the 1880s
Biltmore Estate grounds 1890–1895
Delaware 1886
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New York 1853 (opened in 1856)[3]
New York
Massachusetts
New York
Druid Hills Historic District and parks along Ponce de Leon Avenue (Springdale, Virgilee, Druid Hills, Brightwood, Shady Side, Olmsted Linear, Deepdene)Druid Hills (Atlanta)
New York
Massachusetts circa 1880
Ohio[4]
New York
New York
New York[5]
New York
New York
Connecticut
1860s
Jackson Park, originally South Park
John T. Davis house (17 Westmoreland Place)[6] Missouri1892
Lakehurst Gardens ca. 1870[7]
Wisconsin[8]
New York
New York
Ontario[9]
New York City New York
inaugurated in 1876
dedicated in 1865
New York
Niagara Reservation (now Niagara Falls State Park) New York dedicated in 1885
New York
Olmsted Linear Park[10] Georgia
Pinehurst ground broken in 1895
Point Chautauqua, a Baptist planned resort community Point Chautauqua New York
New York finished 1868
River Park (now Riverside Park)
Illinois
New York
New York
1860s
New York
Skillman Epilepsy Hospital (subsequently North Princeton Developmental Center) New Jersey
South Park (now Kennedy Park) 1868
1889
United States Capitol grounds
Staten Island New York
Washington Park[11] circa 1870 (blueprints were destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871)
West Park Zoological Gardens (now Washington Park)
Whitman Town Park circa 1875
Westport Connecticut circa 1881
Wood Island Park (taken by eminent domain in the 1960s to expand Logan International Airport)
Chicago 1893[12]
World's End, formerly the John Brewer Estate Massachusetts 1889

Olmsted Brothers

After the retirement of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr in 1895, the firm was managed by John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., as Olmsted and Olmsted, Olmsted Olmsted and Eliot, and Olmsted Brothers. Works from this period, which spanned from 1895 to 1950, are often misattributed to Frederick Sr. They include:

Academic campuses

Selected private and civic designs

By Olmsted and Olmsted, Olmsted Olmsted and Eliot, and Olmsted Brothers:

Notes and References

  1. News: Denominational Leadership: 1899-1928 .
  2. News: Digging Up the Dirt on Olmsted . Sam . Whiting . San Francisco Chronicle . July 6, 1999 . March 21, 2018 . March 22, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322081852/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Digging-Up-the-Dirt-on-Olmsted-Famous-landscape-2921680.php . live .
  3. Book: White. Norval. Willensky. Elliot. Chapter. American Institute of Architects. New York. AIA guide to New York City. 2000. Crown Publ.. 9780812931068. 2018-01-24. 2017-02-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20170224194427/https://books.google.com/books?id=e9dUAAAAMAAJ. live.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221350/http://www.clevelandart.org/research/in-the-library/collection-in-focus/fine-arts-garden The Fine Arts Garden
  5. Wickes . Majorie . Tim O'Connell . April 1988 . The Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted . Rochester History . L . 2 . Rochester Public Library . 0035-7413 . 2007-12-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110608180754/http://www.rochester.lib.ny.us/~rochhist/v50_1988/v50i2.pdf . 2011-06-08 . dead .
  6. The Work of the Olmsteds in Missouri . 3 . Esley . Hamilton . 10 . 1 . Spring 2004 . The Society of Architectural Historians Missouri Valley Chapter Newsletter . 2021-03-05 . 2021-11-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211125105348/https://www.stlouisarchitecture.org/pdf/2004%20Spring.pdf . live .
  7. http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/lhn-nhs/det_E.asp?oqSID=0512&oqeName=Beechcroft+and+Lakehurst+Gardens&oqfName=Jardins+de+Beechcroft+et+Lakehurst Beechcroft and Lakehurst Gardens National Historic Site
  8. http://www.lakeparkfriends.org/history.shtml Lake Park Friends
  9. http://www.stcatharines.ca/recreation/pt/montebello_park.asp Montebello Park
  10. Web site: Olmsted Linear Park Alliance . 2022-04-20 . 2022-04-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220425204846/https://atlantaolmstedpark.org/ . live .
  11. Web site: Bachin . Robin . Washington Park . Encyclopedia of Chicago . Chicago Historical Society . 2020-07-10 . 2007-10-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071012151735/http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1319.html . live .
  12. Web site: Bird's-Eye View of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 . . 1893 . 2013-07-17 . 2015-05-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150526030205/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11369/ . live .
  13. Web site: The Essential Eastern: A History of Eastern Kentucky University | KET. 2021-04-07. 2022-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220912023447/https://www.ket.org/program/essential-eastern-a-history-of-eku/. live.
  14. Book: Lawliss. Lucy. The Master List of Design Projects of the Olmsted Firm, 1857-1979. Loughlin. Caroline. Meier. Lauren. 2008. National Association for Olmsted Parks. 9780615155432. en. 2020-11-01. 2022-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220912023448/https://books.google.com/books?id=110lAQAAMAAJ&q=fisk+university+olmsted&pg=PA130. live.
  15. Web site: Frederick Law Olmsted designed the landcaping [sic], ampitheatre and art at the University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama. Library of Congress. 2019-05-30. 2019-05-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20190530163421/https://www.loc.gov/item/2010640794/. live.
  16. Web site: Huntingdon History. Huntingdon College. 2012-04-11. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120501221837/http://huntingdon.edu/about.aspx?id=42. 2012-05-01.
  17. Web site: The Old Crescent. Indiana Historic Landscapes Alliance. 2012-04-12. 2012-01-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20120104111645/http://hiddentreasuresindiana.org/the-old-crescent/. live.
  18. Web site: History of LSU. Louisiana State University. 5 October 2010. 2012-04-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090310182742/http://www.lsu.edu/visitors/history.shtml. 2009-03-10.
  19. News: The Grand March of Oberlin campus plans. Geoffrey Blodgett. Observer. 11 May 1995. Oberlin College. 2012-04-11. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101116071851/http://www.oberlin.edu/library/news/observer16.17/observations.html. 2010-11-16.
  20. Web site: The Ohio State University. https://archive.today/20120730120031/http://www.campusheritage.org/page/the-ohio-state-university. dead. 2012-07-30. Campus Heritage Network. 2012-04-12.
  21. Web site: Report on Oregon Agricultural College. Oregon State University. 1 October 1909. 2012-04-12. 2022-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20220912023453/https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/g158bp46n. live.
  22. Web site: Olmsted Associates Records: Job Files, 1863-1971; Files; 7328; Roslyn High School; Roslyn, N.Y., 1924-1925. 2020-09-21. Library of Congress. 2022-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20220420025641/https://www.loc.gov/item/mss5257104950. live.
  23. Web site: About Us | Troy University. 2018-03-20. 2018-04-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20180401095349/https://www.troy.edu/history.html. live.
  24. News: Campus planning history . University of Idaho . (Facilities Services) . 2015-06-16 . 2015-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150617081718/http://www.uidaho.edu/facilities/ae/longrangecampusdevelopmentplan/campusplanninghistory . live .
  25. Web site: History of the University of Idaho. University of Idaho. 2015-06-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20150617081529/http://www.uidaho.edu/celebrationofleadership/inauguration/Inauguration%20objects/history. 2015-06-17. dead.
  26. Web site: About Montevallo:UM Quick Facts. University of Montevallo. 2012-04-12. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120330122802/http://www.montevallo.edu/montevallo/QuickFacts.shtm. 2012-03-30.
  27. Web site: Original 1904 Planting Plan for the Western State Normal School. Western Michigan University. 2012-04-12. 2012-05-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20120512074245/http://www.cf.wmich.edu/planning/WebSites/1904/1904OlmstedPlan.htm. live.
  28. Web site: American Splendor: Residential Architecture of Horace Trumbauer by Acanthus Press LLC. issuu. October 26, 2011 . 2018-01-25. 2021-03-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20210309082908/https://issuu.com/acanthus_press/docs/trumbauer_flip_book/23. live.
  29. News: Simon . Romero . Reporting contributed by Sandra La Fuente. A Venezuelan Oasis of Elitism Counts Its Days. The New York Times. 27 December 2010. A1 NY ed. 2012-04-11. 2012-02-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20120226234158/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/world/americas/28venez.html. live.
  30. Olmstead Brothers. "Craig Colony General Plan, Sonyea, NY." (Map) Brookline, MA: Dec. 1899. Collection of Livingston County Historian's' Office, Mt. Morris, NY.
  31. Web site: MACRIS inventory record for High Rock Reservation . Commonwealth of Massachusetts . 2021-11-29 . 2021-11-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211123004957/https://mhc-macris.net/Details.aspx?MhcId=LYN.921 . live .
  32. Web site: Company Timeline. Kohler Company. 2018-01-24. 2013-08-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20130807103427/http://www.kohler.com/corp/about/timeline/index.htm. live.
  33. Web site: The History of Metro Parks. Cheri Goldner. Summit Metro Parks. 2012-04-11. 2012-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20120418055600/http://www.summitmetroparks.org/InsideMetroParks/History.aspx. live.
  34. Book: Mackay, Robert B. . Gardens of Eden: Long Island's Early Twentieth-Century Planned Communities . . 2015 . 978-0393733211.
  35. Book: Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Communications, United States Congress . Drugs, Law Enforcement, and Foreign Policy: The Cartel, Haiti, and Central America . 1927 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 366–367 . en.
  36. Web site: Oldfields – Lilly House & Gardens. Indianapolis Museum of Art. 2012-04-11. 2010-12-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20101219072737/http://www.imamuseum.org/art/collections/oldfields-lilly. live.
  37. Book: Hise, Greg . Eden by Design. The 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew Plan for the Los Angeles Region . Deverell . William . University of California Press . 2000 . 9780520224155.
  38. Web site: The battle over Prouty Garden is not over - The Boston Globe. BostonGlobe.com. 2016-02-11. 2016-02-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20160221164101/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/18/the-battle-over-prouty-garden-not-over/MvoCjGqmamKkWlMcPNrZeL/story.html. live.
  39. Jean P. Yearby, Historic American Engineering Record No. NJ-55, "Rahway River Park, Swimming Pool," 1985.
  40. Web site: Hartford.Gov - Riverside Park. hartford.gov. 2018-01-25. 2014-02-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20140215102322/http://www.hartford.gov/parks/204-riverside-park. live.
  41. Web site: A brief history of Seattle's Olmstead legacy . City of Seattle . Williams . David B. . 2015-06-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924115003/http://www.seattle.gov/friendsofolmstedparks/FSOP/history.htm . 2015-09-24 . dead .
  42. News: Olmstead parks in Spokane . HistoryLink.org . Washington State History . Kershner . Jim . July 18, 2007 . 2015-06-16 . 2015-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150617081853/http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8218 . live .
  43. Web site: John Charles Olmsted in the Pacific Northwest . PBS.org . Cotton . Laurence . 2015-06-16 . 2015-06-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150617063144/http://www.pbs.org/wned/frederick-law-olmsted/learn-more/john-charles-olmsted-the-pacific-northwest/ . live .
  44. Troy University (1930)