Author: Max Ellinger

Riverside’s defining characteristics include abundant greenery across its two square miles. This idyllic National Historic Landmark village is where I grew up climbing trees in the ‘90s.

In the final decades of the 19th century, the new art of landscape architecture was born, in large part due to the efforts of Frederick Law Olmsted. This new profession offered “very specific responses” to the social, political, and environmental challenges of the time, argued Charles Waldheim, Hon. ASLA, the John E. Irving professor of landscape […]

Following up on our previous post about the Urban Park Grant Opportunity (ORLP)… City Parks Alliance, and our partners the National Recreation and Park Association and the Trust for Public Land, is hosting an Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) Program technical assistance webinar in partnership with National Park Service. National Park Service staff will provide […]

Family picnics. Concerts under the stars. Tossing the frisbee with friends. Riding bikes. Watching birds. Summer is finally here and people everywhere are gathering in America’s green, open spaces again. Whether you’re traveling across the street to your favorite neighborhood park or across the country to visit a national park, we want to see what […]

Big Basin Redwoods State Park in Boulder Creek, CA: Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. played an important role in the establishment of the California State Park System, as outlined by California Forever, a two-part documentary series. Hired by the California State Park Commission,  Olmsted Jr. released a report in December 1928, recommending 125 park sites, ranging from […]

It’s been a long, hard year of social distancing, Zoom meetings, and virtual school. But, now that we’re easing out of the pandemic and into sunnier days, let’s not forget the places that made the pandemic bearable. From city parks to our own backyards, greenspaces have helped us retreat from our homes, safely connect with […]

Shortly after the Civil War, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux transformed the lands around Bridgeport Harbor, Long Island Sound, and Black Rock Harbor into what is today – Seaside Park (Project No. 12021). Thanks to advocacy by Bridgeport’s daily newspaper, plus land donations from nearby residents, Seaside Park came to fruition. Most notable among […]

Just one week after the 199th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, father of the American urban park, the Department of Interior announced expanded funding for urban public parks. See the press release from DOI. During the pandemic, the power and importance of parks for our mental and physical health became obvious to us all, so […]

Olmsted judged the Genesee River to be Rochester’s fairest asset with natural settings that should be preserved. He recommended the purchase of land and the development of two large parks straddling the Genesee River north and south of the city’s center. The North Park later was named Seneca Park and the South Park Genesee Valley […]

Organizer: Planting Fields FoundationLocation: Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, Oyster Bay, New YorkDate: October 20 and 21, 2022 We are seeking contributions for a symposium to be held in October 2022 (exact dates TBA) that will examine the residential projects of the Olmsted landscape architecture firm. Organized in conjunction with Olmsted 200, an initiative […]

Parks are spaces for reflection, offering solace from the churn of the city and the demands of everyday life. They are places to let air into lungs, to release energy, and to stretch your arms wide. The physical benefits of parks are clear, but as COVID-19 has demonstrated, the mental benefits from public outdoor spaces […]

The first of its kind in the United States, the Buffalo, New York system of interconnected parks and parkways is one of the largest Olmsted bodies of work comprised of 24 park and parkway features.

Land adjoining Frederick Law Olmsted’s farmhouse on Staten Island, which was instrumental in shaping his design principles, is in danger of being sold to developers. Despite recent designations to the national and New York state historic registries of the Farmhouse, the state has yet to release the funds it set aside to purchase 1.2 acres […]

Sometimes when you know someone as an adult and find out something about their childhood, it makes perfect sense. That was how I felt when I learned that Arnold Randall, who is now General Superintendent at the Forest Preserves of Cook County, loved playing in Washington Park’s Adventure Playland when he was a boy. Arnold […]