Author: Max Ellinger

In addition to writing about the scourge of slavery, Olmsted was a fierce advocate for abolition and an early supporter of equal rights for Blacks in America.

There are many faces of Frederick Law Olmsted. And now we are pleased to introduce the “Olmsted 200 Olmsted” — whose modern feel and vibe are in keeping with the spirit of this bicentennial celebration, marking Olmsted’s birth in 1822. As we like to say, Olmsted 200 is no sepia-toned celebration. We are looking to […]

A two-story farmhouse and two acres are all that remain of the original 125-acre ornamental farm that Frederick Law Olmsted managed in the 1830s that shaped much of his later career. Known as Tosomock Farm, the historic landmark overlooks Raritan Bay and is now preserved as the Olmsted-Beil House. Tosomock Farm functioned as an “experimental” farm […]

The environments in which we live, learn, work and play significantly impact our health. Having access to safe, quality parks can lead to beneficial health impacts, from increased physical activity to improved social cohesion and better mental health to reduced water, air and noise pollution. Yet lack of park access, availability, size, safety, recreational facilities […]

Frederick Law Olmsted created hundreds of works of landscape architecture. While they were all different, they embodied a set of design principles that Olmsted developed in his writing and “on the ground.”  What were Olmsted’s design concerns? And what should one look for when walking through an Olmsted design? Key principles shaped Olmsted’s designs and serve […]

After spending nearly two years steeped in the Olmsted story working at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, I recall what former supervisory park ranger and current Friends of Fairsted member Alan Banks told me soon after I joined the staff. He said something along these lines: “When you start learning about Olmsted and […]

Olmsted was more than the founder of American landscape architecture. He was an author, public servant and an antislavery advocate, too. See the seminal moments in his extraordinary life below.

Landscape architect and Harvard University professor Sara Zewde on Frederick Law Olmsted’s “Southern Chronicles” and the lessons his writings about slavery teach us.