Category: Research & Writings

Field Notes

New Research Grant Opportunity: Call for Entries

The 2025 Charles E. Beveridge Research Grant supports research and projects highlighting the Olmsted firm’s legacy utilizing the Olmsted Archives at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.
Field Notes

Evolving Landscapes: Author Interview 

In his new book, Design Through Time, author Mark Hough explores how landscapes evolve through generations of stewardship.
Landscape Architecture & Design

The Open Gate: Barbara Walker

The 1903 Olmsted Brothers plan for Portland, OR, was stuffed in a drawer and forgotten until Barbara Walker found it more than sixty years later. Now, the 40 Mile Loop stretches across 140 miles.
Research & Writings

Q&A with Author Marcy Cottrell Houle

A conversation with the author of Forest Park: Exploring Portland’s Natural Sanctuary
Research & Writings

That Artist of Landscape Gardening: Andrew Jackson Downing

Andrew Jackson Downing, a young nurseryman from Newburgh, NY, was America’s leading landscape gardening artist and introduced the nation to the Beautiful and Picturesque.
Field Notes

The Olmsted Brothers’ Western Frontier: Semi-Arid Design for California

In a new webinar, Cal Poly professor Christine Edstom O’Hara discusses Olmsted Brothers’ design for Palos Verdes.
Field Notes

Wheatena’s Contribution to the Rahway River Parkway

The gift that keeps on giving: how the Wheatena Corporation's gift of four acres of parkland to Rahway, New Jersey, in 1922 was the seed that grew into the Rahway River Parkway and, ultimately, the Union County Park System.
Personal Reflections

Retracing Olmsted’s Footsteps

Olmsted Network President & CEO Dede Petri recounts the trip of a lifetime, retracing Frederick Law Olmsted's footsteps in England with John Phibbs, Gilly Kitching and 12 intrepid Olmsted pilgrims. Olmsted’s first book and delightful travelogue, Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England, provides the backdrop for these observations.
Research & Writings

Open Access: The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted

The Olmsted Network and the University of Virginia Press are pleased to announce that The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted are now open access and available online through ROTUNDA: Digital Imprint of the University of Virginia Press.
Olmsted & the Olmsted Firm

The Olmsteds and the Development of the National Park System

Rolf Diamant— the co-author of "Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea"— explores the Olmsted family's ties to the National Park Service.
Charles E. Beveridge

Editing the Olmsted Papers Project

In this republished article, Charles Beveridge focuses on efforts by the editors of the Olmsted Papers to assist in the revival and preservation of Olmsted's legacy.
Research & Writings

Olmsted in Seattle 

In this program, Jennifer Ott examines the enduring work of John Charles Olmsted in Seattle, WA.
Olmsted & the Olmsted Firm

Arnold Arboretum Celebrates 150!  

Arnold Arboretum celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022. They celebrated this milestone with a wide array of public activities and events.
Research & Writings

Dean Fritz Steiner Explores the Olmsteds & Land Grant College Design  

In a brand new study, spurred by Olmsted 200, University of Pennsylvania's Fritz Steiner explores the Olmsteds' connections to campus design.   
Olmsted 200

Library of Congress Presents December Crowdsourcing Transcription Challenge

The Library of Congress needs help with a special transcription project.