Delaware Park

Known as Buffalo Park during the planning stages, the Delaware Park design (see also 00705, 00719) was completed by Olmsted and Vaux in the early 1870s. However, the Olmsted firm remained involved over the next several years. Proposing a 12-acre addition, ultimately accomplished in 1887, plan 00702-z5 shows a hand-drawn sketch of the southwestern extension, featuring a pond and several pathways, bordered by Lincoln Avenue and Forest Avenue. In a letter written to the Park Commissioner eleven years later, the Olmsted Brothers presented their ideas on the improvement of the park’s Quarry. Intent on highlighting water and foliage, they recommended introducing a “running water supply” to create the effect of a small waterfall, and “proposed to add a little loam on the ledges…to grow a considerable quantity of bright flowering perennial plants and bushes.” [Olmsted Brothers to William Hengerer_1898-02-08_LOC-OAR-A-LB-im.314]