Shared Spaces
Diverse voices exploring the Olmsteds' living legacy.
Olmsted & Friends Interviews
Olmsted & Friends: Meet Christian Zimmerman
Over the course of 35 years, Christian Zimmerman oversaw the restoration of Olmsted’s Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY.
Field Notes
The Olmsted Network on the Move
Site visits, strategy sessions, and partner gatherings across the country reflect our commitment to growing a strong, visible, and connected national network.
Organizational News
Olmsted Network Embarks on 2026 Strategic Planning Initiative
As the Olmsted Network enters its next chapter, we have a rare opportunity to shape strategic direction that both honors our legacy and responds boldly to the needs of today’s public landscapes.
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Recent News & Articles
Olmsted & the Olmsted Firm
Frederick Law Olmsted– Designing Rochester
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 […]
Research & Writings
Call for Papers: Situating the Residential Projects of the Olmsted Firm
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 […]
Olmsted Insider Newsletter
Olmsted Insider Newsletter – May 2021
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 […]
Spotlights
Spotlight on… Buffalo’s Olmsted Park System
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.
Conservation & Advocacy
Call to Release Grant Funds for the Purchase of Olmsted Farm Property
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 […]
Landscape Architecture & Design
Remembering the Adventure Playland on Washington Park’s Bynum Island
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 […]
Research & Writings
FanFare for Frederick Law Olmsted: Good Reading
For more than a century, authors have grappled with how to tell the story. Frederick Law Olmsted was, in turn, a “scientific” farmer, merchant seaman, surveyor, literary thinker, roving reporter, publisher, anti-slavery advocate, conservationist, superintendent with his own “navy,” and, most famously, shaper of America’s urban landscape. We offer readers some top picks for reading […]
Olmsted & the Olmsted Firm
The Legacy of the Vanderbilt-Olmsted-Hunt Trifecta
Charmed by the natural beauty of Asheville, North Carolina, George Washington Vanderbilt III amassed 125,000 acres in the late 1880s on which to build his “little mountain escape.” Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed Biltmore House in the Châteauesque style modeled after the Renaissance châteaux of Blois, Chenonceau, and Chambord and England’s Waddesdon Manor. In what […]
Olmsted 200
Olmsted and America’s Urban Parks Watch Party and Panel Discussion
Today, Olmsted 200 launched its year-long nationwide campaign to celebrate the upcoming bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted with a Watch Party and Panel Discussion for Olmsted and America’s Urban Parks, a documentary narrated by actress Kerry Washington. Thousands of parks and landscape projects designed and inspired by FLO and the Olmsted firm can still be […]
Advocacy
Protect Parks. Defend Democracy.
Sweeping budget cuts could weaken parks, trails and green spaces nationwide. Act now to defend funding and keep parks open for all.
Why the Fight for White Stadium Must Go On
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy recently lost its case opposing the privatization of White Stadium, but with an appeal underway, the fight to protect public access in Boston’s Franklin Park continues.
Olmsted’s Legacy at the Capitol Lives On
The Olmsted Network’s guide to the U.S. Capitol Grounds makes its way to Congress just in time for the upcoming presidential inauguration.
Olmsted & Friends
This series of interviews highlights the people who have long championed Olmsted and the Olmsted Network.
Olmsted & Friends Interviews
Olmsted & Friends: Meet Layla George
Layla George, Olmsted Network board member and former Olmsted Parks Conservancy President, shares her appreciation for Olmsted in this brief interview.
Olmsted & Friends Interviews
Olmsted and Friends: Meet Arleyn Levee
Meet Arleyn Levee, an ardent and vocal advocate who has served the Olmsted Network in countless forms since its founding in 1980.
Olmsted & Friends Interviews
Olmsted & Friends: Meet Salmaan Khan
Salmaan Khan, the Olmsted Network’s newest board member, shares his appreciation for Olmsted in this brief interview.
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