Shared Spaces

Welcome to the first edition of the Olmsted Insider – the monthly newsletter of the Olmsted 200 campaign! The countdown has begun… and we want you to join us as we prepare to celebrate the bicentennial of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth in 2022. Read the newsletter here!

A light breeze, the first splash of tree canopy green and a forest floor dotted with spring’s early wildflowers, it was a perfect afternoon for my walk with Dan Jones, one of the country’s great 21st-century park thinkers and makers. Dan is the visionary behind The Parklands of Floyds Fork, an Olmsted-inspired four-park system on […]

In 2022 we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. And we want you to join us!

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 […]