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Frederick Law Olmsted

Genesee Valley Park & The Barge Canal: Roman Arches Over Indian Rivers

August 2, 2023 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

a Real Picture Post Card view of pedestrian bridge spanning the NYS Barge Canal in Genesee Valley Park Rochester, New YorkThe partnership of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux pioneered American landscape architecture. Their work in Manhattan’s Central Park, Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and Boston’s Franklin Park set new standards for outdoor spaces which some Upstate New York cities such as Buffalo sought to emulate, albeit on a reduced scale. [Read more…] about Genesee Valley Park & The Barge Canal: Roman Arches Over Indian Rivers

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Mohawk Valley, Recreation, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, Barge Canal, boating, Calvert Vaux, Engineering History, Frederick Law Olmsted, Genesee River, Genesee Valley Conservancy, Genesee Valley Greenway, Genesee Valley Park, Landscape Architecture, Mohawk River, Monroe County, paddling, Rochester, Transportation History

Central Park Casino: The Epitome of Jazz Age New York City

July 5, 2023 by Holley Snaith 2 Comments

Central Park Casino, Late 1920sThe Central Park Casino, situated at Fifth Avenue and 72nd Street, was a premier New York City restaurant and nightclub, epitomizing the era of the Jazz Age. The Casino, with its grand dining room and perfectly polished dance floor, entertained some of the most prominent names in New York, from Tammany Hall politicians to Broadway stars and even royalty. Yet this exclusive, glamorous, and somewhat dangerous, appeal that was the Casino’s trademark, led to its demise during the darkest days of America’s great financial crisis. [Read more…] about Central Park Casino: The Epitome of Jazz Age New York City

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Architecture, Calvert Vaux, Central Park, Fiorello La Guardia, Frederick Law Olmsted, Great Depression, Jimmy Walker, Manhattan, New York City, Political History, Prohibition, Robert Moses, Social History, Tammany Hall, Vice

Work Begins On Bayard Cutting Arboretum Visitors Center

January 28, 2023 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

rendering of Bayard Cutting ArboretumA $9.3 million construction project has begun on a new Visitor Center, improved parking, and enhanced exhibits at Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park in Suffolk County on Long Island. [Read more…] about Work Begins On Bayard Cutting Arboretum Visitors Center

Filed Under: New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Architecture, Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Frederick Law Olmsted, gardening, Islip, Landscape Architecture, Long Island, State Parks, Suffolk County, trees

A Proposed Memorial at Newburgh’s Downing Park

December 7, 2022 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

1942 map of Downing Park and its Observatory (drawing) superimposed over the City of Newburgh's proposed reinterment areaIn light of The Cultural Landscape Foundation’s advocacy for Downing Park in Newburgh, NY, and the proposed reinterment at the historic designed landscape of remains from a former African American burial site, I thought I would weigh in with some thoughts of my own on the subject. [Read more…] about A Proposed Memorial at Newburgh’s Downing Park

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Architecture, Calvert Vaux, Cemeteries, Cultural Landscape Foundation, Frederick Law Olmsted, Historic Preservation, Hudson River, Landscape Architecture, Newburgh, Orange County

Olmsted’s Elmwood: Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood

December 6, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Olmsted's ElmwoodThe new book Olmsted’s Elmwood: The Rise, Decline and Renewal of Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood, A Model for America’s Cities (City of Light Publishing, 2022) by Clinton E. Brown and Ramona Pando Whitaker takes a look at the fascinating story of Buffalo‘s the historic Elmwood District, named one of America’s top ten neighborhoods. [Read more…] about Olmsted’s Elmwood: Buffalo’s Parkway Neighborhood

Filed Under: Books, History, Western NY Tagged With: Architecture, Buffalo, Erie County, Frederick Law Olmsted, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture

Nationally Significant Olmsted Landscapes Threatened

October 25, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Postcard of Andrew Jackson Downing Memorial Park courtesy Newburgh History Blog The Cultural Landscape Foundation today released Landslide 2022, an annual thematic report and exhibition about threatened and at-risk landscapes, focusing on twelve sites designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., and his successor firms, a founder of the discipline of landscape architecture best known as the co-designer of Central Park in New York City.

This year marks the bicentennial of the birth of Olmsted Sr. (1822-1903). The sites feature the involvement of one or more of all three Olmsteds: Olmsted Sr., his son Olmsted Jr. (1870-1957), and stepson John Charles Olmsted (1852-1920). [Read more…] about Nationally Significant Olmsted Landscapes Threatened

Filed Under: History, Nature Tagged With: Architecture, Cultural Landscape Foundation, development, Frederick Law Olmsted, gardening, Genesee River, Genesee Valley Park, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Monroe County, Nassau County, Newburgh, Orange County, Oyster Bay, Planting Fields Arboretum, Rochester, University of Rochester

Under Threat: Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY

July 14, 2022 by Editorial Staff 7 Comments

Genesee Valley Park drive courtesy Monroe County ParksGenesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1890, and it remains a well-used and defining community landscape. An original aspect of the park’s design is a woodland buffer that runs from Elmwood Avenue to the Erie Canal next to the University of Rochester. [Read more…] about Under Threat: Genesee Valley Park in Rochester, NY

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Frederick Law Olmsted, Genesee River, Genesee Valley Park, Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, Monroe County, Preservation League of NYS, Rochester, University of Rochester

Frederick Law Olmsted: Abolitionist, Conservationist, Activist

September 24, 2011 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

genuis of place - frederick law olmstedDa Capo Press has republished Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (Da Capo Press reprint, 2012) by Justin Martin, the author of biographies of Alan Greenspan and Ralph Nader.

Frederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, Olmsted was also an influential journalist, early voice for the environment, and abolitionist credited with helping dissuade England from joining the South in the Civil War. [Read more…] about Frederick Law Olmsted: Abolitionist, Conservationist, Activist

Filed Under: Books, Arts, History, Nature, New York City, Recreation Tagged With: Abolition, Environmental History, Frederick Law Olmsted, Gardens - Landscape Architecture, New York City, Niagara Falls, Political History, Slavery

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