Category: Research & Writings

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.
Research & Writings

Jacob Wrey Mould: Hell on Color, Sweet on Song 

Who was Jacob Wrey Mould and what did he do with Frederick Law Olmsted? That will be the topic of a new book, out in 2023 by scholar Frank Kowsky with Lucille Gordon, revealing new information about this important figure in 19th century American architecture and music. Mould, a British architect, came to New York in 1852 and worked with Calvert Vaux and Olmsted on Central Park, creating the beautiful designs that ornament Bethesda Terrace and other structures in Central Park.   
Field Notes

New Books Debut for Olmsted’s Birthday

Library of American Landscape History is celebrating Olmsted 200 by releasing two Olmsted books— Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea by Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr and Walks and Talks of An American Farmer in England with an introduction by Charles C. McLaughlin.
Research & Writings

Olmsted: A Reading List

An overview of many new books about Frederic Law Olmsted and the Olmsted legacy
Research & Writings

Landscape of a Marriage – How one Olmsted explored her family’s history

Gail Ward Olmsted explains how her family heritage helped inspire a biographical novel on Olmsted and his wife Mary Perkins.
Research & Writings

Harvard Graduate School of Design to Host “Olmsted: Bicentennial Perspectives”

The Harvard University Graduate School of Design, in partnership with the Arnold Arboretum, will host a two-day academic conference on October 14–15, 2022 as part of Olmsted 200.