Friends of Fairsted created the Charles E. Beveridge Research Fellowship to honor the eminent scholar, Series Editor of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, and devoted friend of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Olmsted NHS) and its archives and collections. The Fellowship is intended to encourage the use of these archives and foster the continued development of Olmsted scholarship. In 2021, the Friends updated the Fellowship program and released a call for proposals with a new online application process. Two scholars were selected by the Fellowship Committee led by Betsy Igleheart and Maddie Webster, with contributions from Alan Banks, Arleyn Levee, Lauren Meier and Sam Valentine of the Friends, and Michele Clark and Jill Trebbe of the Olmsted NHS.
Jonathan Kuhr, Malden, Massachusetts 2021 Beveridge Research Fellowship
Building Wilderness: Lessons from Olmsted’s Forest Landscapes
Jonathan will be studying the design, construction, and reception of the Olmsted office’s densely planted, urban woodlands, particularly the role such landscapes might play in creating spaces for people and programs otherwise marginalized by the prevailing forms of open space found in contemporary cities.
Emily Vance, Charleston, West Virginia, 2021 Beveridge Research Grant
Olmsted Brothers and West Virginia University: A Contextualized Look at Woodburn Circle
Emily will be researching one of the Olmsted Brothers’ lesser-known projects: a proposed campus plan for West Virginia University in Morgantown (1898–1901). Her project seeks to confirm whether the Olmsted plans were acted upon and to amend the current National Register nomination of Woodburn Circle, WVU’s beloved quadrangle, to provide thorough landscape descriptions and context regarding the Olmsted Brothers’ role in its design.
For a list of past recipients or to see the 2022 Application (available in early 2022), please check the Friends of Fairsted Fellowship page here.
