Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. ), American landscape architect who designed a succession of outstanding public parks, beginning with Central Park in New York City. PS 156 Frederick Law Olmsted www.olmstedatkensington.com 319 Suffolk St., Buffalo 14215 Get Driving Directions P: 716-816-4330 |F: 716-838-7530 Grades 5-12 • Hours: 8:00-2:50 Principal: Giovanna Claudio-Cotto Assistant Principal(s): James Fredo, Catherine Dulak, … In the late 1880s, when the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition was being planned for 1893, Olmsted was chosen to head the landscape project, which he later redesigned as Jackson Park. Judging the current earthen terrace unacceptable, Olmsted's new design provided a strong visual foundation for the building and additional space for committee rooms and storage. Frederick Law Olmsted was born in Hartford, Connecticut, a member of the eighth generation of his family to live in that city. He spent his last years mainly at his home in Brookline. Frederick Law Olmsted was born in 1822 in Hartford, Connecticut, and at age eight was sent by his father to receive his schooling from clergymen living in the surrounding countryside. Following Olmsted's death in 1903, his sons, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and John Charles Olmsted, continued their father's work as the Olmsted Brothers. Frederick Law Olmsted, (born April 26, 1822, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—died Aug. 28, 1903, Brookline, Mass. In 1857 Olmsted was appointed superintendent of New York City’s projected Central Park. It was one of Olmsted’s last great efforts in the picturesque style. Frederick Law Olmsted, (born April 26, 1822, Hartford, Conn., U.S.—died Aug. 28, 1903, Brookline, Mass. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Olmsted’s open opposition to slavery led the editor of The New York Times to send him to the American South from 1852 to 1855 to report weekly on how slavery affected the region’s economy. Corrections? Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (July 24, 1870 – December 25, 1957) was an American landscape architect and city planner known for his wildlife conservation efforts. Finally, in 1886 a new library building was authorized, and after the design was altered to incorporate more windows for the committee rooms, construction of the terrace was approved. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederick-Law-Olmsted, Texas State Historical Society - Biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, New Georgia Encyclopedia - Arts and Culture - Biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, Frederick Law Olmsted - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Frederick Law Olmsted was born in 1822 in Hartford, Connecticut, and at age eight was sent by his father to receive his schooling from clergymen living in the surrounding countryside. Updates? During the next several years he served as architect-in-chief of the park; he also briefly held positions as director of the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War and as manager of a large California gold mine. An octagonal fountain in the Romanesque style was added between the grand stairs in 1889, and the terrace was completed by 1892. Frederick Law Olmsted What architect so noble...as he who, with far-reaching conception of beauty, in designing power, sketches the outlines, writes the colors, becomes the builder and directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature shall be employed upon it for generations, before the work he arranged for her shall realize his intentions. Olmsted's career in landscape architecture began in 1857 when he and Calvert Vaux won a competition for the design of New York City's Central Park, of which he had previously been named superintendent. From 1864 to 1890 Olmsted chaired the first Yosemite commission, taking charge of the property for California and succeeding in preserving the area as a permanent public park. Omissions? By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Olmsted later added a brick summerhouse to his design to provide visitors with a drinking fountain and a cool place to rest. In 1858 he became chief architect of the park, and from then until 1861 he worked assiduously in one of the first attempts in the United States to apply art to the improvement of nature in a public park. Black Friday Sale! Save 50% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. ), American landscape architect who designed a succession of outstanding public parks, beginning with Central Park in New York City.. When Olmsted was 14 years old, sumac poisoning seriously affected his eyesight and limited his education. Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation's foremost parkmaker. He also designed Mount Royal Park, Montreal. When Olmsted was 14 years old, sumac poisoning seriously affected his eyesight and limited his education. Regarded as the founder of American landscape architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is best known for designing the grounds of New York City's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The most ambitious aspect of the plan was a new marble terrace that wrapped around the north, south and west facades. The work attracted widespread attention, with the result that he was engaged thereafter in most of the important works of a similar nature in the United States: Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Fairmont Park, Philadelphia; Riverside and Morningside parks, New York City; Belle Isle Park, Detroit; the grounds surrounding the Capitol at Washington, D.C., between 1874 and 1895; Stanford University at Palo Alto, Calif.; and many others. A competition was held to select a new plan for the park, and Olmsted collaborated with the young British architect Calvert Vaux in developing the successful design. After sickness prevented Olmsted from entering Yale College in 1837, he spent the next two decades traveling and working variously as a successful farmer, writer, journalist and businessman. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, the Everglades and Yosemite National Park. Olmsted retired in 1895. His symmetrical design incorporated park-like edging, low walls, lamps, careful placement of trees and simple shrubs, and a series of curved walkways that afforded attractive views of the Capitol. In 1873, Congress commissioned Olmsted to design the enlarged grounds of the U.S. Capitol. For a time he was interested in scientific farming, which he studied under George Geddes, who had a well-known model farm at Owego, N.Y. During an extensive holiday in Europe, Olmsted was profoundly impressed with English landscaping and wrote about his observations in Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England (1852). Plans for the Niagara Falls park project, among the last in which Olmsted and Vaux collaborated, did much to influence New York state to preserve the Niagara reservation. After 1886 Olmsted was largely occupied in laying out an extensive system of parks and parkways for the city of Boston and the town of Brookline, Mass., and in working on a landscape improvement scheme for Boston Harbor. In 1842 and 1847, his sight having improved, Olmsted attended lectures in science and engineering at Yale University. Premium Membership is now 50% off! Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). His mother died when he was four, and from the age of seven he received his schooling mostly from ministers in outlying towns, with whom he lived. He was commissioned in 1888 to design the grounds for Biltmore, the estate of George W. Vanderbilt (grandson of the railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt) near Asheville, N.C. After careful study, in June 1874 he presented a plan for a sophisticated landscape that highlighted the building it surrounded. His report, published as The Cotton Kingdom (1861), is regarded as a reliable account of the antebellum South. During his 38-year career he completed numerous projects, including residential suburbs, city squares, park systems, scenic reservations and university campuses. Olmsted moved his home to suburban Boston in 1883 and established the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design. He gained national recognition by filling in for his father on the Park Improvement Commission for the District of Columbia beginning in 1901, and by contributing to the famous McMillan Commission Plan for redesigning Washi… Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Frederick Law Olmsted, undated portrait painting.

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