Frederick Law Olmsted Research Paper

One of America’s most recognized landscape architects was Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted is popularly considered to be the “father” of American Landscape Architecture. His works include projects such as the world known Central Park, Prospect Park, and Elm park. The history of the profession in North America is often considered to truly begin with Frederick Law Olmsted. He is also known for rejecting the name “landscape gardener” in favor of the title of “landscape architect,” which he felt better reflected the scope of the profession. “In 1863, the official use of the designation “landscape architect” by New York’s park commissioners marked the symbolic genesis of landscape architecture as a modern design profession (INASLA, 2014).” Frederick

That following March, Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the design competition for Central Park. Central Park is situated between 59th street and 110th street in New York City and is arguably the most well-known of all Olmsted’s parks. Although Frederick Law Olmsted was the park’s superintendent, he had no hand in the call for the park. It was Andrew Jackson Downing who as the original force behind creating the park. Unfortunately, a while after Olmsted became the park’s superintendent, Andrew Jackson Downing passed away in a riverboat accident, which lead Olmsted and Vaux to take over the park. Calvert Vaux, Olmsted’s design partner, won the competition to design the park, with an entry they called as

The park consists of 585 acres of land. Like Central Park, Prospect Park was designed by both Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Although Central Park is known as both designers’ best work, many believe, including the designers themselves, that Brooklyn’s Prospect Park is considered their masterpiece. Prospect Park, like Central Park, was designed as a space to get away from the busy city, while enjoying beautiful landscapes. Olmsted and Vaux divided the park into three separate sections. The first section of the park large open fields which became a large multipurpose activity space. The second section consisted of hills in order for contemplation and to offer several views. The third section of Prospect Park is the lake which offers picturesque views and offers water activities. The park allowed for a variety of recreational activities for public use. According to (Fein,1983), “Sharing the same ideals, these men were able to in the details of their plans, to express the highest aspirations of their age, including a commitment to an aesthetic of functionalism.” Both the design of Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Park were part of an idealistic plan for expanding the independent cities of Brooklyn and New York into America’s principal metropolis (Fein,1983). The bridge was made in order to facilitate the travel and commute of 40 million people annually across the east river. On the other hand, the