Frederick Law Olmsted Vs South Park

Located on 843 acres in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, Central Park is over two and a half miles long from the North to South, and half a mile East to West. The park is divided into two sections, known as the North Park and South Park. The main differences that can been seen between the two are that the North is more heavily wooded, and has a lot more historic sites and romance, while the South Park is more artificially designed, and pastoral. There are multiple entrance gates from all around the park for guests to enter to go to one of the many different parts of the park. In 1877 there were exactly nineteen gates. Pedestrians could enter from all of the gates, but by carriage, only thirteen are accessible. This allowed for visitors

He is considered the US’s first transportation planner. There are so many pathways across Central Park, often being described as a labyrinth, or even “arteries” that run in every direction. These pathways were made to accommodate all sorts of modes of transportation, from pedestrians to horse drawn carriages. There are even transverse roadways to accommodate large trucks that aren’t visible to park visitors. The special Carriage Drives are as long as nine miles and two-fifth miles.

Frederick Law Olmsted has done more than design parks; he has greatly impacted people’s lives. Olmsted’s greatest contribution to designing parks is his idea of creating a dream that is located in the middle of a city. He worked to create places that would be a haven from the hectic lifestyle of a big city. Olmsted is essentially the person that made parks a part of our everyday life. Public greens places ultimately were made commonplace by Olmsted. All of the open green spaces are just what Olmsted had dreamed

Olmsted seemed to make Franklin Park a critical part of the park system, as he put many painstaking details into the one park. He planned that the park would be divided into two parts, Country Park and Ante-Park. Country Park would be more natural and focused on the scenery, while Ante-Park would be more for activities and social gatherings, as it’s plans included a grand mall. The large open space in the center of the park was called Playstead, a great public ground that is a popular location for sports or just enjoying the view. A common aspect of Franklin Park that people tend to notice is that it closely resembles Birkenhead Park in Liverpool, England. Olmsted was most inspired by Europe and the English scenery. He admired the ponds and wide open green fields of the rural land. The layout of roads and gates almost identically resemble Birkenhead. Olmsted once wrote that Birkenhead Park had so much beauty and “in democratic America there was nothing to be thought of as comparable with this People’s Garden.” Olmsted was clearly inspired by the park and was determined to create a place similar to it in America for people to