John Charles Olmsted
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John Charles Olmsted (1852-1920), the nephew and adopted son of Frederick Law Olmsted, was an American landscape architect and a member of Olmsted Brothers, a landscape design firm in Brookline, Massachusetts. The firm is famous for designing many public places including Central Park among other famous landscapes. In his more than forty years work, John Olmsted has left an indelible mark on this country's urban landscape.
John Olmsted continued the park planning begun by his father in cities such as Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Rochester, Atlanta, Hartford, Louisville, Brooklyn, Chicago and carried his design philosophy of integrated park systems into new cities such as Portland, ME, and Portland OR, Seattle, Spokane, Dayton, and Charleston. In these cities he pioneered his comprehensive planning philosophy of integrating civic buildings, roads, parks, and greenspaces into livable urban areas.
He also designed individual parks of charming originality in New Orleans, Watertown, NY, and Chicago. His work in park design led to commissions for numerous institutions such as school campusus, civic buildings, and state capitols, as well as designs for large residential areas including roads and schools. Of special note is his work in comprehensive planning for the communities surrounding industrial plants and factories.
In all his work, John Olmsted retained a sensitivity to the natural beauty of the site, including its views, vistas, and greenways, and an awareness that communities and public areas must be comfortable and inviting. He favored modest, informal structures in a naturalistic setting to large, imposing structures.
His first plan for an exposition was his work for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and he contined with the 1906 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon, and the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.
In 1899, John Olmsted was a founding member and first president of the American Society of Landscape Architects.
Work
The Seattle City Council hired the Olmsted Brothers in 1903 to develop a comprehensive plan for Seattle's city parks and boulevards. John Olmsted was the firm's principal designer in Seattle and laid out a 20-mile long system of interconnected parkways linking parks and playfields, greenways, and natural lakes and waterways.
1903 Grant Park, Atlanta, GA
In 1908 Bryn Mawr College hired John Olmsted update the general campus landscaping plan originally provided by his father and to include a private garden and a small theater in the round.
1906 Oregon State University commission John Olmsted to complete a master plan for its Corvallis, OR campus that included the construction of 23 new buildings.
1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition World's Fair
1909 comprehensive plan for Washington State University.
[Druid Hills residental district, Atlanta, GA]
References
- [National Association of Olmsted Parks - John Charles Olmsted]
- [John Charles Olmsted arrives in Seattle to design city parks on April 30, 1903]
- [Seattle's Olmsted Parks]
- [Olmsted Parks in Seattle]
- [University of Washington Campus plans]
- [Bryn Mawr College Plan]
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