Historic Grounds Report and Management Plan: Frederick Law Olmsted NHS

Whitehill, Lucinda

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation's foremost parkmaker. 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. During the next century, his sons and successors perpetuated Olmsted's design ideals, philosophy, and influence. This Historic Grounds Report and Management Plan will serve as a resource management and planning document for the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. It provides detailed information concerning the history, current' conditions and future management alternatives for the landscape at Fairsted. Its purpose is to collect and analyze past and present site conditions, to develop recommendations for maintenance and preservation, and to raise issues related to long term planning. Research for this report was begun in May 1981 with the following goals in mind: ◦to gain a thorough understanding of the history and significance of the grounds prior to beginning any major physical work. ◦to prepare a comprehensive visual and written documentation of current site conditions to be used as a benchmark for future research and study. ◦to identify major resource management problems and to develop strategies for dealing with them. ◦to identify issues and opportunities related to the landscape for consideration in overall planning and development. ◦to document the process of research, analysis and preservation for our own records and for use as an educational tool and a prototype landscape preservation project. ◦to project accurate costs and staffing needs for grounds rehabilitation and maintenance and to provide resource information to assist the park gardener in this effort.

Historic Grounds Report and Management Plan: Frederick Law Olmsted NHS

Series

Collections