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Olmsted National Historic Site a tribute to the father of landscape architecture

By Brian Fitzgerald

While strolling along the Muddy River, flying a kite in Franklin Park, or fishing in Jamaica Pond, most people don't give a moment's thought to Frederick Law Olmsted. But they should. Boston's park system was designed by Olmsted. In fact, his architectural firm prepared design plans for parks, estates, and campuses in 44 states, including New York's Central Park.

The photo of the Riverway portion of the Emerald Necklace under construction in 1892 (above) was taken from the Longwood Avenue Bridge facing north along the Muddy River. A photo of nearly the same view (below), with the promenade in place and vegetation planted, was taken in 1907. Photos courtesy of the National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.

Olmsted (1822-1903) is known as the father of landscape architecture in America, and it's the job of Mark Swartz (LAW'85) to help keep the Olmsted legacy alive. Swartz, a National Park Service ranger at the Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, says that Olmsted saw a well-made park as a work of art. "He felt that an interdependent relationship should exist between city and country," says Swartz, "so he wove a variety of landscapes into the fabric of Boston."

Olmsted's plan for the Boston park system was his most influential design. It began in the 1870s with the Arnold Arboretum and the Back Bay Fens. In 1887, Olmsted was enlisted by the Boston Park Commission to interconnect those two parks and to design more. The result of this vision was the Emerald Necklace, which encompasses the Boston Common, the Public Garden, the Commonwealth Avenue Mall east of Kenmore Square, the Back Bay Fens, the Riverway, Olmsted Park, Jamaica Pond, the Arnold Arboretum, and Franklin Park -- all strung together with a series of parkways.

This work led to the planning of dozens of park systems nationwide, including those in Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Denver, Louisville, and Seattle. Olmsted and his firm also designed the U.S. Capitol grounds, the White House grounds, and the campuses of Stanford University and the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

The city of Boston has begun restoring the Emerald Necklace, but Swartz says that not much can be done about certain damaging changes that have occurred over the years, such as the unsightly Storrow Drive overhead exit ramps that cast dark shadows over the Charlesgate portion of Commonwealth Avenue. The Muddy River has become silted up and its banks overgrown with weeds. "However, over the next two years, the Muddy River will be dredged and its banks will be replanted," says Swartz.

	National Park Service Ranger Mark Swartz (LAW'85) points out the landscape on the Fairsted estate at the Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline. Photo by Vernon Doucette

In addition, much of the 19th century stonework in the Emerald Necklace, including five bridges along the Riverway and the Ellicott Arch in Franklin Park, is being renovated. Several "lost landscapes," such as an overgrown series of steps and walkways near Jamaica Pond, will be restored. "City landscape architects are looking at old photos and planting plans to determine Olmsted's original intent for these areas," says Swartz. More than 300 trees already have been planted in Franklin Park.

Swartz smiles when asked how someone with a BU law degree came to work at the Olmsted National Historic Site. "Just as Frederick Law Olmsted studied law at Harvard, it took me a while to figure out my calling," he says. After more than six years practicing law, Swartz made his "first foray into education," in 1993, as a teacher

in BU's Center for English Language and Orientation Programs. A 1997 job opening at the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline Village brought him into the National Park Service. He has been working at Fairsted since September 1999.

Swartz's love for his job is evident in the enthusiasm he conveys during his tours, and he is clearly excited about the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Olmsted Site, which is on April 26 -- Frederick Law Olmsted's birthday.

The Olmsted National Historic Site is open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Groups are welcome at other times by advance reservation. For directions, call 566-1689 or visit www.nps.gov/frla.

Read the sidebar "The gardener of Eden"

8 February 2001
Boston University
Office of University Relations