Tours Through Olmsted-Designed Landscapes
Ranger-led tours of Olmsted-designed landscapes in the nearby Boston metropolitan area are offered periodically during the year. These may include focused walks in the Back Bay Fens, Riverway, Jamaica Pond, Arnold Arboretum, and the Franklin Park portions of Boston's famed "Emerald Necklace" park system.
Click here for a pdf with descriptions of this years walks.
Slide Programs
Frederick Law Olmsted and the Massachusetts Legacy
The Olmsted firm worked on some 1,200 landscape design projects throughout Massachusetts, from 500-acre public parks to intimate private gardens. This program explores Olmsted landscapes from the sands of the Atlantic to the forests of the Berkshires.
Domesticity in Green: Olmsted and Suburbia
Reinforced by his belief that "great towns cannot exist without great suburbs," Frederick Law Olmsted sought to change the way Americans lived. This talk explores Olmsted's views on suburbia, focusing on factors that influenced his designs. Broad conceptual ideas are shown through an examination of Riverside, Illinois, one of this country's first planned communities. A look at "Fairsted," Olmsted's Brookline home, reveals more intimate details of his design work.
These slide programs are available for groups by reservation. Please call (617) 566-1689 ext. 221 for more information.