Last updated: May 24, 2024
Place
Amherst College
Olmsted Archives, Job #00605, Amherst, MA
Quick Facts
For fifty years, the Olmsted firm was involved in the improvement of Amherst College, starting with Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., and continuing to his sons John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in 1870, Olmsted Sr. created the firm's first plans to improve the grounds, partnering with Calvert Vaux. To manage a growing campus population, Olmsted suggested school buildings be centered around a common green, like he had done in many towns and city designs and be connected via a circular path system.
In the 1890s, with his father’s health beginning to fail, John Charles took over at Amherst, with the help of firm member Herbert Kellaway. During this time John Charles also collaborated with the architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White for the location of a new science building. By 1906 it was time for Olmsted Jr. to take over work at Amherst, with the college’s trustees creating the Commission for Improvements to Amherst College, with Olmsted Jr., McKim, Mead, Daniel Burnham and sculptor Augusts Saint-Gaudens all being appointed.
That year the group submitted a report, making recommendations to acquire more land for the growing student population, while still following Olmsted Sr.’s original plan. In 1916, Amherst Trustees agreed to continue to honor Olmsted Sr. 's plan, with Olmsted Jr. and firm member Edward Whiting overseeing development until 1925. Today, Amherst College, at one thousand acres, retains much of Olmsted Sr.’s original design concept.
Source: "Amherst College," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
In the 1890s, with his father’s health beginning to fail, John Charles took over at Amherst, with the help of firm member Herbert Kellaway. During this time John Charles also collaborated with the architecture firm McKim, Mead, and White for the location of a new science building. By 1906 it was time for Olmsted Jr. to take over work at Amherst, with the college’s trustees creating the Commission for Improvements to Amherst College, with Olmsted Jr., McKim, Mead, Daniel Burnham and sculptor Augusts Saint-Gaudens all being appointed.
That year the group submitted a report, making recommendations to acquire more land for the growing student population, while still following Olmsted Sr.’s original plan. In 1916, Amherst Trustees agreed to continue to honor Olmsted Sr. 's plan, with Olmsted Jr. and firm member Edward Whiting overseeing development until 1925. Today, Amherst College, at one thousand acres, retains much of Olmsted Sr.’s original design concept.
Source: "Amherst College," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr