Last updated: May 24, 2024
Place
Birmingham City Plan
Olmsted Archives, Job #03541, Birmingham, AL
Quick Facts
In the summer of 1924, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. began to write his report on a park system for Birmingham, Alabama, assisted by the future project manager of the site, firm member Edward Whiting. Published a year later, the report called for parks within easy walking distance for all residents, regardless of socio-economic or racial group, that would serve both active and passive recreation.
From his father, Olmsted Jr. learned how important parks were to the spiritual refreshment and physical welfare of stressed city dwellers. Prior to Olmsted Brothers involvement at Birmingham, the city had only 600 acres of park to serve 200,000 citizens, a wholly inadequate number.
Olmsted Brothers’ report recommended the creation of beauty spots and athletic fields, and the reservation of vast lands in undeveloped areas critical for the protection of the area’s domestic water supply. The plan also included building parkways along ridge tops to offer the community impressive outlooks, as well as offering recreational amenities for the thriving industrial center Birmingham had become.
Wanting immediate park improvements, from 1924 to 1926, Olmsted Brothers would design plans for three parks as well as reviewing plans for others. At the core of Olmsted Brothers philosophy in Birmingham was a resource-based plan that would be carefully coordinated with engineers in order to lay out beautiful and usable open spaces.
Source: "Birmingham City Parks Plan," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
From his father, Olmsted Jr. learned how important parks were to the spiritual refreshment and physical welfare of stressed city dwellers. Prior to Olmsted Brothers involvement at Birmingham, the city had only 600 acres of park to serve 200,000 citizens, a wholly inadequate number.
Olmsted Brothers’ report recommended the creation of beauty spots and athletic fields, and the reservation of vast lands in undeveloped areas critical for the protection of the area’s domestic water supply. The plan also included building parkways along ridge tops to offer the community impressive outlooks, as well as offering recreational amenities for the thriving industrial center Birmingham had become.
Wanting immediate park improvements, from 1924 to 1926, Olmsted Brothers would design plans for three parks as well as reviewing plans for others. At the core of Olmsted Brothers philosophy in Birmingham was a resource-based plan that would be carefully coordinated with engineers in order to lay out beautiful and usable open spaces.
Source: "Birmingham City Parks Plan," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr