Last updated: June 6, 2024
Place
I.W. Bernheim Arboretum & Herbarium
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Louisville, KY
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Landscape
MANAGED BY:
The story of the I.W. Bernheim Arboretum and Herbarium is a rags to riches story. In 1867, eighteen-year-old Isaac W. Bernheim immigrated to the United States from Germany with only $4 in his pocket. After several years struggling to make a living as a peddler, jumping from New York, to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, finally moving to Kentucky to go into the distilling business.
Over the years he achieved great wealth and success through his Bernheim Brothers Distilling Company and their famous bourbon. His love of sculptures and the community in which he made his fortune manifested in several gifts: a statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Louisville Free Public Library and Thomas Jefferson in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse.
In 1929, Bernheim bought and endowed the land that would become the I.W. Bernheim Arboretum and Herbarium, which now stretches over 16,000 acres, as a gift to the people of his new homeland. Bernheim’s goal was to provide a place where the bond between people and nature could be renewed and restored. His vision included an arboretum and natural forested areas infused with the arts, providing a unique site to experience nature.
Olmsted Brothers would begin work on a site plan for the Arboretum and Herbarium in 1931, and their original landscape design was adopted in 1935. Work continued until 1950, as the land was prepared to Bernheim’s intentions. Following the Olmsted Brothers plan, three small lakes and a road traversing the land were built before any of the collection was planted.
Source: "Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
Over the years he achieved great wealth and success through his Bernheim Brothers Distilling Company and their famous bourbon. His love of sculptures and the community in which he made his fortune manifested in several gifts: a statue of Abraham Lincoln for the Louisville Free Public Library and Thomas Jefferson in front of the Jefferson County Courthouse.
In 1929, Bernheim bought and endowed the land that would become the I.W. Bernheim Arboretum and Herbarium, which now stretches over 16,000 acres, as a gift to the people of his new homeland. Bernheim’s goal was to provide a place where the bond between people and nature could be renewed and restored. His vision included an arboretum and natural forested areas infused with the arts, providing a unique site to experience nature.
Olmsted Brothers would begin work on a site plan for the Arboretum and Herbarium in 1931, and their original landscape design was adopted in 1935. Work continued until 1950, as the land was prepared to Bernheim’s intentions. Following the Olmsted Brothers plan, three small lakes and a road traversing the land were built before any of the collection was planted.
Source: "Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online