Last updated: June 7, 2024
Place
Leakin Park
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Baltimore, MD
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Park
MANAGED BY:
Twice in his career, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. issued reports on Baltimore’s park resources, both times recommending expanding existing parks and creating new ones. Olmsted’s goal for Baltimore was to achieve a “roughly equitable distribution” or park amenities for everyone.
The star of Olmsted Jr.’s report, Development of Public Grounds for Baltimore, was the concept of the stream valley park, which according to Olmsted Jr., had several advantages. Those advantages included the fact that the scenery along the streams was one of the city’s greatest assets, lowlands could be purchased for a modest price, and in Olmsted Jr.’s own words, a stream valley “cannot be built on, it cannot be left in irresponsive private hands, but it can be used to great advantage for park purposes.”
In 1939, Olmsted Jr. reported to Baltimore that he had examined the roughly hundred sites the city had put as the next park and had chosen Leakin Park. He reminded Baltimore officials that Leakin Park must be in a neighborhood where recreational space was lacking, and that the park should provide diverse activities for people of differing ages and social classes.
In addition to supporting Leakin Park, Olmsted Jr. explained why certain parts of the city shouldn’t be considered for a new park. Acquiring land in the inner city would be too costly, and while the eastern portion of the city needed a park, declining population was the reason Olmsted didn’t believe a park could work there. In the end, Olmsted Jr. was correct in picking Leakin Park, which became Baltimore’s largest park, and one of the largest wilderness woodland parks on the East Coast.
Source: "Gwynns Falls- Leakin Park," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
The star of Olmsted Jr.’s report, Development of Public Grounds for Baltimore, was the concept of the stream valley park, which according to Olmsted Jr., had several advantages. Those advantages included the fact that the scenery along the streams was one of the city’s greatest assets, lowlands could be purchased for a modest price, and in Olmsted Jr.’s own words, a stream valley “cannot be built on, it cannot be left in irresponsive private hands, but it can be used to great advantage for park purposes.”
In 1939, Olmsted Jr. reported to Baltimore that he had examined the roughly hundred sites the city had put as the next park and had chosen Leakin Park. He reminded Baltimore officials that Leakin Park must be in a neighborhood where recreational space was lacking, and that the park should provide diverse activities for people of differing ages and social classes.
In addition to supporting Leakin Park, Olmsted Jr. explained why certain parts of the city shouldn’t be considered for a new park. Acquiring land in the inner city would be too costly, and while the eastern portion of the city needed a park, declining population was the reason Olmsted didn’t believe a park could work there. In the end, Olmsted Jr. was correct in picking Leakin Park, which became Baltimore’s largest park, and one of the largest wilderness woodland parks on the East Coast.
Source: "Gwynns Falls- Leakin Park," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr