Last updated: October 26, 2023
Place
Olmsted Park
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Boston, MA
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Landscape
MANAGED BY:
Olmsted Park was designed as "a chain of picturesque fresh-water ponds, alternating with attractive natural groves and meads." Pathways, bridges, and plantings, designed in tandem, allow the visitor to experience a series of visual vignettes as scenery changes with every step. To help draw wildlife into the park, Olmsted built two islands in Leverett Pond to provide "well-guarded seclusion" for birds who wished to nest there. Today, people are drawn to the athletic fields, the wildflower meadow, the seclusion of the woodlands, and the restored Allerton Overlook.
Would you believe that Olmsted Park is entirely manmade? One of the final areas of the Emerald Necklace Olmsted designed, Olmsted Park proved that urban parks could be multi-functional green spaces serving communities with complex needs.
Would you believe that Olmsted Park is entirely manmade? One of the final areas of the Emerald Necklace Olmsted designed, Olmsted Park proved that urban parks could be multi-functional green spaces serving communities with complex needs.