Last updated: June 12, 2024
Place
Washington Park
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Frederick Law Olmsted would begin advocating for a park and boulevard system in Chicago, Illinois when he visited Chicago during the Civil War. A few years after the end of the war, the Illinois State Legislature would pass three bills in February of 1869 that would create a system of parks and boulevards for Chicago.
The approved legislation ultimately led to the formation of the South Park Commission, and the entrance of Olmsted and Vaux. Olmsted and Vaux created their plan for South Park in 1871, however the Great Chicago Fire delayed construction. When construction resumed, South Park was broken into an eastern and western division, 372-acre Washington Park in the west, and 593-acre Jackson Park in the east.
While Jackson Park would serve as a lakefront trace, Washington Park, which got its name in 1881 to honor the first president of the United States, would serve as an inland rectangle of prairie lands.
Washington Park would be realized according to Olmsted’s design, though he would not be supervising the design. By the late 1880s, about two-thirds of the park had been built under the supervision of landscape architect H.W.S. Cleveland. In the end, Washington Park had a hundred-acre open meadow for sports and gatherings, surrounded by ninety acres of open woods, complete with walking paths.
Source: "Washington Park- Chicago," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
The approved legislation ultimately led to the formation of the South Park Commission, and the entrance of Olmsted and Vaux. Olmsted and Vaux created their plan for South Park in 1871, however the Great Chicago Fire delayed construction. When construction resumed, South Park was broken into an eastern and western division, 372-acre Washington Park in the west, and 593-acre Jackson Park in the east.
While Jackson Park would serve as a lakefront trace, Washington Park, which got its name in 1881 to honor the first president of the United States, would serve as an inland rectangle of prairie lands.
Washington Park would be realized according to Olmsted’s design, though he would not be supervising the design. By the late 1880s, about two-thirds of the park had been built under the supervision of landscape architect H.W.S. Cleveland. In the end, Washington Park had a hundred-acre open meadow for sports and gatherings, surrounded by ninety acres of open woods, complete with walking paths.
Source: "Washington Park- Chicago," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online