Historian and filmmaker Laurence Cotton joins The Morven Museum & Garden virtually to present a “mini-travelogue” of select Olmsted landscapes across North America in this special evening event. Discover the extraordinary legacy of a true Renaissance man and how Olmsted’s philosophy, his writings and his designs are still relevant today.

Mr. Cotton originated and served as Consulting Producer to the NEH-funded, nationally broadcast PBS special “Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America.”

He will present an information rich and entertaining talk about Frederick Law Olmsted’s life, career and legacy including those sites designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Senior, the two sons and the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm. They left a huge imprint upon the landscapes of North America. Public parks, private estates and gardens, residential neighborhoods, entire community designs, and institutional campuses. Not only did Frederick Law Olmsted and his progeny found the field of American landscape architecture, they also were early proponents of urban planning. The Olmsted design philosophy addressed public health—physical and mental health, and issues of equity and access that are even more relevant to contemporary park managers and users. Frederick Law Olmsted foresaw the crucial role of the experience of nature in the urban setting and the very role that parks can play for the enactment of democracy in a multi-ethnic, multiracial society.

Tickets are $10 for Morven members, $15 for nonmembers. Register HERE. Zoom link provided day of program. Recording link available to attendees following program.