Boston Flora

Tag: Frederick Law Olmsted

  • Monday, December 2, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted Volume VIII: The Early Boston Years, 1882 – 1890

    Frederick Law Olmsted relocated from New York to Boston in the early 1880s. With the help of his stepson and partner, John Charles Olmsted, his professional office grew to become the first of its kind: a modern landscape architecture practice with projects throughout the country. During the period covered in Volume VIII of the Olmsted Papers, Olmsted and his partners designed the park system of Boston and Brookline—including the Back Bay Fens, Franklin Park, and the Muddy River Improvement.

    Though Olmsted would never provide a definitive treatise on landscape architecture, this volume contains some of his most mature and powerful statements on the practice of landscape architecture. Join The Arnold Arboretum and the sponsors below on Monday, December 2 at the Weld Hill Research Building for a lecture, panel discussion and celebration of this newly published landscape design resource.  Fee: $10 (Students: Call 617.384.5277 to register for free.)

    Doors open at 6:00pm. Light refreshments served.  Books available for purchase and signing.  Weld Hill Research Building is located at 1300 Centre Street, Roslindale, MA.

    Sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Friends of Fairsted, and National Association for Olmsted Parks in collaboration with the City of Boston, Parks and Recreation Department, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Town of Brookline, Parks and Open Space Division.

    http://www.olmsted.org/storage/images/00_Home_Page/volume_8_cover.jpg

  • Thursday, November 21, 6:00 pm – From Buffalo to Boston: Olmsted’s Evolving Vision of Urban Park Systems

    The Friends of Fairsted presents From Buffalo to Boston: Olmsted’s Evolving Vision of Urban Park Systems, a lecture by Francis R. Kowsky, PhD,  SUNY Distinguished Professor of Fine Arts Emeritus and author of the the book The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux, and the Buffalo Park System, on Thursday, November 21, at Wheelock College, 43 Hawes Street in Brookline.  The reception and book signing will begin at 6, with the lecture at 7.

    Beginning in 1868, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux planned the first metropolitan park system in America for Buffalo, New York.  They designed three distinct parks linked by “parkways,” majestic, tree canopied boulevards that were linear parks in themselves.  Displaying a map of Buffalo at the Paris Exhibition in 1878, Olmsted called it the best planned city in the world.  That same year, he began to apply the concept he had pioneered in Buffalo to the Boston metropolitan area.  Here, he planned six parks stretching from the Charles River to the harbor, a remarkable chain of green spaces today known as the Emerald Necklace.

    Free and open to the public.  Seating is limited and reservations are required.  Email friendsoffairsted@gmail.com.  Limited street parking is available.  Public parking is not allowed in the Wheelock parking lot.

    http://www.buffalonews.com/storyimage/BN/20130819/CITYANDREGION/130818991/AR/0/AR-130818991.jpg&maxW=960

  • Thursdays, July 11 – July 25, 10:30 am – 12:30 am – Gardens Around the World

    Gain insight into the unique design styles and objects that add to the pleasure of Boston, English, and Chinese gardens with this Museum of Fine Arts Boston three-session course, Thursday mornings July 11–25, 10:30 am–12:30 pm.

    On July 11, Keith Morgan, director, Architectural Studies and professor, American and European Architecture, Boston University, will speak on Frederick Law Olmsted’s Public Landscape. Hear the fascinating story of how a saltwater marsh was transformed into a park of winding walking paths and gentle streams that comprises today’s iconic Emerald Necklace. Following the talk, enjoy a one-hour guided walking tour of the Back Bay Fens adjacent to the Museum, and learn about the area’s landscape elements and community gardens. A scholar of nineteenth and twentieth century American and European architecture, Professor Morgan is interested in the relationships between architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. Professor Morgan has taught at Boston University since 1980. He has served as the director of the Preservation Studies Program and of the American and New England Studies Program and as the chairman of the Art History Department on two occasions. He is a former national president of the Society of Architectural Historians. His recent publications include Shaping a New American Landscape: The Art and Architecture of Charles A. Platt, Boston Architecture, 1975-1990, which he coauthored with Professor Naomi Miller, and a new introduction for the republication of Charles Eliot, Landscape Architect. He is the editor and one of the principal authors for Buildings of Massachusetts: Metropolitan Boston, and serves as the architecture editor for The Encyclopedia of New England. He has received research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Buildings of the United States project, several committees for the restoration of historic landmarks and is a trustee of the Hancock Shaker Village.

    On July 18, Curt DiCamillo, fellow, Royal Society of Arts and President of The DiCamillo Companion Ltd. will discuss The English Garden: Perfection on Earth. Whether stately and formal or natural and romantic, English gardens have been called Britain’s single most important contribution to world culture. Learn about the history of these gardens and why their influence remains with us to this day.  A guided tour of the MFA’s exceptional collection of garden paintings and country-house objects follows the lecture. Curt DiCamillo is an American architectural historian. Between 2004 and 2012, he was the Executive Director of the National Trust for Scotland Foundation USA (he is currently Executive Director Emeritus). Previously, he worked for 13 years for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Since May 2012, Mr. DiCamillo, in his role as president of The DiCamillo Companion, Ltd., has focused full-time on lecturing, writing, and leading tours about the architectural and artistic heritage of Britain and its influence around the world.

    Finally, on July 25, Nancy Berliner, Wu Tung Curator of Chinese Art, will present The Chinese Home and Garden. The Chinese home, its architecture, gardens, and contents are created to reflect the values and ideals of its residents. Dig into the world of Chinese gardening to learn how these landscapes combine artistic elements and nature in perfect harmony. Following the discussion, visit Chinese galleries that touch on house and garden themes, including “Beyond the Screen,” a gallery that evokes the home and gardens of a 16th- and 17th-century Chinese household. She is the author of The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City.

    Three-Session Course Tickets
    $90 MFA members, seniors, and students; $108 nonmembers
    Order at 1-800-440-6975 or in person at any MFA ticketing desk

    Individual Session Tickets
    $35 MFA members, seniors, and students; $42 nonmembers
    Online: http://www.mfa.org/programs/series/gardens-around-world
    By phone: call the MFA Ticket line at 1-800-440-6975
    In person: at any MFA ticketing desk

    Ticketing desk hours: Mon, Tue, Sat, and Sun, 10 am–4:15 pm; and Wed–Fri, 10 am–9:15 pm.  Capacity is limited.

    http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/images/full13/9780300163896.jpg

  • Sunday, May 5, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – A Walk with Mr. Olmsted in the Back Bay Fens

    See the Back Bay Fens through the eyes of the man who designed and built it. Join Frederick Law Olmsted, as portrayed by Gerry Wright and an Emerald Necklace docent as they lead a walk through the historic landscape of the Fens on Sunday, May 5, beginning at 1 pm. Learn how Mr. Olmsted transformed the area once described as, “The foulest marsh and muddy flats to be found anywhere in Massachusetts,” into the first link in his chain of parks we know today as the Emerald Necklace. Tour starts and ends at the Shattuck Emerald Necklace Visitor Center, 125 The Fenway, Boston 02115. Free and open to the public.  Reservations recommended. Register by clicking this link or call 617-522-2700.

    http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4017/4703667971_fedfe7b4f7_z.jpg

  • Sunday, October 21, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Franklin Park: Country in the City

    Join the National Park Service at Franklin Park, the last of Olmsted’s classic urban parks, one of his finest design achievements, and a prime example of his social ideals. Discover Olmsted’s vision for the park on our walk through the landscapes of Scarboro Pond, Schoolmaster Hill, and the Wilderness. Meet at the Resting Place Picnic Area, in front of Shattuck Hospital, Jewish War Veterans Highway. Free – no reservations required. For more information visit www.nps.gov.

  • Thursday, October 25, 6:00 pm – The Brookline Troika: Olmsted, Richardson, and the Planning of the Model Suburb

    Join The Arnold Arboretum for a glimpse into Brookline’s past — the shaping of its public parks and parkways, private estates, and planned housing developments, as influenced by the Olmsted Office. On Thursday, October 25, beginning at 6 pm, architectural historian Keith Morgan, one of three co-authors of the newly published Community by Design: The Role of the Frederick Law Olmsted Office in the Suburbanization of Brookline, Massachusetts, 1880–1936, will present a selection of the firm’s approximately 150 Brookline commissions that were created over the course of a half century. He will discuss the networks of individuals, institutions, and municipal authorities that worked with the firm on the boulevards, subdivisions, institutional grounds, and private estates that define the character and qualities of Brookline, with particular attention given to the planning theories of Olmsted, Jr. Reception to follow. The event will take place in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum.
    Free, but registration requested at www.my.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Co-sponsored by the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, the Friends of Fairsted, and the Library of American Landscape History.

  • Friday, August 31 – Sunday, September 30 – Echoes of the Olmsted Elm: Works from RISD’s 2011 Witness Tree Project

    The Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, in collaboration with the Rhode Island School of Design’s Witness Tree Project and the Friends of Fairsted, is pleased to present an exhibit of artworks produced from the wood of the historic Olmsted Elm that graced the landscape at 99 Warren Street, Brookline, Massachusetts until March 2011, when it succumbed to old age, a serious fungal infection, and exposure in recent years to Dutch elm disease. Echoes of the Olmsted Elm: Works from RISD’s 2011 Witness Tree Project will take place in the rehabilitated barn at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline from Friday, August 31 through Sunday, September 30. The exhibit will be open to walk-in visitors on Thursday evenings from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as well as Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The regular on-site tours taking place Wednesday through Sunday will also make stops at the exhibit. Finally, a special opening reception for the public will be held the evening of September 14. For further information, please call 617-566-1689 or visit, www.nps.gov/frla starting in mid-August.

  • Sunday, May 6, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – A Walk with Mr. Olmsted through the Back Bay Fens

    Join The Emerald Necklace Conservancy on Sunday, May 6, from 1 – 2:30 pm, for a walk with Mr. Olmsted through the Back Bay Fens.  This free guided tour will beginning at the Shattuck Visitor Center.  For a map and complete information, visit www.emeraldnecklace.org.

  • Sunday, April 22, 7:00 pm – Olmsted & Whitman: The Civil War Years

    Gerry Wright has researched, written and produced a one-man show honoring the life and work of Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of landscape architecture. The play provides insights into Olmsted’s passionate vision as he played critical roles in the dynamics of slavery as a writer, Executive Secretary of the U.S. Sanitary Commission in the Civil War, and as the landscape architect for New York City’s Central Park, Boston’s Emerald Necklace, the US Capitol grounds, along with multiple plans for colleges, communities and private estates. Olmsted was a key pioneer in the movement to preserve land as national parkland, both at Yosemite and Niagara Falls.

    Olmsted’s life story, from “vagabond,” to dry goods salesman, sailor, traveler, journalist, author, publisher, executive (including a goldmine in California), to becoming the father of landscape architecture in America is both inspiring as history and reason for continued commitment in the 21st century.

    The Olmsted play has been presented at the Olmsted National Historic Site in Brookline, Boston’s 375th Anniversary Parade, Brookline’s 350th Anniversary Celebration, plus numerous communities of the Commonwealth; along with performances in Volgoda, Russia; in New York City for the 150 year anniversary of the legislation for Central Park; Olmsted Parks Conservancy in Louisville, Kentucky; and in Asheville, North Carolina. It will be presented, free, along with a second one act play, on Sunday, April 22, beginning at 7 pm at First Church of Jamaica Plain, Eliot and Center Street, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Call 617-524-7070, or email FrederickLawOlmsted@yahoo.com.

  • Thursday, March 15, 6:00 pm reception, 7:00 pm lecture – FL Olmsted 1882 – 1890: Boston, Brookline and Beyond

    The Friends of Fairsted present F L Olmsted 1882 – 1890: Boston, Brookline & Beyond on Thursday, March 15 at Wheelock College, 43 Hawes Street in Brookline.  The evening will begin with a reception at 6, followed by a lecture given by Ethan Carr.  Ethan Carr, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and editor of Volume 8 of the Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: The Early Boston Years 1882-1890, provides an insider’s look at the process of preparing the volume including new and revealing details of his work on the Boston Park System. The volume will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2013.  For further information e-mail friendsoffairsted@gmail.com or call 617-566-1689 x265.