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30ft. setback
Olmstead was a keen advocate of nature and its presence within society. He was a conservationist as well as a prophet of naturalist philosophy.3 Prior to the principles of the International Congress of Modern Architecture, Olmstead believed in the power, both philosophically and psychologically nature serves as an order of fundamental nourishment.4 His work sought to maintain the emotional and symbolical interaction of the environment. It was not only in the physical design of Riverside that Olmstead sought to naturalize, but also the subconscious design. The streets are named according to naturalists, horticulturists and philosophers of his inspiration. Bartam Road intersects with Michaux Road and Nuttal Road.5 Figure 01
but a decision that works for the city itself. The curvilinear roads discourage fast paced traffic, and increase the pedestrian use of the road. Figure 01. Olmstead wanted those in the community to promenade throughout the parks and green space, enjoying what the environment had to offer. The promenade is a social custom of great importance
required tree on property
Located adjacent to the Des Plains River and approximately 14 miles from Chicago, Riverside Illinois affirms its place as America’s first successfully planned town.1 The subdivision, designed by the Architect Frederick Law Olmstead and his partner Calvert Vaux, was developed by the Riverside Improvement Company. This was an organization that aimed to develop a new town just along the outskirts of the growing city of Chicago. Emery Childs, the purchaser of the 1600 acres of the soon “Riverside,” and the owner of the R.I.C, looked at Frederick L. Olmstead and his partner to design a town rich with natural content and emotion. This project came just as Olmstead was reaching the midway point in his career. To date, he stood as a leader and innovator in landscape design, with the recent completion and success of Central Park, New York in 1857. Already with a strong knowledge of planning and confidence in execution, the office of Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux were highly confident in their innovation to planning. One that may serve as precedent to the many “Garden Cities” to follow in the Americas. In 1868, Olmstead and his partner were asked to conduct a study of the 1600 acres purchased by Childs, called the Preliminary Report of the Proposed Suburban Village at Riverside, near Chicago . Olmsted’s analysis was geared in detail to the already established environmental elements, the Des Plains river to the west, the railroad to the south, the city to the east and the abundance of oak-hickory forests all around.
This study brought Olmstead and his partner to the conclusion that the new town shall be a rural, self contained community providing all of the civilizing advantages found in the city.2
road
The City and the Suburb
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The Execution
Following the Preliminary Report of the Proposed Suburban Village at Riverside, near Chicago, Olmstead and the Riverside Improvement Company continued to develop the property according to Olmsted’s plan. As executed, the roads of the town are winding and sinuous. Olmstead registered a network of roads that reduced the number of perpendicular intersections. A decision that would work not in the favor of the surrounding cities as a transportation route,
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