NEWS
The Enduring Relevance of
Photo by Virginia Small.
Frederick Law Olmsted THE CHAMPION OF ‘PARKS FOR ALL PEOPLE’ IS BEING CELEBRATED NATIONALLY—AND LOCALLY—FOR HIS FAR-SIGHTED CONTRIBUTIONS BY VIRGINIA SMALL
F
rederick Law Olmsted, who faced many losses and health challenges throughout his life, always found respite in nature. And he believed that everyone should have equal access to restorative green places. According to biographer Hugh Howard, “Olmsted demonstrated an extraordinarily rare capacity to set aside the self-interest of the present in favor of the well-being of future generations.”
April 26 is the 200th anniversary of Olmsted’s birth and the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) is spearheading a nationwide celebration in his honor. Olmsted 200’s theme is “Celebrating Parks for All People,” a once-radical concept that the visionary landscape architect, conservationist, journalist, and social reformer championed as a way to foster democracy. The COVID pandemic reconfirmed how essential parks are to people’s well-being. Milwaukeeans are planning numerous events to celebrate Olmsted. His local contributions extended far beyond the three parks he designed: Lake, Riverside and Washington, and Newberry Boulevard connecting the first two. In keeping with his holistic and inclusive approaches to landscapes and urban planning, he envisioned the two East Side parks as an “orchestrated journey” linking Lake Michigan to the Milwaukee River and vice versa. In Washington Park, he designed winding paths throughout the rolling, pastoral topography, and a lagoon for ice skating and boating. 14 | SHEPHERD EXPRESS
PLEASURE DRIVE Olmsted also conceived a Shore Drive from what is now Kenwood Boulevard southward along Lake Michigan. That “pleasure drive” was the first leg of what eventually became the miles-long Lincoln Memorial Drive. Olmsted also planned for a Ravine Road, now nicknamed “Snake Road,” that meandered from Shore Drive through one of the park’s deep ravines, emerging on Lake Drive. Throughout the decades, these and other Olmsted parks invariably have invited discovery and delight. Many of them, including Lake Park and Newberry Boulevard, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Olmsted promoted in many ways what is now termed “connectivity.” He and architect Calvert Vaux, his partner in designing New York City’s Central Park and other projects, designed the world’s first “parkway.” The Eastern Parkway leads into Brooklyn’s Prospect Park and was meant to extend the park experience and increase urban green space. Olmsted described a parkway as “a shaded green ribbon” which might “be absolutely formal or strikingly picturesque, according to circumstances.” In 1868 Olmsted and Vaux began implementing another ground-breaking concept—a “system of parks and parkways” in Buffalo, New York. The interconnected parks highlighted distinctive natural features and varied recreational options.
PEOPLE TO THE PARKS To provide equitable access to Milwaukee’s parks, Olmsted urged civic leaders to bring streetcars to parks, which happened during the mid-1890s, soon after the parks opened. Olmsted visited Milwaukee four times with his design team, between March 1892 and March 1894, following correspondence between him and the City of Milwaukee’s nascent Board of Park Commissioners evaluating potential sites for parks. Prior to the park board’s formation in 1890, Milwaukee had a mere 60 acres of public parkland serving its 250,000 residents. Park commissioners, especially Christian Wahl, already were familiar with Olmsted and his renowned landscapes nationwide. They sought out Olmsted while he was designing the grounds of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Sites for Milwaukee parks were chosen and acquired on all sides of the city, also including what became Humboldt, Kosciuszko, Mitchell and Sherman parks. Olmsted called it a “Grand Necklace of Parks,” reminiscent of the Emerald Necklace he designed in Boston. Olmsted’s team, especially landscape architect Warren H. Manning, continued supervising park construction and planning until 1905. These parks immediately became popular destinations, and demand grew for more of them. In 1923, Milwaukee County park commissioner Charles B. Whitnall developed a plan for a countywide system of
