New Website Launches a Celebration of the Legacy of Landscape Architect Frederick Law Olmsted

The official 200th anniversary of the birth of landscape great Frederick Law Olmsted doesn’t hit until 2022 — but the celebration has already kicked off.

The Olmsted 200 Campaign, a collaboration between a number of cultural partners, launched a website in January that will act as a hub for the nation-wide, year-long celebration of Olmsted’s life and his impact on parks and public spaces.

Brooklynites might know him best as the mastermind, with Calvert Vaux, behind Prospect Park but over his more than 30-year career in landscape architecture, he designed college campuses, planned communities, cemeteries and other landscapes in addition to 100 public parks scattered across the country.

The depth of his career and the impact of his vision of parks as integral to the physical and mental health of a community is explored with articles and videos from experts, educational materials for students and teachers and a calendar of lectures, exhibits and tours hosted by participating organizations. There aren’t any Brooklyn-based programs on the schedule as of yet, but the list is growing and organizations can fill out an online form to submit Olmsted-focused events to the calendar.

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