Olmstead Historic Site

Elite '09

177

468

Kerri O.

Maynard, MA

9/8/2008

It's closed for renovations, though they still are having talks, and events.
I'm jonesing like a heroin addict for this place to open up again....

If you didn't know this already, FL Olmstead is pretty much the reason that Boston is one Cool City to live in.  Sure, we'd still have History, and all that stuff, but he's the guy who shaped the Boston we all live in, and made it the cool spot we call home.

FL Olmstead is to Urban planning, and Landscape Architecture, what Leonardo Da Vinci was to Science and Art.

Name your favorite things about Boston, and he probably either had a hand in them, or made sure they got left alone.

What do I mean?  Well, before he got his hands on it, the Back Bay was one big Tidal Flat....A stinky, muddy marshland...When plans were made to develop it, he made sure of a few things.  One, since the land that was being developed was marginal, at best, he developed a system of channels underneath the whole thing.  All of the Back Bay is built on pilings of oak, with channels of water that run, so they won't rot. Second, it was part of an Urban Masterwork for Boston, for channelling and cleaning wastewater.

And, the Emerald Necklace, though genius as a Park system, and utterly egalitarian, since Olmsted figured that the Best Way to make a Good City, is to make sure EVERYONE had a Park close by; has the added feature of being the way that Boston channels and cleans most of the storm drains and the City.  Genius!  And, he used Nature to do it.

Name a pretty Natural Spot in the area, and he probably designed it.

• Add owner comment
• Bookmark
• Send to a Friend
• Link to This Review