While exploring Emerald Necklace, you may come across one of our Photo Safari locations (noted on the map below). To participate in the Safari, find these locations, and compare the park scenes today with a picture taken by the Olmsted firm over a century ago. You can then either try to capture the view the Olmsteds did, or get creative with your shoot. Then post your photos using #ENSafari and #FindYourPark.
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 1: Photo Safari- Bear Dens
The Franklin Park Zoo was opened in 1912. When the zoo opened, its first official exhibits were the aviary and the bear dens, designed in 1911 by Arthur Schurcliff. Holding a variety of bear species, purchased from Germany and Yellowstone National Park, as well as a badger held in a nearby cage, the bear dens attracted thousands of people to the zoo everyday. Read more
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 2: Photo Safari- Arnold Arboretum
The Arnold Arboretum Visitor Center, otherwise known as the Hunnewell Building, was designed in 1892 by Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr., the nephew of the famous American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The building was finally constructed in 1903 with funds donated by H.H. Hunnewell from whom the building received its name. Read more
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 3: Photo Safari- Schoolmaster Hill
Schoolmaster Hill was designed by Franklin Park's designer, Frederick Law Olmsted. It is made up of a terrace, and a connected shelter, leading out towards the Ninety Nine steps and the edge of the park. Originally "covered by vines on trellises and furnished with tables and seats," the building also provided complimentary hot water for visitors to make tea. A multi-use building, it at one time housed the superintendent's office and served as the golf course club house. Read more
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 4: Photo Safari- Muddy River
The Muddy River is a part of a system of brooks and ponds that run through sections of Boston's Emerald Necklace into the Charles River. Flowing north, it connects Jamaica Pond, Willow Pond, and finally Leverett Pond. At this point is a narrow channel that flows between Brookline and Boston eventually passing through the Back Bay Fens towards the Charles River. Read more
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 5: Photo Safari- Victory Gardens
The Back Bay Fens has transformed over and over again throughout the years. The original shallow bay became a foul salt marsh after the filling in the Back Bay in the mid-19th century. Then, Frederick Law Olmsted, working with the city engineer, converted the smelly grounds into a "park" with a stream running through it that Olmsted described as a "sanitary improvement". Read more
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Article 6: Photo Safari- Pinebank
Although many of the parks, places, and private residences designed by Frederick Law Olmsted reflect nature shaped dramatically by the human hand. It was at Jamaica Park that the real landscape architect was Mother Earth. Crafted not so much with shovels and surveying equipment but rather by the slow drag of glaciers, Jamaica Pond's natural perfection brought out a side of Olmsted that people are not as familiar with: Olmsted the conservationist. Read more