Fort Tryon Park: The Client's Inquiry

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. was the senior partner in the Olmsted Firm during the Fort Tryon project.

Olmsted Archives

A new landscape design job at the Olmsted firm always began with a letter from a potential client. Clients wrote to the firm with a particular project in mind. The firm answered inquiries with a cost estimate for a preliminary visit. The firm also typically requested that clients conduct topographical surveys of the site to send to the firm. After a client contacted the firm, the firm assigned them a folder and job number.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. contacted the Olmsted Brothers firm in 1927 to develop a park on his property at Fort Tryon in New York City, NY. The property, a Revolutionary War battle site, had been previously owned by Cornelius K.G. Billings. Rockefeller purchased the property and the Billings Mansion in 1917. Overlooking the Hudson River, the property featured scenic views and historic structures.

After a client's initial inquiry, the firm would arrange a preliminary site visit.

 

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