Last updated: June 6, 2024
Place
Hartford Parks
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Hartford, CT
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Park
MANAGED BY:
Seventeen years after the country’s first municipal park, Bushnell Park, was created, Hartford native Frederick Law Olmsted began drafting plans for a system of parks connected through parkways. Olmsted’s 1870 planned would be designed in the picturesque style by himself, his sons John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., his firm partner Charles Eliot, and others.
To accommodate the growing metropolitan area, parks dense with trees would provide a lush oasis and recreational facilities. Due to their father’s failing health, Olmsted Brothers acted as Hartford’s parks consultants from 1895 through to the 1940s. While Olmsted Sr. 's plan focused on passive parks, Olmsted Brothers focused on active neighborhood parks and playgrounds, most used by the nearby public schools.
The Hartford Park System allows the Olmsted legacy to span several decades and generations. All three Olmsted’s worked on parks in Hartford, from the smaller squares and greens to large scale municipal parks, nothing was off limits in Hartford, a city who trusted their native son to do the best for them.
Source: "Hartford Parks System," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
To accommodate the growing metropolitan area, parks dense with trees would provide a lush oasis and recreational facilities. Due to their father’s failing health, Olmsted Brothers acted as Hartford’s parks consultants from 1895 through to the 1940s. While Olmsted Sr. 's plan focused on passive parks, Olmsted Brothers focused on active neighborhood parks and playgrounds, most used by the nearby public schools.
The Hartford Park System allows the Olmsted legacy to span several decades and generations. All three Olmsted’s worked on parks in Hartford, from the smaller squares and greens to large scale municipal parks, nothing was off limits in Hartford, a city who trusted their native son to do the best for them.
Source: "Hartford Parks System," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online