Last updated: June 7, 2024
Place
Lawrenceville School
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
Lawrenceville, NJ
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Campus
MANAGED BY:
One of the first preparatory boarding schools in the United States, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired by Lawrenceville School’s board of trustees in 1880 to create a master plan for the school. Olmsted’s goal was to foster a vibrant academic community in a parklike setting.
As always, Olmsted worked closely with the architects on the project, this time Peabody & Stearns, to choose an appropriate place for the dozen school buildings. The plan for the all-boys boarding school was inspired by great English institutions, with buildings arranged around a central green.
At Lawrenceville School, Olmsted created a living museum for students, with 371 different species of trees planted throughout the landscape. Many of the trees Olmsted planted were only four to five feet tall and were left over from his work at the Arnold Arboretum.
Olmsted was in constant contact with the headmaster at Lawrenceville, sending him various letters during the planning and execution of the design. In the 1920s, Lawrenceville expanded to accommodate its growing population. Olmsted Brothers served as the consulting landscape architects at that time. A walk around Lawrenceville School today will still show you Olmsted Sr.’s original vision.
Source: "Lawrenceville School," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
As always, Olmsted worked closely with the architects on the project, this time Peabody & Stearns, to choose an appropriate place for the dozen school buildings. The plan for the all-boys boarding school was inspired by great English institutions, with buildings arranged around a central green.
At Lawrenceville School, Olmsted created a living museum for students, with 371 different species of trees planted throughout the landscape. Many of the trees Olmsted planted were only four to five feet tall and were left over from his work at the Arnold Arboretum.
Olmsted was in constant contact with the headmaster at Lawrenceville, sending him various letters during the planning and execution of the design. In the 1920s, Lawrenceville expanded to accommodate its growing population. Olmsted Brothers served as the consulting landscape architects at that time. A walk around Lawrenceville School today will still show you Olmsted Sr.’s original vision.
Source: "Lawrenceville School," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online