Louisville Parks and Parkway System

Louisville Parks and Parkway System, Job #01260, Louisville, KY

Olmsted Archives

Quick Facts

Location:

Louisville, KY

Significance:

Olmsted Designed Park

MANAGED BY:

Louisville KY

In 1891, Frederick Law Olmsted was invited to Louisville, Kentucky by a group of prominent citizens who formed the Salmagundi Club. They asked Olmsted to survey the land the Club had already acquired, creating one of five Olmsted systems in the country where parks and boulevards connect, creating a network of green space. The final design of the type for Olmsted Sr., it was one of two park systems designed by all three Olmsteds.

Louisville’s Park System is anchored by three large parks along the perimeter of the city: Iroquois, Cherokee, and Shawnee. Each park takes advantage of the unique natural features in the area, such as diverse topography, riverfront views, and native woodlands. In addition to designing the city’s park system, the Olmsted firm also helped plan the city, residential subdivisions, estates, cemeteries, institutional and religious grounds, country clubs, and gardens. In all, the Olmsted firm designed eighteen parks, squares, and playgrounds throughout the city, as well as six parkways.

Source: "Louisville Parks and Parkways System," The Cultural Landscape Foundation

For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Online