Last updated: June 7, 2024
Place
Memorial Hall
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
North Easton, MA
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Public Building
MANAGED BY:
Another collaboration between Frederick Law Olmsted and Henry Hobson Richardson, North Easton, Massachusetts’ Memorial Hall combines Richardson’s Romanesque architecture with Olmsted’s natural landscape design. Olmsted was hired in 1887 by the Ames family, local business owners and early investors in the Union Pacific Railroad.
With a sloping topography, Olmsted chose to integrate the grounds of the hall with the neighboring library, which forced him to remove fencing, extend the front of the lawn, and add additional shrubbery. In his preliminary report, Olmsted also proposed reorienting the entrance, and building a stone wall along the edge of the property. In 1903, Olmsted Brothers got a chance to add to Memorial Hall, preparing an updated planting plan for the property.
Source: "Memorial Hall," Olmsted Online
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
With a sloping topography, Olmsted chose to integrate the grounds of the hall with the neighboring library, which forced him to remove fencing, extend the front of the lawn, and add additional shrubbery. In his preliminary report, Olmsted also proposed reorienting the entrance, and building a stone wall along the edge of the property. In 1903, Olmsted Brothers got a chance to add to Memorial Hall, preparing an updated planting plan for the property.
Source: "Memorial Hall," Olmsted Online
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr