Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site

10/14/2026

🚨 Fall Walk and Talk Alert 🚨
We are only four days away from our second installment of Fall Walks and Talks on Saturday, October 17! Join Ranger Sophia for a Fall Walk and Talk: "Lungs of the City" - Public Health and Parks
📆 When?
Saturday, October 17, 10:00-11:30AM
🗺 Where?
Jamaica Pond Boathouse (507 Jamaicaway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130)
🧐 What's this all about?
Join Ranger Sophia on a walk through Jamaica Pond and learn about the history of the public health movement and its connection to Frederick Law Olmsted.
💥Note:
The walk will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There will be stopping at various points of interest to talk on and off pavement, and then walking at a moderate pace in between, so please dress in layers to ensure you maintain a comfortable temperature throughout and wear appropriate shoes.
✍️ Ready to RSVP? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lungs-of-the-city-public-health-and-parks-tickets-2001692300555

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] for additional information.
📷NPS

10/10/2026

The next edition of Historic Campuses goes to New England, spotlighting Harvard University and Cornell University! 🏈

Both plans show how the buildings looked on campus before any new landscaping occurred. The firm needed to see the lay of the land before they could break ground on these new projects. When you start a new project, what's the first step in your creative process?

Campus Name: Harvard University
Total Number of Plans: 176
Year: 1893
Plans: Harvard University is one of the first colleges in the United States. Its landscape plans are one of the firm’s first campus designs as well. In the plan, the firm sectioned off all private property on campus. Then, they colored existing buildings, such as Thayer Hall and University Hall, in a faint orange and the current paths are yellow. In very light pencil, the firm proposes new quadrangles and common areas on the western side of campus.

Campus Name: Cornell University
Historic Name: Cornell University Agricultural College
Year: 1915
Plans: The Olmsted Brothers took a different approach to mapping the pre-existing buildings. On this blueprint, the page is laid out on a graph. The number system utilized in each square shows the direction and filing of sheets in relation to city boundaries, power lines, and existing buildings. If you look closely, you will see that this plan also includes a landscape architecture building!

📷1 and 2: NPS

10/07/2026

🚨 Fall Walk and Talk Alert 🚨
Our second installment of Fall Walks and Talks is next Saturday, October 17! Join Ranger Sophia for a Fall Walk and Talk: "Lungs of the City" - Public Health and Parks
📆 When?
Saturday, October 17, 10:00-11:30AM
🗺 Where?
Jamaica Pond Boathouse (507 Jamaicaway, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130)
🧐 What's this all about?
Join Ranger Sophia on a walk through Jamaica Pond and learn about the history of the public health movement and its connection to Frederick Law Olmsted.
💥Note:
The walk will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There will be stopping at various points of interest to talk on and off pavement, and then walking at a moderate pace in between, so please dress in layers to ensure you maintain a comfortable temperature throughout and wear appropriate shoes.
✍️ Ready to RSVP? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lungs-of-the-city-public-health-and-parks-tickets-2001692300555

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] for additional information.
📷NPS

10/03/2026

Welcome to the sixth edition of Historic Campuses! 🏈

Mississippi State University and University of Alabama will be competing today, which means it is time to look at both of their campuses.

The Alabama plan is from March 1961, and one of the final projects of the Olmsted Brothers era before the firm rebranded to Olmsted Associates. The Mississippi State plan is from January 1963, one of the first projects of the Olmsted Associates era.

These plans use watercolor and marker to make the legend easier to read, and the design is more eye-catching. The firm often used different art mediums to highlight their designs for clients.

Campus: University of Alabama
Number of Plans: 331
Years: 1961
Plans: This segment of campus is south of University Avenue. This plan includes the location where the football team still plays today, Denny Field. There is also a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and practice fields. Most of the buildings in this plan are proposed buildings, including a women’s dormitory, married students’ apartments, faculty apartments, parking lots, and a park. The red marker shows the outer redevelopment boundary.

Campus: Mississippi State University
Historic Name: Mississippi State College
Years: 1962-1972
Plans: This plan shows the entire campus. Lines in yellow marker note an existing road that will later be abandoned. Lines in red marker show existing roads that will be incorporated in the new design. These roads are near the arboretum, pastures, faculty and student housing, land deeded to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for research, and Scott Field, where the football team still plays.

Next time you visit Fairsted, you can create your own eye-catching landscape design by checking out our STEAM kits with various art supplies! Just chat with a park ranger to find out more. 🖌️

10/02/2026

🍁 Registration Extended 🍁

Free tomorrow and want to embrace the fall weather with a ranger talk? Join Ranger Emma at the Arnold Arboretum tomorrow at 1 PM for our first installment of Fall Walks and Talks! 🚶‍♀️

RSVP to reserve your spot before the window closes: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elmsted-the-american-elm-and-the-olmsted-legacy-tickets-2001241344734

🚨 Fall Walk and Talk Alert 🚨

We are only four days away until our first installment of Fall Walks and Talks! Join Ranger Emma for a Fall Walk and Talk: Elmsted - The American Elm and the Olmsted Legacy.

📆 When?
Saturday, October 3, 1:00-2:30PM
🗺 Where?
Arnold Arboretum, please meet in front of the Hunnewell Visitor Center (125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130)
🧐 What's this all about?
Join Ranger Emma on a walk through the Arnold Arboretum and learn about the rise and fall of the America elm, and its connection to Frederick Law Olmsted.
💥Note:
The walk will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There will be stopping at various points of interest to talk on and off pavement, and then walking at a moderate pace in between, so please dress in layers to ensure you maintain a comfortable temperature throughout and wear appropriate shoes.

✍️ Ready to RSVP? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elmsted-the-american-elm-and-the-olmsted-legacy-tickets-2001241344734

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] for additional information.

📷NPS

09/30/2026

Many know of Frederick Law Olmsted for his magnificent landscapes, but did you know about the personal connections he made throughout his life?

Henry Hobson Richardson and Olmsted were close friends during Richardson’s lifetime. The two first met after Richardson moved next door to Olmsted on Staten Island in 1867. Richardson was an up-and-coming architect while Olmsted was already established in his career.

The two men first partnered on the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane in 1869. While beginning work for the asylum, they went to Niagara Falls and began the conservation effort to create the nation’s first state park.

They continued to have both a working and personal relationship until Richardson’s death in 1886. In fact, they became neighbors again in Brookline. Olmsted moved into Fairsted here at 99 Warren Street in 1883 while Richardson was living at 25 Cottage Street. Before moving into Fairsted, Olmsted stayed at Richardson’s house briefly while working on the Emerald Necklace.

Richardson’s most famous project is likely Trinity Church right here in Boston, which is an early example of his distinct Richardsonian Romanesque style. There are more examples of his designs throughout Boston including the South Street entrance to the Arnold Arboretum, the Boylston Street Bridge, and the Stony Brook Gate House in the Back Bay Fens. Each of these projects having been collaborations with Olmsted.

Next time you visit Fairsted, chat with a park ranger about Olmsted's time living with Richardson as he went house hunting in the Brookline area!

📷1: National Portrait Gallery
📷2 and 3: Library of Congress

09/29/2026

🚨 Fall Walk and Talk Alert 🚨

We are only four days away until our first installment of Fall Walks and Talks! Join Ranger Emma for a Fall Walk and Talk: Elmsted - The American Elm and the Olmsted Legacy.

📆 When?
Saturday, October 3, 1:00-2:30PM
🗺 Where?
Arnold Arboretum, please meet in front of the Hunnewell Visitor Center (125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130)
🧐 What's this all about?
Join Ranger Emma on a walk through the Arnold Arboretum and learn about the rise and fall of the America elm, and its connection to Frederick Law Olmsted.
💥Note:
The walk will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There will be stopping at various points of interest to talk on and off pavement, and then walking at a moderate pace in between, so please dress in layers to ensure you maintain a comfortable temperature throughout and wear appropriate shoes.

✍️ Ready to RSVP? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elmsted-the-american-elm-and-the-olmsted-legacy-tickets-2001241344734

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] for additional information.

📷NPS

09/26/2026

The fifth edition of Historic Campuses returns to the Midwest! 🏈

Let's compare campus plans from University of Illinois and Ohio State University. Both universities were designed in the early 1900s under the Olmsted Brothers.

At the time, these campuses put great emphasis on horticulture, the practice of garden management. In the Illinois general plan, we see the horticulture building and an entire section dedicated to forestry and farms. While the concept of plant care is included, this plan came before the planting plan in the design process. Though we do not have a planting plan for Illinois, we do have a planting plan for Ohio State.

When selecting plants for your landscape, what types of plants would you choose to grow? 🪴

Name: University of Illinois
Number of Plans: 12
Years: 1897-1906
Plans: The Olmsted Brothers worked on the plans for University of Illinois. You can spot athletic fields, but the primary focus of the campus is STEM-related. In addition to the horticulture building, there are engineering labs, metal shops, wood shops, and an astronomy observatory. With an attention to detail and using the size of the campus to their advantage, the landscape architects included many buildings, open land, and winding paths.

Name: Ohio State University
Number of Plans: 75
Years: 1905-1910
Plans: The firm made very specific plans for separate buildings at Ohio State University. There are designated plans for the football field, mines and ceramics building, veterinary clinic, women’s dormitory, and agriculture campus. In the photo, you can see a planting plan for the physics building.

📷NPS

09/24/2026

For visitor and staff safety, ranger-guided cultural landscape tours will be cancelled Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26, due to a severe weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

Tours of the historic design office will continue as scheduled and subject to staff availability. The self-guided exhibits inside the visitor center will also be available for exploration 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM.

Please check our website for the most up-to-date information: https://www.nps.gov/frla/index.htm

09/22/2026

Happy first day of fall to (f)all who celebrate! 🍂

Have you been itchin' for a ranger-guided talk? Perhaps in the fall? Maybe on a walk? You're in luck! Join Ranger Emma for a Fall Walk and Talk: Elmsted - The American Elm and the Olmsted Legacy.

📆 When?
Saturday, October 3, 1:00-2:30PM
🗺 Where?
Arnold Arboretum, please meet in front of the Hunnewell Visitor Center (125 Arborway, Boston, MA 02130)
🧐 What's this all about?
Join Ranger Emma on a walk through the Arnold Arboretum and learn about the rise and fall of the America elm, and its connection to Frederick Law Olmsted.
💥Note:
The walk will last for approximately 1.5 hours. There will be stopping at various points of interest to talk on and off pavement, and then walking at a moderate pace in between, so please dress in layers to ensure you maintain a comfortable temperature throughout and wear appropriate shoes.

✍️ Ready to RSVP? https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elmsted-the-american-elm-and-the-olmsted-legacy-tickets-2001241344734

Any questions? Contact us at [email protected] for additional information.

📷NPS