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Check out the work we have been doing to visually represent the work of the Olmsted firms. Based on historic records from our archives as well as sources outside of our collections, we've gathered the longitudes and latitudes of many of the firm's projects and compiled them into a searchable map.
We've always known the Olmsted firm has had far-reaching national (and international!) impact. Based on historic records from our archives as well as sources outside of our collections, we've sought to help visualize that by gathering the longitudes and latitudes of many of the firm's projects.
A web-based display of this data can be found at: https://arcg.is/WHaHW3
This work is still ongoing, and while there's more data to be added, we decided to put as much up as possible rather than wait for a "final" version. Because of that, there may be some errors in the data and we'd love to hear from you, our users, if you find mistakes (e-mail us). Also, if you find a project in the Master List not represented on this map, and you have evidence of where it is located, please feel free to drop us a note with location and citations and we'll look into it!
It should also be noted that while every effort has been made to get as specific a location as possible, some areas are too general (city planning and park system projects are good examples of this) and so, some projects have only been generally located. Additionally, some projects never proceeded beyond the purely theoretical and existed only as concepts. If there was any evidence found, however, of a physical locale for a project - built or not, currently "Olmstedian" or not - it was tagged with a location. (A sizable and ever-growing keyword-searchable document with research notes and found citations can be accessed here.)
Most of all, we hope you enjoy this product. Please write to us and let us know what you think! Our interest for this project was in getting more people aware of the scope of the Olmsted work "on the ground." Another hopeful outcome is that our visitors become more aware of the Olmsted legacy right in your own backyard. The Olmsteds helped define American landscape architecture and their work continues to inspire the legions who realize that nature is one of the best pathways to health and happiness and is essential to community development.
And so we ask: do you know what's in your backyard?
