Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) Review

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Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) ReviewI just completed Genius of Place by Justin Martin and wanted to sing its praises. The story of the park's creation is presented in fascinating detail, everything from the design contest won by Olmsted and his talented partner, architect Calvert Vaux, in 1858, to the creation of such landmarks as the Bow Bridge and Bethesda Terrace, to cool facts like that it required more gunpowder than was used at Gettysburg to create this naturalistic masterpiece.
Olmsted was a man blessed with enormous energy and many talents. Before creating Central Park, he was one of the first writers for the New York Times. His beat? Traveling through the South to report on the conditions of slaves, which lead him to become an impassioned abolitionist. He was also a goldmine supervisor and Civil War hero, who oversaw a medical outfit that saved thousands of soldiers lives. In addition, he fought hard to preserve essential American landscapes including Yosemite and Niagara Falls.
Olmsted experienced much tragedy in his life: He nearly died following a horse and buggy crash and lost his beloved brother and 3 children. Something I really liked about the book was the Martin interspersed details about Olmsted's life with descriptions of his park creations, so you always get the personal context for his artistic creations. Through it all, this great man persevered to become one of the most important figures of the 19th century and arguably the most influential landscape architect of all time. If you love New York's Central Park or Prospect Park, or any of Olmsted's numerous other works spread out all over the country, you'll enjoy this beautifully written, remarkable book. It will change the way you see these incredible places.
Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted (A Merloyd Lawrence Book) OverviewFrederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York's Central Park to Boston's Emerald Necklace to Stanford University's campus, Olmsted was also an influential journalist, early voice for the environment, and abolitionist credited with helping dissuade England from joining the South in the Civil War. This momentous career was shadowed by a tragic personal life, also fully portrayed here.
Most of all, he was a social reformer. He didn't simply create places that were beautiful in the abstract. An awesome and timeless intent stands behind Olmsted's designs, allowing his work to survive to the present day. With our urgent need to revitalize cities and a widespread yearning for green space, his work is more relevant now than it was during his lifetime. Justin Martin restores Olmsted to his rightful place in the pantheon of great Americans.

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