Olmsted poster.pdf

Historical Geography, 2009

"Urban open spaces, public parks and gardens are significant places of a town, often determining its character. Although their existence dates back to ancient cultures, public parks and gardens accessible to everybody did not appear earlier than the 19th century. That is the time when the term public park in its contemporary sense came into being. These kinds of gardens are also important in Europe, and in the United States. In my research, I use the term public park according to the definition by Karsten Jørgensen (2005): “a public park is open to the public and designed to meet their social needs and accommodate for their outdoor activities”. The connections between the American and European garden art and the influence of the European gardens in the 19th Century in the USA have been subject of many essays. From the public parks’ point of view, this question is not the same, as in other topics of the garden art. In my research I would like to focus on the influences between Europe - especially Hungary- and the United States in terms of the public parks. The first theoretical writings about the public park as a new challenge were published by Christian Cay Hirschfeld, in his book Theorie der Gartenkunst in 1779 – 1785. In Germany, Ludwig Sckell’s Englischer Garten in Munich, and the projects of Lenné and Gustav Meyer were very significant. The theory was taken further in Meyer’s book, Lehrbuch der schönen Gartenkunst. In England, after the opened royal gardens, the idea of Public Park appeared in the writings of John Claudius Loudon. In the 19th Century, the designs of Joseph Paxton were influential in England, and also in other parts of Europe. In France, the reconstruction of Paris, which is connected with the name of Baron Haussmann, was also a wholesome effect. The Bois de Boulogne, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Monceau, Parc Montsouris, designed by Alphand served as examples as well. Frederick Law Olmsted, who often called as ’the founder of the greenway movement’ and ’founder of the Landscape Architecture in the United States’ is the first American, whose influence of the European garden design is extremely significant. As Olmsted first came to Europe as a journalist, between 1855 and 1857, he visited the major public parks on the Continent, for example the Birkenhead Park, designed by Paxton, and the Englischer Garten, planned by Sckell. He was fascinated by this kind of garden art, as he wrote in his publications: Walks and Talks of an American Farmer in England. In the year 1858 Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the competition for designing a new public park in the city of New York, and his design became example for the European public gardens. The evidence for this, is that Meyer wrote about the Central Park in his theoretical essays, as one of the major public parks. The period between 1870 and 1918 played a significant role in the garden history of Budapest. The parks and gardens built in these decades in the rapidly developing capital city have been key elements of the urban green system up till now, and are in no way inferior to the ones of Berlin and Vienna, the two capitals in which public spaces were considered exemplary. But besides the example of the other two Capitals, in the contemporary newspaper articles also mentioned American public parks, and greenway systems, especially planned by Olmsted and his pupils. In the history of landscape architecture of Budapest this period was really significant in terms of establishing the theoretical basics of public park design as well. The aim of my presentation is to seek for the influence of Olmsted’s design in the Hungarian garden history at the turn of the 19th Century. Furthermore, to examine the effects it made and to establish, which parts of his theory became key elements of the public park design of the present time. "

New England Quarterly, 1989

Preservation Education & Research, 2009

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio is an historical estate of national significance. Originally the home of the wealthy Seiberling family in the early 1900s, Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens was designed by renowned Boston landscape architect Warren Manning between 1911 and 1917. In 1915, the English Garden, one of several garden rooms on the estate, was designed by Manning as a walled, hidden garden. Thirteen years later, the garden’s style was reconceived and its spatial dimensions restructured by Ellen Biddle Shipman, the foremost among women landscape architects of that time. In 1991, the architectural rehabilitation of the garden’s walls, walks, pathways and pools was followed by an exacting restoration of the plantings according to Shipman’s plans. The preservation project was directed by garden historians and landscape preservation planners, Doell and Doell, of Syracuse, New York. While the restoration was considered a success in the short-term, as measured by the authenti...

1992

Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2023

Gardens and parks have long been cherished spaces where nature and human creativity intertwine. This article embarks on a captivating journey through the history, types, education, and artistic expressions of these remarkable outdoor sanctuaries. We delve into the origins of gardens, explore the diverse styles and designs that have evolved from time to time, and appreciate the artistic elements that make them truly enchanting. Join us as we unravel the secrets and unveil the beauty of these green oases that have captivated the human imagination for centuries.