 USA
Massachusetts National Parks
National parks, monuments, natural reserves, historic sites of Massachusetts. Pages with photos are indicated with (pictures).
Adams (pictures)
Quincy
Appalachian
Lake Superior
Blackstone River Valley
Blackstone Valley
Boston
Boston
Boston African American
Boston
Boston Harbor Islands
Boston
Cape Cod (pictures)
Wellfleet
Essex National Heritage Area
Essex County
Frederick Law Olmsted
Brookline
John F Kennedy (pictures)
Brookline
Longfellow (pictures)
Cambridge
Lowell (pictures)
Lowell
Minute Man (pictures)
Concord
New Bedford Whaling
New Bedford
Salem Maritime (pictures)
Salem
Springfield Armory
Springfield
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Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Brookline, MA
Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker. Olmsted moved his home to suburban Boston in 1883 and established at “Fairsted” the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design. Over the course of the next century, his sons and successors expanded and perpetuated Olmsted's design ideals, philosophy, and influence.
Visitors may tour the recently restored “Fairsted” historic landscape and a century-old design office that remains virtually unchanged from the days when the Olmsted firm’s activity was at its height. Housed within the office complex are nearly 1,000,000 original design records detailing work on many of America’s most treasured landscapes including the U. S. Capitol and White House Grounds; Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia National Parks; Yosemite Valley; New York's Central Park; and whole park systems in cities such as Seattle, Boston, and Louisville. The Olmsteds also played an influential role in the creation of the National Park Service. Writing from his desk in Brookline, F. L. Olmsted, Jr. crafted evocative words that served as the foundation for legislation establishing the Park Service in 1916:
"To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
Interpretive Programs, Nature Walks
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