Today in Smithsonian History: September 4, 1890

Preliminary Study for National Zoological Park, by Frederick Law Olmsted, 1822-1903.

September 4, 1890 F.L. Olmsted & Co., Landscape Architects of Brookline, Massachusetts, submits a preliminary study of Rock Creek Park for the proposed National Zoological Park. The plan shows a central developed plateau where most of the buildings are grouped. A winding carriage path leads through the Park to and from this area, with scattered exhibits visible from the pathway.

Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted was famous for co-designing many well-known urban parks with his senior partner Calvert Vaux, including Central Park in New York City, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and Elm Park in Worcester, Massachusetts, considered by many to be the first municipal park in America.

1892 Portrait of Frederick Law Olmsted by James Notman, Boston; an engraving of this photograph was later published in Century Magazine.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives

Related posts:

Raven and the Box of Daylight Today in Smithsonian History: February 28, 1966 ICYMI: Highlights from the week that was Jan. 19 – 22, 2021 More than $1.5 million awarded to Smithsonian scholars