Full of original plans and historic photographs, this beautifully illustrated collection is the first comprehensive presentation of Olmsted's design concepts for communities and private estates. Silver Winner of the 2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Coffee Table Book Master landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is renowned for his public parks, but few know the extent of his accomplishment in meeting other needs of society. Lavishly illustrated with over 500 images, this book presents Olmsted's design commissions for a wide range of projects. The rich collection of studies, lithographs, paintings, and historical photographs depicts Olmsted's planning for residential communities, regional and town plans, academic campuses, grounds of public buildings, zoos, arboreta, and cemeteries. Focusing on living spaces designed to promote physical and mental well-being, the book showcases more than seventy of Olmsted's designs, including the community of Riverside, IL; the Stanford University campus; the U.S. Capitol grounds; the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893; the National Zoo; and George W. Vanderbilt's Biltmore estate. Illuminating Olmsted's design theory, this volume displays the beautiful plans and reveals the significance of each commission within his entire body of work. Readers concerned with the quality of the environment in which we live and work, as well as architects, landscape architects, urban planners, historians, and preservationists, will find stimulating insights in Plans and Views of Communities and Private Estates.

The Years of Olmsted, Vaux & Company, 1865-1874 documents one of the most productive periods of Olmsted's career. During these years he and Vaux created their classic design for Prospect Park in Brooklyn, drew up plans for Riverside and Morningside parks in Manhattan, and designed Chicago's South Park. Its rich assortment of documents will be of interest to historians, landscape architects, urban planners, and anyone concerned with the roots of modern America.

The Olmsted Papers project is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and is sponsored by The American University.