Chapter 24: Cultural Revolution "Frederick Law Olmsted"

Introduction
Students have read that landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted saw the need for "a simple, broad, open space of clean greensward" enclosed by a large enough green space to "completely shut out the city." He applied his thinking to the design of Central Park in New York City.

Lesson Description
Students will go to the Horticulturists of Note—Frederick Law Olmsted Web site. They will then answer four questions about what they have read.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will learn more about the life of Frederick Law Olmsted.
2. Students will learn how Olmsted's work was influenced by his view of society.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. He believed parks should give the poor an education in refinement and taste.
2. He physically separated the roads either by sinking them out of sight or hiding them behind landforms.
3. He wanted to remind visitors of the original landscape and the city's origin in the wilderness.
4. Students' answers will vary but might mention the concept of integrating the city and its parks, the importance of having green space in the city, or the idea of designing landscapes that recall the original wilderness.

GO TO STUDENT ACTIVITY