Before he was known as a landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted was best known for a series of articles he wrote for “The New York Daily Times” (now “The New York Times”) and later books he published about his travels in the southern United States between late 1852 and the summer of 1854. He was keen observer and reported quite accurately and in great detail on the economic and social structures, especially the practice of slavery.
“Olmsted South: Old South Critic, New South Planner” is a collection of scholarly essays written in the 1970s that in part analyze the change in Olmsted’s attitude during his travels. By the end, he is convinced that slavery is disastrous not only for the enslaved but for the entire society. This would later influence his work as a landscape architect: “Underlying his plans for each park, parkway, campus, and suburb was an understanding of the past expressed in the natural history of the site as well as in the growth and development of American society” (quoted from the Foreword of “Olmsted South” by Albert Fein).
Excerpted from Brian Thompson’s article in the Summer 2022 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin