Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) I FLEW INTO BUFFALO AND I STUMBLED ON ONE OF THE PARKWAYS AND I WAS AMAZED AT HOW BEAUTIFUL IT WAS. I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "THIS IS BUFFALO?" THIS SURPRISING IMAGE OF BUFFALO WAS THE WORK OF AMERICA'S FIRST CELEBRATED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, FREDRICK LAW OLMSTED. KNOWN FOR DESIGNING NEW YORK CITY'S CENTRAL PARK, IN THE 1870'S, OLMSTED CREATED SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT IN BUFFALO, THE NATION'S FIRST URBAN PARK SYSTEM. HE WANTED TO CREATE SEVERAL DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPACES, EACH PERFECTLY FINE-TUNED FOR ITS ACTIVITY.

AND THEN, HE THOUGHT, THEY SHOULD BE CONNECTED. YOU COULD MOVE FROM ONE PARK TO THE OTHER, NOT FEELING LIKE YOU HAD LEFT A PARK AT ANY ONE TIME. IT WAS THE FIRST PARK SYSTEM OF ITS KIND IN AMERICA. BUT OLMSTED'S IMPACT ON WESTERN NEW YORK GREW BEYOND THE DESIGN OF THE BUFFALO PARK SYSTEM.

HE BEGAN A NATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO SAVE ONE OF THE CONTINENT'S GREATEST NATURAL WONDERS FROM RAPIDLY ENCROACHING CHANGE. NIAGARA FALLS WAS REALLY THE FIRST BIG NATIONAL CAMPAIGN ON BEHALF OF SCENIC PRESERVATION. JUST THINK ABOUT IT, SOMEBODY SAYING, "HEY, LET'S TEAR DOWN ALL THOSE JOB-PRODUCING FACTORIES AND PUT IN GREEN SPACE." CAN YOU IMAGINE? WITH THE PASSAGE OF TIME AND THE IMPACT OF PROGRESS, THE BUFFALO PARK SYSTEM AND NIAGARA FALLS HAVE CHANGED, BUT OLMSTED'S IMPACT AND LEGACY REMAIN.

I GREW UP WITH OLMSTED AND I THINK I TOOK OLMSTED FOR GRANTED. THE OLMSTED PARKS ARE THE CITY'S CORNERSTONES REALLY. WE ARE AN OLMSTED CITY. IT WAS OLMSTED'S VISION THAT THIS BE FOREVER WILD.

OH PEOPLE SAY, "OH THE FALLS LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL FROM THE CANADIAN SIDE." THAT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING AT OLMSTED'S PARK ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER. (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) IN THE SUMMER OF 1828 AT THE AGE OF SIX, YOUNG FREDERICK OLMSTED SET OUT FROM CONNECTICUT ON A JOURNEY TO VISIT AN UNCLE NEWLY SETTLED IN THE WESTERN REACHES OF NEW YORK STATE. THE VISIT INCLUDED A TRIP TO SEE THE WONDER OF NIAGARA, A PLACE STILL REMOTE AND LARGELY IN ITS NATURAL STATE. AT THAT POINT, NIAGARA FALLS WAS STILL A WILDERNESS SITE AND HE WOULD HAVE SEE IT PRETTY MUCH AS IT HAD BEEN FOR EONS BEFORE.

ANYTHING FROM HIS CHILDHOOD HAD A GREAT IMPRESSION ON HIM. AND CERTAINLY HE WOULD HAVE REMEMBERED NIAGARA BEFORE THAT INDUSTRIALIZATION WAS BRINGING EVERYTHING RIGHT UP TO THE EDGE. YOUNG FREDERICK OLMSTED'S JOURNEY TO BECOMING AMERICA'S FIRST GREAT LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT WAS A LONG ONE. HE TRIED FARMING, THEN TRAVELED AND WROTE OF HIS EXPERIENCES IN ENGLAND AND THE SLAVE HOLDING STATES OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH.

FINALLY IN THE 1850'S, WITH LITTLE PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE AT ALL, HE JOINED FORCES WITH ARCHITECT CALVERT VAUX TO CREATE THE WINNING DESIGN FOR THE FIRST GREAT URBAN PARK IN AMERICA, NEW YORK CITY'S CENTRAL PARK. IT'S VERY STRANGE THAT AFTER COMPLETING CENTRAL PARK TO GREAT ACCOLADES AND GREAT SUCCESS, YOU'D THINK, WELL NOW HE'D START HIS CAREER AS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT AND HE ACTUALLY DOESN'T. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF YEARS BEFORE HE MAKES A BIG CIRCLE AND COMES BACK. INTERRUPTED BY THE UPHEAVAL OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR, OLMSTED AND VAUX WOULDN'T REUNITE ON ANOTHER PROJECT UNTIL 1865 WHEN THE DESIGN FOR BROOKLYN'S PROSPECT PARK WOULD RE-ESTABLISH THEIR BUDDING REPUTATION.

OTHER CITIES SOON CAME CALLING. ONE OF THOSE WAS BUFFALO. WHEN OLMSTED WAS INVITED TO COME IN 1868, BUFFALO WAS REALLY A BOOMING CITY, IT WAS ON THE RISE. BUFFALO IS EXPLODING BECAUSE OF THE ERIE CANAL AND THE GREAT LAKES TRAFFIC.

YOU'VE GOT RAILROADS COMING IN, YOU'VE GOT DIFFERENT KINDS OF FACTORIES. THIS WAS A PLACE THAT HAD A LOT OF MONEY, IT HAD GREAT AMBITIONS. PEOPLE IN BUFFALO WERE LOOKING TO USE THAT MONEY TO SHOW THEIR EXCELLENCE AND THEIR PASSION FOR CREATING A CITY THAT THEY COULD ALL BE VERY PROUD OF. IN AUGUST 1868, ON A STEAMY SUNDAY AFTERNOON, THE U.S.

ATTORNEY FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, A MAN NAMED WILLIAM DORSHEIMER, STOOD ON A STATION PLATFORM IN BUFFALO ANXIOUSLY AWAITING THE ARRIVAL OF A GUEST. DORSHEIMER WAS A VERY FORWARD-LOOKING PERSON AND HE MADE THE WONDERFUL REMARK AT THE TIME OF THE PARK MOVEMENT THAT HE WANTED FOR HIS CITY A HIGHER CIVILIZATION. DORSHEIMER WAS FAMILIAR WITH OLMSTED'S WORK AT CENTRAL PARK. WITH CENTRAL PARK THE INITIAL PROJECT, IT WAS REALLY PIONEERING, SORT OF LAUNCHING THE IDEA OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.

SO I THINK WHEN THEY INVITED OLMSTED TO BUFFALO THEY WERE THINKING OLMSTED COULD JUST GIVE THEM A REPLICA OF CENTRAL PARK. IN THE 1860'S, BUFFALO WAS THE TENTH LARGEST CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, QUICKLY OUTGROWING ITS CROWDED URBAN CORE. THE ORIGINAL CITY PLAN OF BUFFALO WAS LAID OUT IN 1804 BY JOSEPH ELLICOTT. HE WAS A SURVEYOR WHO HAD WORKED IN WASHINGTON.

AND HE TOOK THE IDEA OF A RADIATING CITY PLAN WITH BROAD STREETS GOING OFF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. AND THE CENTER OF IT ALL WAS NIAGARA SQUARE, WHICH WOULD BE COMPARABLE TO CAPITOL HILL IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. PLAN. DORSHEIMER TOOK OLMSTED NORTH OF THE CITY TO VIEW SEVERAL POSSIBLE SITES FOR A PARK.

ONE OVERLOOKED THE POINT WHERE LAKE ERIE FLOWED INTO THE NIAGARA RIVER. THE SECOND SITE WAS AT A HIGH POINT IN THE CITY'S EAST SIDE. OLMSTED HIMSELF NOTICED A THIRD POSSIBILITY ALONG A WINDING WOODED CREEK. HE LOOKED AT ALL THREE, HE LIKED ALL THREE AND THEN HE LOOKED AT THE JOSEPH ELLICOTT RADIAL DESIGN FOR DOWNTOWN AND IT ALL CAME TOGETHER.

THE FOLKS WHO BROUGHT OLMSTED HERE WERE LOOKING FOR THEIR CENTRAL PARK. HE SAID, "OH, NO, NO. NOT ONE, THREE." THAT WAS A MASTERFUL PIECE OF VISIONARY WORK IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE IT HAD TO FEEL COUNTER INTUITIVE. BUT HE GOES FURTHER AND HE SAYS, "YOU THEN NEED TO CONNECT THESE PARKS WITH PARKWAYS AND THAT WILL GIVE YOU A SORT OF SKELETON FOR YOUR CITY." THEY WERE BROADER STREETS THAT HAD SOME SHADY TREE COVER BRINGING YOU THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CITY FOR SIX MILES OF CONNECTED PARKS AND PARKWAYS.

SO YOU COULD MOVE FROM ONE PARK TO THE OTHER, NOT FEELING LIKE YOU HAD LEFT A PARK AT ANY ONE TIME. ANYONE IN THE CITY COULD STEP OUT OF THEIR FRONT DOOR AND WITHIN A BLOCK OR SO BE ABLE TO BE IN A PARK, IN A PARK LANDSCAPE. IT WAS THIS NOTION OF A CITY WITHIN A PARK THAT WAS SO UNIQUE AND SO DIFFERENT THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE IN THE UNITED STATES. OLMSTED AND VAUX'S CONCEPT FOR A SYSTEM OF INTERCONNECTED PARKS AND PARKWAYS WAS GROUNDBREAKING.

NO OTHER AMERICAN CITY HAD ATTEMPTED ANYTHING ON THIS SCALE. (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) BUT IT WAS A RADICAL DEPARTURE FROM THE SINGLE PARK CITY LEADERS WERE EXPECTING. OLMSTED DIDN'T HAVE COMPLETE SUPPORT AT THE BEGINNING FOR HIS PARKS BECAUSE THERE WERE PEOPLE IN TOWN WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA BE TOO EXPENSIVE. THEY DIDN'T WANT THEIR TAX MONEY GOING FOR THEM TO BUY THE LAND AND SO FORTH.

AND OLMSTED CONVINCED THEM, AND HE TURNED OUT TO BE RIGHT, THAT BY INVESTING IN THE PARKS THE CITY WOULD GET A RETURN ON ITS DOLLAR EVEN MORE THAN IT INVESTED BY THE RISE IN PROPERTY VALUES FOR THE LAND AROUND THE PARKS. THAT PEOPLE WOULD WANT TO COME AND LIVE NEAR THESE PLACES. HE SELLS THEM ON THE IDEA AND THEY IMPLEMENT THIS EXTREMELY AMBITIOUS PLAN. AND IT'S, I THINK, A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THE FIRST CASES OF CITY PLANNING.

NOT SIMPLY LAYING OUT GRIDS OF STREETS FOR UTILITARIAN REASONS, BUT HAVING THIS BIGGER IDEA OF HOW YOU MIGHT LAY OUT PUBLIC SPACES WITHIN A CITY. THAT CONNECTIVITY IS SOMETHING THAT OLMSTED FIRST DEMONSTRATED IN BUFFALO AND THEN WENT ON, AS DID HIS LATER FIRM, TO CREATE IN SO MANY OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY. CONNECTING GREEN SPACE WOULD PLAY AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT ROLE AS THE BUFFALO PLAN DEVELOPED. A NEW 600 BED STATE HOSPITAL WAS PLANNED FOR THE CITY.

ITS DESIGN BY UP AND COMING NEW YORK ARCHITECT H.H. RICHARDSON CALLED FOR A MASSIVE COMPLEX OF ROMANESQUE REVIVAL BUILDINGS, A STYLE THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY SEAL RICHARDSON'S REPUTATION AS ONE OF AMERICA'S GREAT ARCHITECTS. OLMSTED AND VAUX WERE CHOSEN TO CRAFT THE LANDSCAPE PLAN. HERE, OLMSTED SAW OPPORTUNITY.

BY BLENDING THE HOSPITAL'S LANDSCAPE WITH HIS PARK AND ADJOINING WOODED CEMETERY, HE COULD EXPAND THE OVERALL SENSE OF OPEN SPACE FOR EACH. IN DOING SO, OLMSTED GAVE TO CITY LEADERS WHAT THEY

ORIGINALLY HOPED FOR

AN EXPANSIVE 800-ACRE SWATH OF DEDICATED GREEN SPACE EQUAL IN SIZE TO NEW YORK'S CENTRAL PARK. IT'S ONE OF THE REALLY BRILLIANT THINGS THAT OLMSTED DID WAS FIGURING OUT HOW TO BORROW GREEN SPACES. AND WHAT HE MEANT BY THAT IS THAT IT WASN'T A PART OF THE PARK BOUNDARY PER SE, BUT VISUALLY IF YOU LOOKED, IT EXTENDED THE PARK. THIS WAS THE GRAND STATEMENT.

THIS WAS, IN SOME SENSE, HIS IDEA OF CENTRAL PARK FOR BUFFALO, BUT UNLIKE CENTRAL PARK IN NEW YORK WHERE HE HAD THE CITY ALREADY LARGELY MERGED AROUND IT, THIS WAS REALLY ON THE EDGE OF THE CITY BETTING ON THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF BUFFALO. OLMSTED SAID THAT BUFFALO WAS THE BEST-PLANNED CITY IN AMERICA AND MAYBE IN THE WORLD. AS WORK IN BUFFALO CONTINUED, A FAST FRIENDSHIP FORMED BETWEEN OLMSTED, WILLIAM DORSHEIMER AND H.H. RICHARDSON.

TOGETHER THEY TOOK A FEW DAYS AWAY FOR A BRIEF TRIP 15 MILES NORTH TO NIAGARA FALLS. WILL DORSHEIMER TAKES THEM UP TO VISIT GOAT ISLAND AND TO SEE THE FALLS. WHILE THEY'RE UP THERE, OLMSTED REALIZES THAT THERE IS NO WAY ANYONE VISITING THE FALLS CAN SEE THIS AMAZING NATURAL WONDER WITHOUT PAYING SOMETHING. HE WAS VERY UPSET BY THE FACT THAT MUCH OF THE LAND AROUND THE FALLS HAD BECOME INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING, THAT THE FALLS THEMSELVES AS A TOURIST ATTRACTION WERE VERY EXPENSIVE.

THIS WAS OLMSTED'S FIRST VISIT TO NIAGARA SINCE CHILDHOOD. HE WAS DISMAYED BY THE CHANGES. THE CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE, THE PERSISTENT BARKERS AND HAWKERS WHO ASSIGNED A PRICE TO ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE FALLS. ONLY ONE VESTIGE OF THE PLACE OLMSTED REMEMBERED REMAINED, GOAT ISLAND, SET BETWEEN RAPIDS LEADING TO THE FALLS.

IN THE QUIET OF ITS REMNANT FOREST, OLMSTED IMAGINED A DARK FUTURE. ALREADY A GRAND HOTEL AND MORE FACTORIES WERE PROPOSED. SHOULD IT HAPPEN, THIS LAST PRISTINE BIT OF NIAGARA WOULD BE ALL BUT GONE. IT WAS TIME TO ACT.

WELL, HE CALLED IT THE "FREE NIAGARA" MOVEMENT. OLMSTED WAS THE LEADER OF IT. IN NIAGARA FALLS, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED AT A DEVELOPED CONDITION AND SAID, "THIS IS NOT GOOD. THIS DOESN'T MEET THE GREATER NEED FOR THE MOST PEOPLE.

WE NEED TO CHANGE IT." AND HE ARGUED WITH GREAT PASSION AND TO GOOD EFFECT TO TAKE AWAY THE THINGS THAT SEEMED BLASPHEME AGAINST THAT. THE FREE NIAGARA MOVEMENT CALLED FOR SOMETHING NEVER DONE BEFORE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. HE PROPOSED THAT NEW YORK STATE'S GOVERNMENT USE ITS CONSTITUTIONAL POWER OF IMMINENT DOMAIN TO BUY BACK ALL THE PRIVATE LAND SURROUNDING THE AMERICAN SIDE OF THE FALLS FOR SCENIC PRESERVATION. JUST THINK ABOUT IT.

SOMEBODY SAYING, "HEY, LET'S TEAR DOWN ALL THOSE JOB-PRODUCING FACTORIES AND PUT IN GREEN SPACE." CAN YOU IMAGINE SOMEBODY TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THAT TODAY? IT WOULD BE REALLY TOUGH. "OH, AND BY THE WAY, GOVERNMENT, SPEND A MILLION DOLLARS TO DO IT." IT WAS A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT, BUT THROUGHOUT THE 1870'S, LEGISLATION STALLED. "I DON'T SEE THAT IT WILL MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE," SAID GOVERNOR ALONZO CORNELL.

"THE WATER WILL RUN OVER THE FALLS ALL THE SAME." BUT BEHIND THE SCENES, WILL DORSHEIMER AND OTHERS CONTINUED TO WORK LEVERAGING DORSHEIMER'S NEWLY-WON INFLUENCE AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. "NO OTHER GIFT OF NATURE EQUALLY HOLDS THE INTEREST OF THE WORLD AT LARGE," THEY ARGUED. "THE STATE WHICH HOLDS SUCH A TREASURE HOLDS IT UNDER SACRED OBLIGATION TO MANKIND." POLITICS TODAY AREN'T ALL THAT MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THEY WERE THEN. IF YOU CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO BE POLITICALLY FEASIBLE, IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.

AND ONE OF THE WAYS YOU CAN DO IT IS BY BUILDING A GROUNDSWELL. HE WENT ABOUT CREATING A PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN THAT PUT PRESSURE ON ELECTED OFFICIALS TO FREE UP THE RESOURCES AND THE POLITICAL STRENGTH TO MAKE A BIG CHANGE. IN 1885, AFTER 16 YEARS OF EFFORT, LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING THE STATE TO BUY BACK GOAT ISLAND AND LAND ALONG THE AMERICAN RAPIDS FINALLY PASSED. OLMSTED AND CALVERT VAUX WERE CHOSEN TO CREATE THE PARK'S DESIGN.

IT'S AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT. TEARING DOWN A BUNCH OF FACTORIES, BUYING A BUNCH OF LAND AND THEN DEDICATING IT PERMANENTLY FOR FREE ACCESS TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST NATURAL WONDERS. IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE DESIGNATION OF THAT STATE PARK IN 1885, WHICH WAS THE FIRST STATE PARK IN THE NATION, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE A VERY, NOT A VERY PLEASANT PLACE TO BE. PEOPLE SAY, "OH, THE FALLS LOOK SO BEAUTIFUL FROM THE CANADIAN SIDE." WELL, THAT'S CAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING AT OLMSTED'S PARK ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER.

IT'S THIS VERY NATURAL LANDSCAPE, VERY UN-GARDEN LIKE. IT'S REALLY JUST A NATURAL LANDSCAPE, WHICH GIVES YOU ALL KINDS OF SMALL-SCALE EXPERIENCES NEXT TO THIS, OF COURSE, ENORMOUS EXPERIENCE OF ALL THIS WATER TUMBLING OVER THE EDGE. SO HE REALLY FELT IT WAS NOT JUST ABOUT THE FALLS PER SE, BECAUSE THAT GETS ANYBODY, BUT ABOUT CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT AROUND THE FALLS, WHICH WAS MORE OF THIS NATURAL LOOK AND FEEL. A BEAUTIFUL CONCEPT.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED AND CALVERT VAUX'S HISTORIC 1887 PLAN FOR NIAGARA WAS LEFT TO OTHERS TO COMPLETE. THEIR ORIGINAL PLAN FOR A SIMPLE, NATURALISTIC PARK INCREMENTALLY SHIFTED OVER TIME. ACCOMMODATIONS WERE MADE FOR MONUMENTS, AUTOMOBILES, AND AMENITIES FOR AN EVER-GROWING NUMBER OF VISITORS. THROUGH TIME, YOU KIND OF DRIFT AWAY FROM THE ORIGINAL CONCEPTS AND AS SOCIETY CHANGES, YOU'VE GOTTA DEAL WITH THOSE FORCES.

WHAT OLMSTED DIDN'T PLAN FOR AND COULD NEVER HAVE FORESEEN, IS 8-1/2 MILLION PEOPLE. A LOT OF PEOPLE VISITING THE FALLS WILL PARK THEIR CAR WITHIN 300 FEET OF THE BRINK OF THE FALLS. THEY'LL BLAST OVER TO SEE THE FALLS, TAKE THEIR PICTURES, JUMP IN THEIR CAR AND HEAD OFF TO CANADA. IT'S A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAN WHAT OLMSTED HAD FOR HIS VISITORS, WHICH WAS SLOWLY INTRODUCING THEM TO THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE, ALL OF THE SENSES INVOLVED THAT EVENTUALLY LED TO COMING TO THE BRINK AND SEEING THE FALLS IN ALL OF THEIR MAJESTY.

(RUSHING WATER) (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) THE PARK HASN'T HAD A MAJOR UPGRADE TO ITS LANDSCAPE SINCE THE 1960'S. WHEN YOU'RE PUTTING THROUGH THE MILLIONS OF VISITORS IN THE PARK EACH YEAR THAT WE DO, THE WEAR AND TEAR TAKES ITS TOLL AND NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO IN THE PARK TODAY, YOU CAN SEE SIGNS OF THAT WEAR. IT IS THE FIRST STATE PARK IN AMERICA AND ONE COULD ARGUE THAT OUR STATE HASN'T BEEN ABLE TO BE THE STEWARD THAT WE MIGHT WISH RELATIVE TO WHAT IT REPRESENTS. IN 2012, ON THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF OLMSTED AND VAUX'S HISTORIC PLAN, THE STATE OF NEW YORK COMMITTED $25 MILLION FOR FIRST PHASE RENOVATIONS TO ITS MOST POPULAR STATE PARK.

WE USED THE OLMSTED AND VAUX PRINCIPLES. I THINK WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS IS LOOK AT THIS PARK THROUGH THEIR LENSES, THROUGH THEIR WAYS THEY APPROACHED THINGS AND DESIGN ACCORDINGLY AND THAT IS ALWAYS AN INTERPRETATION. I THINK WHAT WE'VE GOTTA DO IS DO OUR BEST JOB AND TRY AND REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH THOSE PRINCIPLES AND GO FROM THERE. AS ICONOCLASTIC AND AS IMPORTANT A GUY AS OLMSTED WAS, I DON'T THINK THAT HE WOULD PREFER THAT WE SIMPLY PRESERVE HIS WORK BECAUSE HE WAS WHAT HE WAS.

HE WAS ALWAYS AWARE THAT PARKS AND LANDSCAPES WERE LIVING THINGS AND WERE CHANGING. IN BUFFALO, OLMSTED'S VISION WAS MORE FULLY REALIZED THAN AT NIAGARA. CONSTRUCTION OF THE ORIGINAL PARK SYSTEM WAS COMPLETED BY 1876. QUICKLY THEREAFTER, THE CITY GREW INTO OLMSTED'S PARK.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) OLMSTED AND HIS SONS EVENTUALLY DESIGNED THREE MORE PARKS FOR THE CITY. BY THE TIME OF BUFFALO'S PAN AMERICAN EXPOSITION IN 1901 THE CITY BOASTED ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE URBAN PARK SYSTEMS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. HE BELIEVED WE WERE GONNA GROW DRAMATICALLY AND HE DESIGNED A VERY AMBITIOUS PARK AND PARKWAY SYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO THAT. WE DID GROW.

WE TOOK FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND THEN FRANKLY, WE LOST OUR WAY. (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) THERE'S A LONG HISTORY ABOUT THE BUFFALO PARK SYSTEM AND THERE WAS A TERRIBLE NEGLECT AS THERE WAS IN SO MANY AMERICAN CITIES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR. AND IT MEANT THE LOSS OF COMPLETE SECTIONS OF PARKWAYS. WE'RE RUNNING EXPRESSWAYS THROUGH MAJOR PARKS.

THE ENCOURAGING THING IS THAT THERE IS AN INCREASING AWARENESS OF PEOPLE IN BUFFALO OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT SYSTEM, THE WAY THAT IT GIVES A DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER TO THE CITY. THE PAST WAS A GOLDEN AGE WHEN OLMSTED CAME AND IN THE 150 YEARS SINCE THEN A LOT OF CHANGE HAS TAKEN PLACE, BUT THE PARKS HAVE REMAINED AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND THEY HAVE SHAPED THE NEIGHBORHOODS. WE'VE SEEN OURSELVES RESTRUCTURE OUR ECONOMY AND SHRINK, BUT THE BONES OF THOSE PARKS ARE STILL THERE. THE NETWORK CONNECTING THEM IS LARGELY RETRIEVABLE OR IN PLACE.

SO THE IDEA IS TO ONCE AGAIN REESTABLISH THE KIND OF QUALITY OF LIFE THAT THOSE PARKS SYMBOLIZE AND BRING THE CITY BACK INTO THE PARK. ABOUT A DECADE AGO, THE CONSERVANCY GOT INVOLVED IN RESTORING THESE TRAFFIC CIRCLES. IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IT, THIS WAS COMPLETELY PAVED. AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO PUT BACK THE ORIGINAL DESIGN BASED ON OLMSTED'S PLANS AND EACH OF THE CIRCLES ARE RESTORED AND ARE BEAUTIFULLY MAINTAINED.

AND AT THE TIME, THESE BEAUTIFUL HOMES WERE SELLING, IF YOU WERE LUCKY, FOR ABOUT $25,000 A PIECE. TODAY ADD A ZERO OR MORE. I MEAN, THEY'RE SELLING FOR A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE AND THEY SELL LIKE HOTCAKES. AND WHAT THAT ALLOWS US IS TO TAKE THIS WHAT I CALL GREEN ANCHORS THAT THREAD THROUGHOUT OUR ENTIRE CITY AND BUILD ON THEM TO HELP COMMUNITIES REVIVE.

WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS IMPROVE OUR PARK SYSTEM TO FIT THE NEEDS OF THE RESIDENTS TODAY IN A WAY THAT STAYS TRUE TO THE HISTORIC ELEMENTS OF THIS SYSTEM. WE ARE AN OLMSTED CITY. THE OLMSTED PARK SYSTEM WILL BE AN INTEGRAL PART OF ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE CITY OF BUFFALO. THEY'RE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO THE NEW BUFFALO AS THEY WERE TO THE OLD BUFFALO WHEN THEY WERE FIRST DESIGNED.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) IN 1888, THE YEAR AFTER OLMSTED AND CALVERT VAUX RELEASED THEIR DESIGN FOR NIAGARA FALLS STATE PARK, OLMSTED'S FRIEND WILLIAM DORSHEIMER DIED. HE WAS BURIED IN BUFFALO ON AN OVERLOOK ABOVE ONE OF THE PARKS OLMSTED SITED ON THE DAY THEY FIRST MET. SEVEN YEARS LATER, FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, HIS MEMORY FAILING, RETIRED AND HANDED HIS PRACTICE OVER TO HIS SONS. HE DIED IN 1903 NOT EVEN REMEMBERING WHO HE WAS.

HIS LEGACY ENDURES IN THE 6,000 LANDSCAPES HE, CALVERT VAUX AND HIS SONS LEFT BEHIND ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. IT ENDURES AS WELL IN BUFFALO WHERE OLMSTED'S FIRST ATTEMPT TO CREATE A CITY WITHIN A PARK, A CONCEPT LATER REPEATED IN BOSTON AND ELSEWHERE, STILL SHAPES THE CITY HE ONCE CALLED "THE BEST PLANNED IN AMERICA." AND AT NIAGARA, WHERE SOME SEMBLANCE OF THE PRISTINE LANDSCAPE FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED FIRST SAW AS A CHILD STILL SURVIVES FOR OTHERS. I THINK THE LASTING INFLUENCE IS THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT NATURAL EXPERIENCE. I'VE WALKED THE NIAGARA RESERVATION EVERY DAY FOR EIGHT YEARS AND I'VE MET PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND THEY DIDN'T COME FOR WHAT WAS ON THAT OTHER SIDE.

THEY CAME FOR THAT PARK THAT WAS THERE. THAT WAS WHAT THEY REALLY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO COME TO. I GREW UP WITH OLMSTED AND I THINK I TOOK OLMSTED FOR GRANTED, HAVING SO MANY BEAUTIFUL, MATURE PARKS AND BOULEVARDS AND ROUNDABOUTS. THEY'RE A CRITICAL PART OF BUFFALO'S IDENTITY.

OLMSTED WAS A VISIONARY. HE WAS AN AMAZING PERSON AND WHAT HE GAVE TO US WAS AN INCREDIBLE LEGACY. NOT ONLY OF THE PARKS, BUT OF IDEAS ABOUT HOW NATURE INTERFACES WITH URBAN ENVIRONMENT. I SOMETIMES THINK ABOUT WHAT A BLESSING IT HAS BEEN THAT OLMSTED CAME HERE AND THAT HE DID THIS AND HE LEFT THIS FOR US.

OLMSTED SAW WHAT NATURE DID TO HIM AND HE WAS GONNA MAKE THAT WORK FOR OTHER PEOPLE. AND I CAN TELL YOU, IT DOES. IT REALLY DOES. (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) "FREDRICK

LAW OLMSTED

DESIGNING WESTERN NEW YORK" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE MARGARET L. WENDT FOUNDATION. (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) (INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC) CLOSED CAPTIONS BY CAPTIONLINK WWW.CAPTIONLINK.COM