Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker. In 1883, Olmsted moved his home to suburban Boston and established “Fairsted”, the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design. Over the course of the next century, his sons and successors expanded and perpetuated Olmsted's design ideals, philosophy, and influence.
Park resources include the recently restored “Fairsted” historic landscape and a century-old design office which remains virtually unchanged from the days when the Olmsted firm’s activity was at its height. Housed within the office complex are nearly 1,000,000 original design records detailing work on many of America’s most treasured landscapes including the U. S. Capitol and White House Grounds; Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia National Parks; Yosemite Valley; New York's Central Park; and whole park systems in cities such as Buffalo, Seattle, Boston and Louisville. The Olmsteds also played an influential role in the creation of the National Park Service, which coincidentally owns and maintains the Olmsted site today.
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site is currently closed to visitors due to major construction on the grounds. The site is expected to reopen to the public in the second half of 2011.
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