Frederick Law Olmsted was the founder of the profession of landscape architecture in America and the designer and planner of hundreds of landscape commissions across the country. In addition to these historic landscapes, Olmsted left an invaluable resource of personal and professional papers spanning the years of 1838 to 1895, which provide a unique perspective on American society and institutions in the nineteenth century.

From its inception in 1972, The Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project has undertaken to identify the most significant of these writings and to present them in context in a readable, published twelve-volume format.

Today, the Olmsted Papers Project is within sight of achieving this goal. Volumes 1–7 and Supplementary Series Volume 1 have been published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Together, they present the most significant of Olmsted’s writings from 1840–1882, as well as major reports on public parks drawn from his whole career. The next volume, Supplementary Series Volume 2, has been delivered to the press for publication in 2012. The manuscript for Volume 8: The Early Boston Years, 1882–1890 will be completed in 2011 for publication in late 2012. Editorial work on Volume 9: The Last Great Projects, 1890-1895--the last chronological volume in the series--began in July 2011, for delivery to the publisher in 2014.  Work on Supplementary Series Volume 3, the final volume, will also begin in 2011.

In addition to the editorial work required to keep to this schedule, the need to secure the necessary funding to proceed remains paramount.

Project Summary

Click here to view a PDF containing the The Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project summary.