NAOP News

Washington, D.C. – The Board and staff of the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) mourn the death of our friend and trustee, Morton “Jerry” Baum, who passed away on May 5, 2013.

Jerry served on the NAOP board of directors from 2000 until his death, and was board co-chair from 2001-2005.  He also served on the board of Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes from 1984-1987, and lived with his wife Serena in a neighborhood designed by the Olmsted Brothers, Roland Park, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Washington, D.C. – The National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) announces the launch of Olmsted Online, an interactive website to showcase Olmsted landscapes. In partnership with the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, National Park Service, and Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks, NAOP initiated a pilot project to digitize historic documents for Olmsted Brothers-designed parks and parkways and boulevards in Seattle, Washington. Olmsted Online also includes information for more than 200 private and public Olmsted projects across Washington State, and thousands of other landscapes throughout North America, from the grounds of public institutions to private residences, university campuses, arboreta, playgrounds and more.

Washington, D.C.— Each year, the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) presents the Olmsted Legacy Award to recognize excellence in preserving and advancing the work of the Olmsted firm.  NAOP invites the public to celebrate the Olmsted heritage by submitting nominations for the 2013 Olmsted Legacy Award for Excellence in Preservation.

Washington, D.C.—From May 3–6, 2013, the trustees of the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) will gather in Boulder and Colorado Springs to experience the work of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., 20^th-century landscape architect, environmental planner and formative figure in American city and regional planning.

Washington, D.C.—The National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) announces a $75,000 grant award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support ongoing work on the Frederick Law Olmsted Papers Project. Once completed, the Olmsted Papers will make readily available, in a 12-volume print edition and online, the most significant letters, reports, newspaper and journal articles, and landscape plans of Frederick Law Olmsted, the nineteenth-century social critic, landscape architect, travel writer, and city planner.

Brookline, MA –The Charles E. Beveridge Research Fellowship honors an eminent scholar, editor of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted, and devoted friend of Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site (Fairsted) and its archives and collections.

Washington, DC – After a thorough search, the National Association for Olmsted Parks is pleased to announce that Kristen Palumbo Handy has been appointed as the new Director of Development and Membership, effective January 14, 2013.

Emily Walton, NAOP’s Director of Development and Membership, will be leaving NAOP at the end of the year to pursue a new opportunity.  We are excited for Emily and wish her well in her new position! 

East Aurora, New York — On Tuesday, October 16, 2012 the National Association for Olmsted Parks (NAOP) honored Jeremy and Margaret Jacobs of East Aurora, New York, with the inaugural Olmsted Legacy Award. The award, presented to an individual or organization for excellence in preserving and advancing the work of the Olmsted firm, was given in recognition of the efforts made by the Jacobs family in preserving their Olmsted-designed landscape at Deeridge North Estate.

Stanford, CA- NAOP is pleased to announce its partnership with Stanford University’s Bill Lane Center for the American West and Heritage Services to present Part 2 of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.’s Lasting Legacy: Parks, Planning, and Practice, March 27-28, 2014, in Stanford, California.

Kicking off in Washington, DC at the National Building Museum, October 10-11, 2013, the two symposia will be the most comprehensive presentations to date of the full scope of Olmsted’s work and leadership. 

Symposium partners—including the National Building Museum, American Planning Association, Stanford University, and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts—are collaborating to present and explore Olmsted’s work and influence in the context of contemporary challenges in landscape architecture, preservation and planning.