This page was created by Jane Darcovich. The last update was by Dan Harper.

This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

To Protect and Preserve: An Early History of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois, 1900-1930

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903)

Although Frederick Law Olmsted passed away a decade before the establishment of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, his influence on its formation - and the creation of parks and nature preserves across the United States - is undeniable. He earned his reputation as one of the nation's premier landscape architects serving as Superintendent of New York’s Central Park in the 1860s and after designing the "Emerald Necklace" of Boston’s park system. His impact on Chicago is probably most evident from his role in designing the suburban town of Riverside and in his contributions to the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. In their report to the Chicago City Council, Dwight Perkins and Jens Jensen frequently pointed to Olmsted’s work in other urban areas as a prototype for what they wanted for Cook County.

This page has paths:

Contents of this path:

This page references:

Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) Dwight Perkins and Jens Jensen frequently pointed to Frederick Law Olmsted's work as a prototype for parks and preserve creation in Cook County. He served as superintendent of New York's Central Park in the 1860s, and contributed to numerous projects, such as Boston's park system, the design of Riverside, Illinois, and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Charles Moore, Daniel H. Burnham: Architect, Planner of Cities,volume 1, 1921, page 32. Lawrence J. Gutter Collection of Chicagoana, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois Chicago Library.