Olmsted and Eliot Parkway Designs May be Restored

Frederick Law Olmsted was a leading landscape architect of the post-Civil War generation, and has long been acknowledged as the founder of American landscape architecture.
Photo courtesy of America's Library

The hopes of residents and commuters in West Roxbury, Mass. are growing. The city council has scheduled meetings to discuss the renovation of 19th century parkways designed by Charles Eliot and Frederick Law Olmsted. The parkways were designed to accommodate travel by coach or on foot to Boston's parks; however, present-day traffic conditions have overwhelmed the narrow, winding roads and those who live near them. City Councilor John M. Tobin Jr. told the Boston Globe that he plans to schedule a parkway summit meeting in the coming months.

Charles Eliot is considered the founder the land trust movement. In 1891, he established the Trustees of Reservations in Boston, six years before his early death at age 37.
Photo courtesy of richardbrewer.org