Theodore Osmundson, FASLA, Named ?EUR??,,????'??Person of the Year?EUR??,,????'??

Theodore Osmundson & Associates was the consultant for the design and landscaping of the155-acre Lafreniere Park. Mr. Osmundson?EUR??,,????'???s public service to the park makes him the first nonresident honored by the park advisory board.

Metairie, La.?EUR??,,????'??+The Lafreniere Park Advisory Board has named San Francisco landscape architect Theodore Osmundson its ?EUR??,,????'??Person of the Year?EUR??,,????'?? for his master design of Lafreniere Park about 30 years ago, and for the many occasions he has given freely of his ideas and direction to the board.

This honor has never been bestowed on a nonresident in the 23-year history of the award.

Theodore Osmundson & Associates was the consultant for the design and landscaping of the155-acre park beginning in 1973, teaming with James Fondren and Associates of New Orleans to produce a master plan for the park's overall design. Meyer and Associates of Metairie produced the architectural and construction drawings and supervised construction. The park plan was adopted by the Jefferson Parish Council adopted in 1975.

Lafreniere Park is in central Metairie, an unincorporated suburb just northwest of New Orleans. The park features lagoons; a manmade swamp and hills; playgrounds; a Frisbee golf course; baseball fields; covered shelters; a two mile jogging path; and two outdoor recreational centers.

The only significant change in the master plan was a decision not to develop a tennis complex. By the time funding was available for that stage, it was decided that soccer fields would be more utilized, given the increasing participation in youth soccer.

Osmundson, 82, has visited the park a number of times over the years. His son, Gordon, also a landscape architect, worked on the park?EUR??,,????'???s master plan.

The firm is just completing the master plan of the 610-acre Parc Des Familles planned along the Lafitte-Larose Highway near Crown Point in Metairie.

Theodore Osmundson is a past president of the ASLA and the Landscape Architects and the International Federation of Landscape Architects. He?EUR??,,????'???s the author of Roof Gardens: History,Design and Construction.