Best Planned City Slated for June Release
Best Planned City Slated for June Release
On the heels of Community by Design, published in April, comes the first book in the LALH Designing the American Park series, The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux, and the Buffalo Park System by Francis R. Kowsky.
Beginning in 1868, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created a series of parks and parkways for Buffalo, New York, that drew national and international attention. The improvements carefully augmented the city’s original plan with urban design features inspired by Second Empire Paris, including the first system of “parkways” to grace an American city. Displaying the plan at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Olmsted declared Buffalo “the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world.”
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On June 17th, one lucky Facebook fan will win a free signed copy. Like LALH on Facebook to enter!
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In this book, Francis Kowksy illuminates this remarkable constellation of projects. Using original plans, drawings, photographs, and copious numbers of reports and letters, he brings new perspective to this vast undertaking, analyzing it as a cohesive expression of the visionary landscape and planning principles that Olmsted and Vaux pioneered. Published by LALH and the University of Massachusetts Press, The Best Planned City in the World will be available in mid-June. Click here to order.
A panel discussion about the park system’s history through recent preservation initiatives is planned for July 13. The Buffalo Olmsted Park Conservancy celebrates its annual Frederick Law Olmsted Gala on July 12, featuring a book signing by Kowsky. Gala tickets are on sale now. Click here for details.
