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Eden by Design: The 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew Plan for the Los Angeles Region
In 1930 the Olmsted Brothers and Harland Bartholomew & Associates submitted a report, "Parks, Playgrounds, and Beaches for the Los Angeles Region," to the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. After a day or two of coverage in the newspapers, the report dropped from sight. The plan set out a system of parks and parkways, children's playgrounds, and public beaches. It is a model of ambitious, intelligent, sensitive planning commissioned at a time when land was available, if only the city planners had had the fortitude and vision to act on its recommendations.
"Parks, Playgrounds, and Beaches" has become a highly valued but difficult-to-find document. In this book, Greg Hise and William Deverell examine the reasons it was called for, analyze why it failed, and open a discussion about the future of urban public space. In addition to their introduction and a facsimile reproduction of the report, Eden by Design includes a dialogue between Hise, Deverell, and widely admired landscape architect Laurie Olin that illuminates the significance of the Olmsted-Bartholomew report and situates it in the history of American landscape planning.
"Parks, Playgrounds, and Beaches" has become a highly valued but difficult-to-find document. In this book, Greg Hise and William Deverell examine the reasons it was called for, analyze why it failed, and open a discussion about the future of urban public space. In addition to their introduction and a facsimile reproduction of the report, Eden by Design includes a dialogue between Hise, Deverell, and widely admired landscape architect Laurie Olin that illuminates the significance of the Olmsted-Bartholomew report and situates it in the history of American landscape planning.
- GenresUrbanism
323 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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January 18, 2010
A really fascinating book. The bulk of it is simply a reproduction of the never-adopted 1930 Olmsted-Bartholomew parks plan for L.A. County, but there are some useful opening and closing notes, too. Bringing this plan to light is a major coup, though even after reading the opening notes I'm not 100% sure why it was shelved and forgotten.
The plan itself is remarkable in its scope and foresight. The team putting it together obviously did their homework, and it's kind of uncanny how many of the same issues that plagued us 80 years ago still linger to this day. The oddest element of the plan, though, is the parkways. O&B were convinced that it was necessary for Los Angeles to have a system of landscaped parkways dedicated to pleasure travel, and not once do they seem to consider that these pleasure drives could become congested parts of the regular transportation system here.
This book is really essential for understanding where we are today in L.A., though, paradoxically by focusing on what *didn't* happen.
The plan itself is remarkable in its scope and foresight. The team putting it together obviously did their homework, and it's kind of uncanny how many of the same issues that plagued us 80 years ago still linger to this day. The oddest element of the plan, though, is the parkways. O&B were convinced that it was necessary for Los Angeles to have a system of landscaped parkways dedicated to pleasure travel, and not once do they seem to consider that these pleasure drives could become congested parts of the regular transportation system here.
This book is really essential for understanding where we are today in L.A., though, paradoxically by focusing on what *didn't* happen.
Displaying 1 of 1 review