Druid Hill Park American Parks Movement & the Olmsted Brothers FMOPL Digest olmstedmaryland.org Druid Hill Park, celebrating its the nation. Indeed, Olmstedian to perform various planning and 150th anniversary this year, is is part of America's lexicon. From design tasks throughout the city, a majestic model of one of the the 1870s to the 1890s, FLO did including isolated projects within landscape design traditions of perform some park work in Bal- Druid Hill Park. its day— the 19th century Eng- timore, including the 1875 de- lish country landscape park. sign for the four parks in Mount Howard Daniels— A Design Baltimoreans are sometimes sur- Vernon Place. Pioneer of the American Parks prised to learn that the park was Movement not designed by Frederick Law Complicating the Olmsted influ- The development of Central Park Olmsted (FLO), the father of ence in Druid Hill Park is the fact is often recognized as a seminal landscape architecture and de- that the firm Olmsted Brothers moment of the American Parks signer of Central Park, New York, Landscape Architects (OBLA), Movement in the 19th century. of the same era. Druid Hill's ma- continued after his death in 1903 Public discourse and political will jor framework of pastoral lawns, by his stepson John Charles Olm- turned to providing large expans- the lake, sublime forest and cur- sted and son Frederick Law Olm- es of public open space for the vilinear carriageways was molded, sted, Jr., performed many works enjoyment and well-being of city rather, by a contemporary of FLO, in Baltimore. Through their 1904 residents. Like many movements, During the early decades of Druid Hill Park, the “Landscape Gardener” How- Report Upon the Development of popular history tends to distill the the pastoral beauty of the Boat Lake, Zoo and ard Daniels. Starting in 1860, Public Grounds for Greater Balti- agents of change to the names of woodland roadways attracted park visitors from Daniels oversaw the implementa- more, OBLA had a profound im- a few. In reality, movements suc- across the Baltimore region. tion of his plans for the park at pact on Baltimore’s park system, ceed through the skill and deter- Photo courtesy of Enoch Pratt Free Library, Central Library/ the request of the Baltimore Park leaving a legacy that continues to mination of many. Howard Dan- State Library Resource Center, Baltimore, Maryland. Commission. A number of other inspire comprehensive planning iels, an architect and landscape Baltimore park practitioners had today. gardener relatively unknown to- not have begun without the sig- ginning in the 1840s, these civic significant influence as well. day, held his rightful place with nificant advocacy of influential leaders lobbied for public spaces Druid Hill Park, already half a FLO and others as a part of the people such as William Cullen in the tradition of Hyde Park The reason for the occasional century old in 1904, was recog- American Parks Movement. Bryant, poet and editor of the in London. During the 1850s, misattribution of Olmsted to nized in this report as part of a [New York] Evening Post and An- FLO, Daniels, and many others Druid Hill is undoubtedly his grand interconnected system of The genesis of 19th century large drew Jackson Downing, a promi- traveled in Europe, and debated legacy of landscape architecture open space. Later, the Baltimore urban parks, still ubiquitous in nent landscape gardener and and wrote extensively on their extending from New York across Park Commission hired OBLA many of America's cities, could editor of The Horticulturist. Be- ideas concerning the parks of Europe and how these ideas Hill Park. He oversaw the park’s Park Engineers and Architects should be applied to American development over the next three Continue the Work cities. years at the rate of 10 dollars per After Daniels’ death, Park En- day. Writing in The Horticulturist, gineer Augusts Faul continued In 1853, the New York legislature Daniels promoted the develop- to supervise the development of designated 700 acres of land for ment of large urban parks as “the Druid Hill Park. An obituary in the Central Park project, and in next great step in rural progress.” the Gardeners Monthly and Horti- 1857 a landscape design contest Sadly, Daniels died in Baltimore culturist referred to him as head of was held. Architect Calvert Vaux in 1863 at the age of 48— 32 landscape engineering. Influenc- planned to enter with Andrew years before FLO, Sr. would re- ing major design elements in the Jackson Downing until Down- tire after a long, fruitful career. park were George A. Frederick, ing died in a steamboat accident Daniels is buried in a cemetery of architect; John H. B. Latrobe, on the Hudson River. Vaux then his design— Greenlawn in Co- park commissioner; and Charles paired with Downing's student, lumbus, Ohio. H. B. Latrobe, engineer. Frederick Law Olmsted. Their design, Greensward, placed first Annual reports from the Balti- George A. Frederick, Park Ar- in the competition, while How- more Park Commission (BPC) chitect from 1862 to 1895, in ard Daniels’ Manhattan Plan summarize the early development consultation with John H. B. placed fourth. of Druid Hill Park, but there are Latrobe, designed many of Druid no known drawings of the im- Hill’s structures in picturesque Daniels’ career as a landscape provements attributed to Dan- Gothic Revival and Exotic Reviv- gardener spanned 20 years. His iels. The earliest known drawing al styles. One of Frederick’s ear- first major design on record, is an 1871 lithograph of existing liest improvements to the park, Spring Grove Cemetery in Cin- features. According to these re- under the direction of John H. cinnati (nearly 800 acres and 14 ports, the Rogers estate was al- B. Latrobe, was to add a 20-foot lakes), predates Olmsted’s work ready “laid out in the best style wide, open-air porch around the on Central Park by 13 years. The of English landscape gardening . estate mansion, with Victorian romantic picturesque design tra- . .” At the time of Daniels’ death detailing, transforming the man- dition of the rural park cemetery the park consisted of roads, walks sion into a massive park pavilion. was a precursor to the American and lakes. Druid Lake Dam— at Frederick is famous for designing Parks Movement, and this period the time the largest earthen dam Baltimore City Hall (1867) and is when Daniels’ practice was in the country (now a National the park’s Mount Royal Boulevard most prominent. Daniels called Historic Engineering Land- entry pylons (c.1880) in the or- the rural cemetery a “peculiarly mark)— was completed in 1872. nate French Empire style. Origi- American institution.” Green The only architectural elements nally, the pylons framed an entry- (Top) Sheep tended the south terrace of the Rogers Mansion, now the head- Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, were the Rogers estate Federal way that skirted the now extinct quarters of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. established in 1839, is part of this style mansion and Silver Spring, round reservoir of Reservoir Hill. (Middle) A postcard image of two popular park attractions: the Conserva- tradition. a Gothic ornamented springhead During construction of the Jones tory and the adjacent tennis courts. north of the mansion. Daniels Falls Expressway, the pylons were In 1860, the Baltimore Park is credited with designating the removed and stored. The Historic (Bottom)The grand Madison Avenue entrance gateway welcomed those who rode the trolleys to Baltimore’s metropolitan park. Commission hired Daniels to mansion and its south lawn as the Mount Royal Community (Res- survey property and lay out heart of the park. ervoir Hill) advocated for their Photo images courtesy of Maryland State Archives. walks, drives and lakes for Druid reinstallation at North Avenue by the expressway ramps in 1988. tensive planting, grading and cir- Frederick’s grandest gateway to culation plans, details for walls, Druid Hill Park stands at Madi- paving, and fencing, in addition son Street (Avenue) to commem- to settings for sculpture and orate the building of the park and swimming pools. Not all OBLA was inspired by the Brandenburg projects were implemented, and Gate in Berlin. some no longer survive. One of the most recognizable remaining Charles H. B. Latrobe, Park Engi- projects is the paving pattern of neer, designed the large octagonal yellow brick on the mall behind rain shelters throughout the park. the conservatory. The iron trusses under the mas- sive round roofs reflect his bridge Much of OBLA's work involved expertise and aesthetic. Latrobe improvements to the southern also designed the graceful iron edge of the park where the firm arches for the original Cedar Av- proposed walks and planting enue Bridge (the remaining fence strips to create a separation be- now stretches along Pratt Street tween the park and the Brooks by the National Aquarium), con- estate to the immediate south structed in 1890 to span the Jones of Druid Lake. The entryway at Falls east from Druid Hill Park. Fulton Avenue was substantially enhanced under the direction Role of Olmsted Brothers of OBLA. At the base of the Landscape Architects Druid dam, OBLA sited the large The 1904 Report Upon the De- bronze Union Soldiers and Sailors velopment of Public Grounds for monument, dedicated in 1909, Greater Baltimore marked the and now located in Wyman Park The popularity of Druid Hill beginning of years of collabo- Dell at the corner of N. Charles Park is resurging as witnessed ration between the Baltimore and 29th Streets. Sadly, construc- by the renewed energy of the Park Commission and OBLA, tion of Druid Park Lake Drive Friends of Druid Hill Park and including a variety of projects in 1947 and the Jones Falls Ex- an increasingly diverse constitu- in Druid Hill.