Olmsted Associates A Register of Its Records in the Library of Congress Prepared by Paul D. Ledvina with the assistance of Susie H. Moody, Karen Stuart, and Joseph Sullivan Revised by Michael Spangler and Patrick Kerwin Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2000 Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2001 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms001018 Latest revision: 2004-09-22 Collection Summary Title: Records of the Olmsted Associates Span Dates: 1863-1971 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1884-1950) ID No.: MSS52571 Creator: Olmsted Associates Extent: 170,000 items; 648 containers plus 13 oversize; 255 linear feet; 531 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in English Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Landscape architectural firm. The records include correspondence, letterbooks, memoranda, reports, plans, specifications, newspaper clippings, photographs, drawings, journals, account books, ledgers, lists, diagrams, blueprints, deeds, and printed matter constituting the business files of the firm and reflecting the breadth of the projects undertaken by its staff. A small group of Olmsted family papers is also contained in the collection. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. Names: Olmsted Associates Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952--Correspondence Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924--Correspondence Olmstead family Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946--Correspondence Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912--Correspondence Rockefeller, John D. (John Davison), 1874-1960--Correspondence Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907--Correspondence Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930--Correspondence Vanderbilt, George Washington, 1862-1914--Correspondence Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915--Correspondence United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.) White House (Washington, D.C.) Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909 : Seattle, Wash.) Pan-American Exposition (1901 : Buffalo, N.Y.) World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903. Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957. Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted Olmsted, John Charles, 1852-1920. Papers of John Charles Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (Firm). Records of the firm Frederick Law Olmsted F.L. and J.C. Olmsted (Firm : 1884-1889). Records of the F.L. and J.C. Olmsted (1884-1889) F.L. Olmsted and Company. Records of the F.L. Olmsted and Company Olmsted, Olmsted, and Eliot. Records of Olmsted, Olmsted, and Eliot F.L. and J.C. Olmsted (Firm : 1897-1898). Records of the firm F.L. and J.C. Olmsted (1897-1898) Olmsted Brothers. Records of the Olmsted Brothers Subjects: Dwellings Exhibitions--Illinois Exhibitions--New York (State) Exhibitions--Washington (State) Gardens Landscape architecture Landscape architecture--Connecticut--Hartford Records of the Olmsted Associates 2 Landscape architecture--Maryland--Baltimore Landscape architecture--New York (State)--New York Landscape architecture--New York (State)--Buffalo Landscape architecture--Washington (D.C.) Nurseries (Horticulture) Parks--Connecticut--Hartford Parks--Maryland--Baltimore Parks--New York (State)--New York Parks--New York (State)--Buffalo Parks--Washington (D.C.) Recreation areas Suburbs Universities and colleges Urban beautification White House Gardens (Washington, D.C.) Administrative Information Provenance: Records of the Olmsted Associates, Inc., a landscape architectural firm, were given to the Library of Congress in 1967 and 1971 by the firm's present owners. Additional material was given by the American Society of Landscape Architects in 1986. Microfilm copies of parts of the records were purchased, 1971-1973. Processing History: The records of the Olmsted Associates were arranged and described in 1972 and 1974. The records were reprocessed and prepared for microfilm in 1988. Copyright Status: Copyright in the unpublished writings of the firm in these records and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Microfilm: A microfilm copy of part of these records is available on 531 reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Records of the Olmsted Associates, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Scope and Content Note Records constituting the business files of the Olmsted Associates, Inc., landscape architects from the late nineteenth century to 1971, include material dated as early as 1863, though the bulk of the records spans the years 1884-1950. The records include correspondence, letterbooks, memoranda, reports, plans, specifications, newspaper clippings, photographs, drawings, journals, account books, ledgers, lists, diagrams, blueprints, deeds, and printed matter. The final series of the collection contains material relating to the Olmsted family, especially Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. (1822-1903), Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. (1870-1957), and John C. Olmsted. Letterbooks comprising Series A document the firm's work from 1884 to 1899 and contain carbon copies of business letters dealing with subcontractual arrangements, cost estimates, planting procedures and instructions, and requests for information regarding prospective employees. Personal correspondence occasionally filed with these business letters provides insight into the senior Frederick Law Olmsted's business and professional philosophy. Of particular interest is his letter dated 16 November Records of the Olmsted Associates 3 1891 to Francis G. Newlands reconfirming his ideas on suburban development expressed in many articles over the years. Olmsted stated his views on total area development in conformity with the natural beauty of the land rather than piecemeal tract and lot development disregarding future needs. Indexes to the letterbooks have been reproduced on two reels of microfilm and a printed copy is available in the Manuscript Division Reading Room. The Job File, Series B, contains correspondence, memoranda, and other material related to projects undertaken by the firm. The file also serves as an administrative file containing personnel and other records as well as a limited amount of personal papers, such as biographical articles relating to the Olmsted family. Many files in this series contain correspondence predating 1900 interfiled after the initiation of a later filing system. The Job Files series is especially comprehensive for undertakings reflecting tract development, the relationship between beautification and pragmatic land use, and political and private philanthropic efforts to create recreational land areas. The files include landscape designs, layouts, and work arrangements. Many of the reports and other material document financial arrangements for county and municipal park systems in addition to designs for roads, buildings, and gardens seen as interrelated activities in landscape architecture. Projects undertaken by the firm ranged in size from small estates to park systems of thousands of acres, including the development of the Baltimore, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Chicago, and Hartford public park systems as well as privately donated public areas such as Fort Tryon Park in New York City, the gift of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Other files relate to such universities as Harvard, Stanford, and Tufts, the United States Military Academy, and private estates including "Biltmore," George W. Vanderbilt's manor in North Carolina. Files pertaining to the District of Columbia contain extensive material on the Capitol and White House grounds, complemented by additional material in Series D, and on the National Zoo, the park system, the Grant and Lincoln memorials, and the work of the Washington Consultative Board and the Fine Arts Commission. Records of the firm's involvement in city planning and suburban development illustrate the Olmsteds' ideas regarding the systematic expansion of urban areas. George W. Vanderbilt and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., have extensive correspondence in the Job File. Other prominent figures represented include Frances Benjamin Johnston, Henry Cabot Lodge, Gifford Pinchot, Whitelaw Reid, August Saint-Gaudens, William Howard Taft, and Booker T. Washington. Complementing the Job File are two sets of indexes. The first, termed Job Books, is a numerical listing which includes jobs undertaken by the firm as well as projects in which the firm was interested but did not perform. The second index consists of a microfilm copy of the firm's index cards for the Job File, which lists jobs alphabetically, geographically, and by subject, though this latter index is not complete. Readers may also wish to consult Charles E. Beveridge and Carolyn F. Hoffman, The Master List of Design Projects of The Olmsted Firm, 1857-1950 (New York, 1987). Following the Job File are two series generally limited to office correspondence never interfiled into the main file. The General Correspondence series, largely routine in nature, contains work requests and comments on park and estate development. Filed with these letters is an exchange of correspondence in