Project Details Page

synopsis

Buffalo, NY, served as the backdrop for Olmsted to put his ideals into practice and design his first complete park system. As shown in Olmsted and Vaux’s 1869-1870 plan (00700-9-pt1), the Buffalo Park System consisted of three primary park areas, each connected by a complex set of pathways and parkways.

Buffalo, NY, served as the backdrop for Olmsted to put his ideals into practice and design his first complete park system. As shown in Olmsted and Vaux’s 1869-1870 plan (00700-9-pt1), the Buffalo Park System consisted of three primary park areas, each connected by a complex set of pathways and parkways. At the time, the three green spaces were known as The Park, featuring a lake and 200 acres of picturesque landscape, The Front, located along the edge of Lake Erie, and The Parade, a recreation area designed for sport and play. Over the years they have been renamed Delaware Park (00705), Front Park (00706), and Martin Luther King Jr. Park (00717), respectively. The system is seen as one of the most comprehensive of its time, and was compared to the boulevards of Paris. Upon completion, the Buffalo parkways were 200-feet wide and planted generously with 4 rows of trees.

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