Project Details Page

synopsis

The Olmsted Firm was involved with the Oakdale, NY, property from 1886 to the mid 1930s. The two-hundred-acre estate, also known as “Westbrook”, was owned by William Bayard Cutting. Working with architect Charles C. Haight, Frederick Law Olmsted, operating as the firm Olmsted, Olmsted, & Eliot, designed the open ground around the Tudor home in a naturalist style.

The Olmsted Firm was involved with the Oakdale, NY, property from 1886 to the mid 1930s. The two-hundred-acre estate, also known as “Westbrook”, was owned by William Bayard Cutting. Working with architect Charles C. Haight, Frederick Law Olmsted, operating as the firm Olmsted, Olmsted, & Eliot, designed the open ground around the Tudor home in a naturalist style. While limited plans have been found for the job, an 1887 preliminary plan shows a densely planted perimeter and a scattering of shrubs across the lawn. Correspondence from 1893 reveals modifications to the plan. The firm suggested pushing back the entrance gate from the road, as evidenced in plan 01047-16, planting white flowers and evergreens along the wall, and advised that “the trees within the enclosure should be considerably thinned out.” [Olmsted, Olmsted, & Eliot to W. Bayard Cutting_1893-11-07_LOC-OAR-A-im.116]

In 1936 the estate was donated to the Long Island Park Commission. It has grown to 640 acres and is now an arboretum and farm open to the public.

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