The Olmsted firm in Canada: a correction of the record

Human and biophysical legacies shape contemporary urban forests: A literature synthesis

“…The eminent American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. -who designed Central Park in New York, New York among many other parks -later designed Mount Royal Park in Montréal, Quebec (Murray, 1967). Olmsted's so-called "disciples" designed many more urban parks in Canada (Pollock-Ellwand, 2006). Meanwhile, street trees were extensively planted by private residents in the late 1800s for shade and ornamental values in Ottawa, Ontario, with politicians seeking to emulate the tree-lined streets in US cities (Dean, 2005).…”

The prolific interpreter of the Olmsted vision: Frederick G. Todd, Canada’s first landscape architect

“…Through no fault of the Olmsteds, many of their grandest Canadian plans, such as a redesign of Toronto's waterfront 136 never went beyond the enormous and magnificent linen panorama's now stored in the bowels of Toronto's Harbour Commission Building. Most significantly, more of Todd's work was in the public realm, while in Canada many of the realized Olmsted projects were for private clients 137 .…”