About this Event
Richardson Building, 40 Washington Street, Quincy, MA, 02169
“Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America”
Laurence will convey the public park movement and the origin of the modern field of landscape
architecture, as practiced by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., his two sons, and the
Brookline-based Olmsted Bros. landscape architecture firm. The content draws upon
English garden design, Transcendentalism, the Hudson River School, the City Beautiful
movement, and social reform. Laurence will paint a picture of Frederick Law Olmsted as
a true “Renaissance man” of his era. If he were alive today, Olmsted would be
described as one of our principal “influencers.” The talk is enhanced with numerous
historical images and a selective present-day survey of Olmsted landscapes—public
and private—across North America. The Quincy talk will include additional material on
the Olmsted landscape legacy that can be found in Eastern Massachusetts.
About the Presenter
Laurence Cotton is a practicing public historian and writer/producer of biographical and
historical films for public television. Originally from the Boston area and educated at
Hampshire College in the Connecticut River Valley, Laurence has called the Pacific
Northwest home for thirty years. Laurence has originated and produced several
documentaries, including recent films about Stewart Udall and Katharine Lee Bates, the
Wellesley poet who wrote “America the Beautiful.” He is most well known as the
originator and producer of the nationally broadcast PBS special Frederick Law Olmsted:
Designing America. As a landscape historian, Laurence travels around the U.S.,
delivering popular PowerPoint talks about the Olmsted design legacy. When not working
on film projects, Laurence serves as a historical lecturer for small ship cruise lines,
plying the waterways of North America. Laurence was the Director of the Cambridge
Forum, a lecture series and public radio program. He was a senior aide in the
Massachusetts State Senate, served as Executive Director of the World Affairs Council
of Oregon, and played a leadership role in planning the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Thomas Crane Public Library, 40 Washington Street, Quincy, United States
USD 0.00
