FRIENDS OF FAIRSTED PAST LECTURES
2022–2023 LECTURES
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Before Central Park: A Conversation on Seneca Village
A discussion with Sara Cedar Miller and Carla L. Peterson
2021–2022 LECTURES
March 12, 2022
Olmsted and Yosemite: Civil War, Abolition, and the National Park Idea
A book talk by Rolf Diamant and Ethan Carr
December 2, 2021
Beauty, Efficiency, and Economy: A Life of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., Landscape Architect, Planner and Conservationist
Elizabeth Hope Cushing, landscape historian
2020–2021 LECTURES
April 26, 2021
Ecologies of Memory
Sara Zewde, Founding principal of Studio Zewde, Assistant Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
December 3, 2020
The Olmsted Brothers’ Planning in California: A Prescient Approach to Ecological Design
Christine E. O’Hara, Professor of Landscape Architecture, California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo
2019–2020 LECTURES
November 7, 2019
Climate Change and Urban Landscapes: Extending Olmsted’s Legacy
Chris Reed, Stoss Landscape Urbanism, Boston
2018–2019 LECTURES
December 5, 2018
Saving Central Park: A History and A Memoir
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers
2017–2018 LECTURES
April 3, 2018
What is a Park For? Olmsted, Obama, and the Meaning of Urban Landscape
Carlo Rotella, Director of the American Studies Program, Boston College
December 7, 2017
Beyond Drawings: The Olmsted Archives as Muse and Vision
Lucinda Brockway, Cultural Resources Program Director, The Trustees of Reservations
2016–2017 LECTURES
The Nature of Cities: Practice and Perception
March 9, 2017
Lewis Mumford’s Green Urbanism
Aaron Sachs, Professor of History and American Studies, Cornell University
December 1, 2016
From the Granite Garden to West Philadelphia (with a nod to the Fens): Restoring Nature & Communities
Anne Whiston Spirn, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning, MIT
2015–2016 LECTURES
In Recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service
America’s Best Idea: Fairsted, the Olmsteds and Our National Parks
Series Commentator: Anne Whiston Spirn
Professor of Landscape Architecture and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
April 5, 2016
Parks: Cornerstones of Civic Revitalization
Rolf Diamant, Adjunct Associate Professor, Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, UVM, Retired NPS Superintendent
December 3, 2015
Our National Parks and the “Fairsted School”: An Enduring Legacy
Ethan Carr, Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Massachusetts/AMHERST
2014–2015 LECTURES
Perspectives on Place
Series Commentator: Keith Morgan
Director of Architectural Studies, History of Art & Architecture Department
Boston University
March 12, 2015
Visible | Invisible
Gary Hilderbrand, Principal, Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architecture
Professor of Practice, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
December 11, 2014
Dwelling in Landscape
Daniel Bluestone, Director, Preservation Studies Program, Boston University
2013–2014 LECTURES
March 27, 2014
The Shaping of Regions: The New York Regional Plan and the Origins of Planning in America
Robert Yaro, President, Regional Plan Association
November 21, 2013
From Buffalo to Boston: Olmsted’s Evolving Vision of Urban Park Systems
Francis R. Kowsky, SUNY Professor of Fine Arts Emeritus
2012–2013 LECTURES
March 14, 2013
Brooklyn’s Resilient Edge: The Transformation of Industrial Waterfront into Brooklyn Bridge Park
Nate Trevethan, Senior Associate, Michael Van Valkenberg Associates
November 14, 2012
Time Made Visible: Charles Eliot and the Planning of the Metropolitan Park System
Anita Berrizbeitia, Professor, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
2011-2012 LECTURES
March 15, 2012
Frederick Law Olmsted 1882-1890: Boston, Brookline and Beyond
Ethan Carr, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
November 17, 2011
The Enduring Design Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. in the Nation’s Capital
Arleyn A. Levee, Landscape Historian
2009 LECTURE
October 28, 2009
The Olmsted Firm and Development of Brookline
Keith Morgan, Director of Architectural Studies, History of Art & Architecture Department, Boston University
RELATED EVENTS PAST LECTURES
2018 LECTURE
May 30, 2018
Renewal of the Blue Garden in Newport, Rhode Island
Sarah Vance, MLA, Director, the Blue Garden and
Arleyn A. Levee, Landscape Historian, Hon. ASLA
2017 LECTURE
October 12, 2017
Plans, Policy and Passion: How the Olmsteds Helped Shape the National Park System for the 21st Century
Ethan Carr, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Rolf Diamant, Adjunct associate professor at the University of Vermont, School of Environment and National Resources
Lauren Meier, ASLA
Lucy Lawliss, Co-chair of the National Association for Olmsted Parks