The Olmsted Vision: Parks for Birmingham
The Olmsted Vision: Parks for Birmingham is a 1924 report to the City of Birmingham from the Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm which recommended creating a linked series of greenways and parks along waterways and mountain ridges throughout the Birmingham district. The report was published in 1925 by the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board.
Implementation of the plan was limited, as city leaders chose more often to invest in built infrastructure for recreation rather than secure green space for future parks. The decision not to prevent development of the Village Creek flood plain proved costly, as homes constructed from the 1920s on are still being bought and demolished.
2006 publication
The Olmsted Vision: Parks for Birmingham is also the name of a 2006 publication by Marjorie Longenecker White and Heather McArn for the Birmingham Historical Society reproducing and analyzing that plan in detail. Historical accounts show what happened with the plan in the hands of city leaders, while the authors' research allows for the 1924 plan to be presented alongside other parks and landscapes designed by the Olmsteds and parks in Birmingham, such as Linn Park, Rushton Park, and the master plan for the development of the suburb of Mountain Brook, that were designed with some of the same principles.
In addition, the book presents some contemporary examples of park plans that conform to the 1924 plan, including the master plan for a Five Mile Creek greenway and other projects completed by the Auburn University Center for Architecture and Urban Studies.
An exhibit based on the book will be on display at the Birmingham Public Library through December 2006.
References
- Bryant, Walter (October 14, 2006) "Plan of 1925 proves evergreen." Birmingham News.
External links
- The Olmsted Vision: Parks for Birmingham at bhistorical.org