Book/Printed Material Supplemental report of the Commissioners of the state reservation at Niagara

Title

• Supplemental report of the Commissioners of the state reservation at Niagara

Summary

• This brief report prepared by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (the design team reponsible for Central Park) proposes a detailed plan to restore the immediate vicinity of Niagara Falls to its natural beauty, enhancing the experience of visitors to the newly-created State Reservation at Niagara. Such a restoration had been the basic goal behind the creation of the Reservation, an effort in which Olmsted himself had been the guiding force. Olmsted was also the most important figure in the development of American landscape architecture, a profession which came of age in this era because of many of the same elements in American culture that nourished the conservation movement. This report exemplifies the intersection of scenic preservation with the challenges of landscape design, demonstrating--in both aspects--Olmsted's mature thought and refined artistry. Since its intent is "to restore and conserve the natural surroundings of the Falls of Niagara, rather than to attempt to add anything thereto" (pp. 3-4), this proposal probes the delicate boundaries between humanly-imposed "improvement" and natural beauty, on the one hand, and between simply "let[ting] nature alone" (p. 18) and enhancing its scenic appeal, on the other. The report also anticipates fundamental questions--such as how to provide access without destroying beauty, and how to restore natural landscapes damaged by man--that later determined the complex identity of National Parks and other scenic preserves, and defined the central challenges of their management. The effort to restore the Niagara landscape, of which this report represents a part, required nearly two decades for its accomplishment, and ultimately drew on the services of several landscape architects. American Memory.

Names

• New York (State). Commissioners of state reservation at Niagara. [from old catalog]
• Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903
• Vaux, Calvert, 1824-1895. [from old catalog]

Created / Published

• Albany, The Argus company, printers, 1887.

Headings

• -  Niagara Falls. [from old catalog]

Notes

• -  "General plan for the improvement of the Niagara reservation", prepared by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux: p. [7]-50.
• -  Microfilm. Washington, D.C., Library of Congress.
• -  LC copy replaced by microfilm.

Medium

• 50 p. fold. map. 24 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

• Microfilm 72286 F
• F127.N8 N52

Digital Id

• https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdclccn.03029139

Library of Congress Control Number

• 03029139

Online Format

• image

LCCN Permalink

• https://lccn.loc.gov/03029139

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• MARCXML Record
• MODS Record
• Dublin Core Record

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