frederick law olmsted national historic site

Was looking forward to a visit and a chance to view movie and perhaps a ranger led tour.On a beautiful October Sunday-no such luck. We were limited to walking the grounds for a quick peek.They need to rethink schedule here

Come in the summer when the free ranger-lead tours are offered. The home is Olmsted's last home and studio. A short 7 minute film introduces Olmsted's work/legacy. The tour is of the studio and workshop built by Fredrick Law and his firms successors. Tour ends with a short stroll in the garden. The first floor has photographs of the home and his work. Make sure you visit the sun room. It is amazing that this is only 2 blocks from busy Rte 9 but you'd never know it.

Fairsted, the expansive home and workshop of the Olmsted family, is definitely worth a visit. The wood structures blend nicely into landscape and one gets a glimpse of the Olmsted work with the sunken garden. The exhibits inside the home (which feels like a large country estate) are very well done telling not just the story of the Olmsted family but also providing insight into many of their landmark projects through various static and interactive displays. Guided tours are offered several times throughout the day but you can wonder the grounds and take in the exhibits without going in the tour.

Frederick Law Olmsted designed Boston's Emerald Necklace, NYC's Central Park, and many more parks in the USA and Canada. His influence was huge. So I was excited to get the chance to see where he lived and worked in Brookline. You can see the part of the house he lived in on your own. I highly recommend the hourly tours, which take you through the grounds and work areas. Most interesting was where the work was done. You can see where draftsmen drafted designs, and how they were turned into blueprints, using the technology of the day.If you're only in Boston for a short time, this isn't a must-see. But if you have more time, it's worth a visit. You can see it all in an hour or so, and it's free. You can take a Green Line D train to Brookline Hills and walk ten minutes. There's no food available here or nearby, but if you bring lunch, it would be a nice place for a picnic.Wheelchair accessibility is limited, but the rangers will do their best to accommodate you.

I really enjoyed my visit to the site. The estate is beautiful, and the tour of the house is fascinating. Highly recommended!

We knew something of Olmsted from NY's Central Park and the book Devil in the White City, so were intrigued when we drove by the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. We returned the next day to tour. Basically you see where he ran his company from for many years, with his son and other partners. The National Park Service took over the property directly from the company so you are getting the real deal. The house/offices, grounds, and exhibits are interesting and the ranger who led the tour we took was excellent. Because it is run by the NPS your visit is free. We had not been aware of Olmsted's reach, in particular out west including work in Southern California, Oregon and Washington State. Nor were we aware of the full scope of his activities in the east. All in all a very worthwhile visit.

So much of the beauty of our urban environments, not just in New England but throughout the country can be traced to Olmsted. This combination of home & workshop tells a great story about his work, its sources, and its legacy. The grounds are also beautiful and a very tangible testimony to the impact of good landscape architecture.

We loved reading Devil in the White City and have taken tours of Central Park, so it was really a thrill to tour this site. The grounds are beautiful, and the tour of the home and offices were very informative. And it's free! The ranger who led our tour was very knowledgable. Definitely worth a visit.

This is site is about landscape architecture, it's true -- and that part is wonderful -- but there is so much more here, as well. Take a ranger-lead tour if at all possible. The tour takes you around the grounds and imparts much insight into how the grounds reflect Olmstead's ideas. This is most interesting. But, what's really eye-opening is the house tour.The house has two parts: that in which the Olmstead family lived, and the design workshop area. The former is in the early stages of reconstruction by the Park Service. There's not a lot to see, but what there is, is interesting. This part is a self-tour. The ranger, however, takes you on a trip through the design workshop. You'll see amazing archival collections of original plans and early devices for making blueprints and large-format copies that are at once unique and somewhat bizarre to us 21st century folk. The tour runs about 45 minutes and has no trouble holding everyone's interest. There is a parking lot off the side street along side the house. And, no fee! -- hat's off to the Park Service!

Olmstead was the most prominent and famous landscape designer of his late 19th century era. From Cental Park in Manhattan to the Emerald necklace in Boston, he is as important in his own right as Frank Lloyd Wright was to architecture. The Olmstead site is easily accessible by car or public transportation and offers amazing insight into the way Olmstead still affects our ideas for cityscapes today, including the newest, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston.

Also, a very interesting house and setting for Victorian professional practice. The Rangers are super.

I take my class to this national historic site. They do a great job of teaching my class as well as letting them discover the wonderful job of being a landscape architect. It is also a really beautiful place to visit.

Olmstead was the designer of Central Park. This site was his home and the design form's office. The rangers do an excellent job of interpreting the impact of his designs and how the process was done. It is a short walk from the T, but it is uphill. Hours are limited so call ahead to check because you need to tour with a ranger.

Unusual step into the early 1900's with informed Ranger Alan Banks,who was thorough in his descriptions of all the early technology used by Olmstead's designers. It felt like the workers had just left and we had the chance to respectfully walk through their world. Serious history fans will enjoy this tour as there is chance to ask questions and get close to the past.

Worth a detour for all that is there. I especially liked learning about the history of Olmstead's firm. The way they used to develop blueprints was very cool.