Lectures this week with the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2pm
HISTORIC LANDSCAPE LECTURE SERIES:
Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmstead by Justin Martin
311 Peruvian Avenue
$20 non-members - $10 members - Patron and above members free

Frederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York’s Central Park to Boston’s Emerald Necklace to Stanford University’s campus, Olmsted was also an influential journalist, early voice for the environment, and abolitionist credited with helping dissuade England from joining the South in the Civil War. Most of all, he was a social reformer. He didn’t simply create places that were beautiful in the abstract. An awesome and timeless intent stands behind Olmsted’s designs, allowing his work to survive to the present day. With our urgent need to revitalize cities and a widespread yearning for green space, his work is more relevant now than it was during his lifetime. Justin Martin restores Olmsted to his rightful place in the pantheon of great Americans.

Justin Martin, author of highly praised biographies of Alan Greenspan and Ralph Nader, lives in Forest Hills Gardens, New York, an enclave of New York City designed by Olmsted’s son. Justin Martin articles have appeared in a variety of publications, including Fortune, Newsweek, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Martin is a 1987 graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Note:  I am just finishing this book.  If any of you are interested in going and sharing a ride, please let me know.