Research Catalog

Title

A modern Arcadia : Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. & the plan for Forest Hills Gardens / Susan L. Klaus.

Author

Klaus, Susan L.

Publication

Amherst : University of Massachusetts Press in association with Library of American Landscape History, Amherst, 2002.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957
• Library of American Landscape History

Description

xii, 207 p. : ill., maps, plans, ports.; 27 cm.

Summary

• ""Bright, cheerful houses, well arranged, well trimmed lawns, hedging carefully cut... distinctly joyous," wrote architectural critic Herbert Croly in 1914 about the Forest Hills Gardens community in Queens, New York. The New York Tribune agreed, reporting that the place was a "modern Garden of Eden, a fairy tale too good to be true."".
• "Conceived as an experiment that would apply the new "science" of city planning to a suburban setting, Forest Hills Gardens was created by the Russell Sage Foundation to provide housing for middle-class commuters as an alternative to cramped flats in New York City. Although it has long been recognized as one of the most influential planned communities in the United States, this is the first time Forest Hills Gardens has been the subject of a book." "Susan L. Klaus's illustrated history chronicles the creation of the 142-acre development from its inception in 1909 through its first two decades, offering critical insights into American planning history, landscape architecture, and the social and economic forces that shaped housing in the Progressive Era."--BOOK JACKET.

Alternative Title

Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. & the plan for Forest Hills Gardens

Subject

• Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957 > Contributions in city planning
• Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1870-1957
• Planned communities > New York > Case studies
• Forest Hills (New York, N.Y.)

Genre/Form

Case studies

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [167]-197) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

"A garden city for America" -- All in the family : Olmsted's early career -- "A suburban town built on business principles": the foundation's experiment -- "The thoroughness with which things are done here" : planning and construction -- "The English type" : architectural and landscape design -- "Normal and usual social conditions" : marketing and management -- "A village of rare charm" : why we chose Forest Hills Gardens -- The legacy of Forest Hills Gardens.

ISBN

155849314X

LCCN

^^2001007538

OCLC

• 48557504
• SCSB-10950700

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library