building the american landscape - Univerza v Novi Gorici

landscape designer could intensify enjoyment of a landscape without making any
radical changes and that the value of a landscape park should be appreciated as
such, that is to say as an element of nature, from which to find pleasure in the
simpler things. In fact, the park was not a place exclusively for the “entertainment”
of the crowds [Figures 125‐126], but was created by studies, which wanted to
demonstrate the healthy benefits of moments of relaxation in contact with nature.
The pathway effectively separated the park to create areas for pleasure, events or
parades as a playground, and others set aside for rest and contemplation. This idea,
among others, became a model for the development of other contemporary
projects of urban planning concerning the separation of pedestrian and vehicle
traffic to ensure safety and comfort. The ideology of an urban park went on to
represent the basic ideals of American democracy, and at the same time became
the mouthpiece of both economic and social demands, such as the suburb‐park,
since landscape projects were the product of the needs of the middle class and the
high‐flying, American bourgeoisie. The public park retraced the experiences and
passion for nature, which years earlier were within reach only of the rich aristocracy
and the contemptuous pioneers.
Central Park gave Olmsted a certain amount of notoriety and New York’s role as city
port enabled news to travel rapidly.
In the early years of the Civil War, Olmsted alternated his work in New York with the
role of executive director of the U.S. Sanitary Commission, engaged at the front in
the Civil War on behalf of the Union. However, between 1863 and 1865, he was also
to find time to go to California as land administrator for the Mariposa Mining
Company, a mining company acquired by investors from New York, which was
committed to the search for gold. At this point, he fine tuned his ideas as regards
the protection of natural environments. Olmsted was able to witness the splendid,
naturalist scenery of the Yosemite Valley, right at the historic moment in which
President Lincoln signed a law (1864), which turned the Yosemite Valley and the
Mariposa Grove of Big Trees into a large public park. At this point too, Olmsted
showed great sensitivity towards the conservation of the magnificent natural
scenery he had to manage and became involved in the work by the Yosemite
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