Title Info: Olmsted Correspondence

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Search This Title:	Olmsted Job Job Number Job Name People Author Recipient Content Terms: Category, Landscape and Subject Control click to select multiple or click here to Clear Included: Date, Organizations, People or Projects or
Record Creator:	Olmsted Firm
Description:	These records include correspondence from 1898-1968 of the Olmsted landscape architecture firms regarding projects in King County, Washington, specifically Seattle park-related projects. Correspondence may include letters, memos, field notes, sketches, reports, newspaper articles, publications, and plans. How to Search To find a document or set of related documents, enter information into one or more fields. The results will be sorted by Job Number. Click on the arrows under the column headings to sort the results. Note Author/Recipient names may be in brackets, which affects how they are sorted. Click on an item in the results list to view the full record and scanned image. Definitions JOB NUMBER is the five-digit number used by Olmsted firms. Enter “0” to show all correspondence for all jobs. Job numbers included in this collection range from 00346 to 03209. JOB NAME is the name of client or site. For individuals, the last name is listed first. Project names are listed by the name used by the Olmsted firm. Property ownership and project names may have changed over time. AUTHOR/RECIPIENT is the person or entity that wrote or received the document. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION is listed in the individual record page and includes notes for clarification, when known. INCLUDED lists dates, organizations, people and projects found in the document, not including the Author or Recipient. Bracketed information has been added when clarifying information that is not included in the document is known. Project names are listed by the name used in the document and do not include the document’s Job Name. Property ownership and project names may have changed over time. The field allows sorting by the date listed first. TERMS allows searching by indexed terms and narrowing the search by selecting multiple terms. Terms are listed below with examples. Cultural Landscape Terms are more fully defined under National Park Service Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes. Category Terms Boulevards – boulevards, parkways Parks – parks, park systems, fairgrounds, arboreta Residential - estates, subdivisions, residential clubs Institutions - government sites, colleges, universities, churches Cultural Landscape Terms Spatial Organization - form, patterns, orientation, relationship, sunlight, views Topography – grades, excavation Vegetation - trees, plants, lawns Circulation - boulevards, drives, networks, parking, paths, transportation routes Water Features - lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, pools, reservoirs, irrigation, drainage Structures - non-habitable constructions, bridges, walls, terraces Site Furnishings - benches, lights, sculpture Subject Terms Administration - ordinances, employees Advice - recommendations Budget/Contracts - invoice, payment, bid, cost, donation Buildings - habitable structures Ownership - acquisition, owner, deeds Plans/Surveys - mentioned in document Photos - mentioned in document Request - information, action Report - job analysis and recommendation (often accompanying a plan)
Related Records:	For additional information, please visit these websites: Olmsted Online, National Association for Olmsted Parks, Olmsted Research Guide Online, Olmsted Archives flickr, Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Access Restriction Notes:	These records are open for research.
Sources of Transfer	State Government Archives
Notes	Indexing of these documents has been done by members of Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks and Adrienne Sharigian. Digitization was done by Washington State Archives, Imaging and Preservation Services. Initial scanning and indexing was funded by the Washington State Department of Transportation as part of the mitigation identified in the Section 106 Programmatic Agreement for the SR 520 Bridge Replacement and HOV Program.
Agency History:	The Olmsted landscape architecture firms (1857-1979) were started by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., known as the father of the profession of landscape architecture, when he partnered with Calvert Vaux to design Central Park in New York City. In Washington State there were over 200 jobs associated with the Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects firm, with one early job for Tacoma associated with F. L. Olmsted, Sr. His nephew and stepson, John Charles Olmsted, and James Frederick Dawson, another principal in the Olmsted Brothers firm, carried out most of the Washington state projects over a time span of nearly forty years.
Preferred Citation:	Library of Congress images (LOC): [Author]. [Title of document], [date]. From Library of Congress, Olmsted Associates Records, 1863-1971, MSS52571, Washington State Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov, [date accessed]. University of Washington, Special Collections images (UWSC): [Author]. [Title of document], [date]. From University of Washington Special Collections, Olmsted Brothers records, Acc. 0170-001, Washington State Digital Archives, http://digitalarchives.wa.gov, [date accessed].
Record Count:	1,266