Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America

FAIN: TR-50333-12

Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (Buffalo, NY 14240-1263)
John Grant (Project Director: August 2011 to present)

Production of a 90-minute documentary film and an associated website exploring the life and career of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

This is a grant proposal for the production phase of a 90-minute film about the life and work of Frederick Law Olmsted. He is known as the father of American landscape architecture; what is unknown to the viewing public is the fact that he had so many different careers, trying to reform 19th-century America in surprising ways. He succeeded mightily, changed the nation, and his concerns foretold the future. But he also struggled with failure, loss, and with despair for much of his life. The project also includes a website, five short films about Olmsted parks for web distribution, and more.