Olmsted Park
The Olmsted Park is an elongated Park in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States and part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways. The Olmsted Park was originally named Leverett Park and was only renamed in 1900 in honor of his spiritual father, Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed the plans of the parks.
Olmsted, who had earned a solid reputation for the design of New York's Central Park, recommended in 1880 to take up the swampy and brackish Muddy River in the planning for the Boston parks. 1890, work began to give the river a new bed and convert the big swamp in the Leverett 's Pond. The Ward 's Pond has also been connected by a small tributary.
The proximity of the park to the Longwood Medical and Academic Area and the easy access to the MBTA make the park a popular destination for walkers and cyclists.
Design and Structure
The Olmsted Park can be roughly divided into two quite different subareas. In the south, it borders on the Jamaica Pond and offers space for sports facilities and three ponds: From south to north, these are a small kettle hole (Ward 's Pond ), Little Willow Pond and the significantly larger Leverett 's Pond. The northern part of the park consists essentially of a narrow green strip through which the Muddy River flows on its way to the Charles River. The northern end of the park adjacent to the Back Bay Fens and at the western end of the district of Mission Hill.
Work and changes in the park
After the master plan of the Emerald Necklace park system was completed in 1989, and later still further improvements in Olmsted Park were carried out, some of which were summarized in an updated version of the Master Plan 2001. So the Riverdale Parkway was converted from a road into a pedestrian and bike path in 1997. The Allerton Overlook at the foot of Allerton Street in Brookline has been restored, the pedestrian bridges were given a new coat of paint and the southern end of Ward 's Pond a promenade was created.
2006, the city Brookline restored the Babbling Brook, a portion of the Muddy River in the park by stones set again invading knotweed plants removed, redefined the riverbed and trees and shrubs were replanted to ward of future sprawl.
The Muddy River Restoration Project
The Olmsted Park was virtually flooded regularly from the outset by the Muddy River, which was redirected during the installation of the Emerald Necklace by Olmsted and partially buried. By the Muddy River Restoration Project contaminated sediments to be dredged and other structural improvements carried out by, among others, the flow is brought back to the surface and its completeness, its image and its possibilities for the control of floods can be improved.
The Friends of Leverett Pond
The Friends of Leverett Pond was the second group of friends of the Olmsted Park, Brookline with the aim of care and maintenance founded the park in the 1970s. Since 1978 she has worked as a sub-committee of the High Street Hill Association and is working to improve the state park and to increase the awareness of problems.