Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America Watch Party & Panel Discussion

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About this event

In the weeks leading up to Olmsted’s 201st birthday, stream the film Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America for free. The film, which debuted nearly a decade ago in 2014, explores Frederick Law Olmsted as the creator of landscape architecture and his vision of parks as fine art and a necessity of urban life. The film also notes that Olmsted’s efforts to preserve nature created an “environmental ethic” decades before the environmental movement.

After watching the movie, join us on April 27 at 3 pm ET via Zoom for a lively discussion about the film and its contents. Our panel will include Justin Martin, Garrett Nelson, and Sara Cedar Miller — all of whom you’ll recognize from the movie! Prospect Park Alliance President Morgan Monaco will moderate the discussion.

Meet the panelists

Morgan Monaco is President of Prospect Park Alliance and the Prospect Park Administrator. Monaco is the first Black leader of the Alliance, further diversifying executive leadership within the open space sector and continuing the legacy of female leadership at the Alliance over its 35-year history. She holds a Master’s in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management from NYU Wagner and a B.A. in International Studies from Vassar College.

Justin Martin’s specialty is American history. He’s the author of five books, including Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted. Other works by Martin have covered subjects ranging from America’s first Bohemian artists to the Battle of Antietam. Martin is a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas, and he lives in Forest Hills Gardens, a landmark New York City neighborhood designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.

Garrett Dash Nelson is a historical geographer whose work focuses on the relationship between community structure, geographic units, and political ideology. He holds an AB from Harvard College in Social Studies and Visual & Environmental Studies, an MA from the University of Nottingham in Landscape & Culture, and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Geography.

Sara Cedar Miller has been the Historian emerita of the Central Park Conservancy since 2017. She gives specialized tours and lectures on the prepark and the Park’s history and art. Miller is a celebrated author and photographer and was honored with the “Preservation Hero” award by the Library of American Landscape History in 2020 and the Central Park Conservancy’s Frederick Law Olmsted Award in 2023.

When you register, you’ll receive the free movie link to stream it on your own time. We’ll also be in touch with a Zoom link for the program on April 27.

By registering for this program, you consent to receive emails from the Olmsted Network (formerly the National Association for Olmsted Parks) and Olmsted 200.