In Person Event: Laurence Cotton on Frederick Law Olmstead: Designing America

Sponsored by The Caxton Club and The Union League Club of Chicago

The year 2022 marks the 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, landscape designer for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago’s Jackson Park and designer of Riverside, Illinois. Please join us as we welcome public historian, Laurence Cotton who will talk about the national footprint of all the Olmsteds – father, two sons and the Olmsted Bros. landscape architecture firm – and how the Olmsted family left an enormous imprint on the American landscape by designing urban, state, and national public parks, private estates and gardens, residential neighborhoods, communities, and institutional campuses. The Olmsted philosophy focused on physical and mental health and the role of parks in enacting democracy in a multi-ethnic, multiracial society. In his presentation, Laurence will explore the Olmsted legacy and give a visual tour of selected Olmsted landscapes across the country, with something of a focus on the upper Midwest and the Great Lakes states.

The event will begin with an 11:30 a.m. registration/reception followed by set menu plated lunch and the program. The price is $45 per person and reservations must be received by 5:00 PM CT April 28.

Laurence Cotton was the originator, principal researcher, and Consulting Producer for the nationally broadcast PBS film Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America. He has presented the film many times across the country since it was first broadcast in 2014 and during this year, he is making additional appearances across the United States, delivering his new PowerPoint presentation about the Olmsted legacy as part of the Olmsted200 commemoration. In addition to his Olmsted expertise, in his home state of Oregon, he has served as Executive Director of World Affairs Council of Oregon (now WorldOregon), on the board of directors of the Oregon State Parks Foundation (now Oregon Parks Forever), as content provider to Maya Lin and her team for the Confluence Project, and as Co-Chair of the Environmental Education Association of Oregon (EEAO).

Fee: $45, including reception followed by set menu plated lunch and the program.

Masks are optional.

Register here: https://caxtonclub.org/event-4747762?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=5/17/2022