Wendy Bright’s podcast Cream City~Windy City explores interesting connections between Milwaukee and Chicago. Episode #10, “Frederick Law Olmsted,” (released April 21, 2021) focuses on the “Father of Landscape Architecture.”

In 1869, Chicago hired the firm of Olmsted, Vaux & Co. to design a park system on the South Side. Twenty-two years later, Frederick Law Olmsted and his associate Henry Codman redesigned Jackson Park and the Midway Plaisance to serve as the fairgrounds for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Around that time, the Milwaukee Park Commission hired Olmsted to design a system of three parks for their city: Lake Park, River Park (later renamed Riverside Park), and West Park (later renamed Washington Park).

Bright reminds us that “Olmsted is one of the most important figures in American history … but strangely not widely known by most Americans. Yet his work has affected us all, whether we’re aware of it or not.” During this year of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, we welcome the opportunity to explore and learn more about the Olmsted landscapes that continue to enrich our cities.