The “Buffalo…..who knew?” podcast series aims to highlight the (often under appreciated, sometimes unearthed) assets of Buffalo–particularly as it relates to the built and natural environment. It reveals up-and-coming projects, checks in on those that are already underway, and discusses some of the barriers that may impede their forward movement.
“Buffalo….who knew” that Frederick Law Olmsted claimed Buffalo to be “the best planned city, as to its streets, public places, and grounds, in the United States, if not in the world”, and that the city’s (1804) radial street plan, defined by Joseph Ellicott, that was influenced by French urban planning and garden design, such as Versailles, which featured long straight routes and circles?
It was Buffalo’s radial street plan–modeled after Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 plan for Washington, D.C.–that caused Olmsted to make such a pronouncement, and to take such an interest to design his signature “country park” in the second city of New York State. Olmsted said he was completing or extending Ellicott’s plan–he incorporated such streets as Delaware Avenue into his scheme. It would be the direct route from Niagara Square to today’s Delaware park, three miles north.
Listen as we sit down with celebrated Architectural Historian, Frank Kowsky, and discuss Olmsted’s career to make public parks an essential part of American life, his collaboration with Calvert Vaux, and the indelible impact his park system has had on Buffalo.
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Also see Frank Kowsky’s book, The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux, and the Buffalo Park System,
The post Podcast: Buffalo… Who Knew? Frank Kowsky on Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux and their impact on Buffalo appeared first on Buffalo Rising.