Quincy 400: Frederick Law Olmsted – Designing America
Quincy 400: Frederick Law Olmsted – Designing America with historian Laurence Cotton
Tuesday, October 21 | 6 – 8 PM
Richardson Building, Main Library, 40 Washington St. Quincy, MA
The City of Quincy proudly marks 400 years of rich history, community, and culture since its settlement in 1625. Known as the birthplace of two U.S. Presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Quincy has been at the forefront of shaping American democracy and innovation. This milestone is an opportunity to honor our past, celebrate our present, and envision a bright future together.
Continue the festivities with us at the Thomas Crane Public Library on Tuesday, October 21 from 6 – 8 PM! Historian Laurence Cotton will convey the public park movement and the origin of the modern field of landscape architecture, as practiced by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., his two sons, and the Brookline-based Olmsted Bros. landscape architecture firm. The content draws upon English garden design, Transcendentalism, the Hudson River School, the City Beautiful movement, and social reform. Laurence will paint a picture of Frederick Law Olmsted as a true “Renaissance man” of his era. If he were alive today, Olmsted would be described as one of our principal “influencers.” The talk is enhanced with numerous historical images and a selective present-day survey of Olmsted landscapes—public and private—across North America. The Quincy talk will include additional material on the Olmsted landscape legacy that can be found in Eastern Massachusetts.
Laurence Cotton is a practicing public historian and writer/producer of biographical and historical films for public television. Originally from the Boston area and educated at Hampshire College in the Connecticut River Valley, Laurence has called the Pacific Northwest home for thirty years. Laurence has originated and produced several documentaries, including recent films about Stewart Udall and Katharine Lee Bates, the Wellesley poet who wrote “America the Beautiful.” He is most well known as the originator and producer of the nationally broadcast PBS special Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America. As a landscape historian, Laurence travels around the U.S., delivering popular PowerPoint talks about the Olmsted design legacy. When not working on film projects, Laurence serves as a historical lecturer for small ship cruise lines, plying the waterways of North America. Laurence was the Director of the Cambridge Forum, a lecture series and public radio program. He was a senior aide in the Massachusetts State Senate, served as Executive Director of the World Affairs Council of Oregon, and played a leadership role in planning the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.
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