Project Details Page

synopsis

Druid Hill Park (1860) was initially designed by Howard Daniels, who in 1858 had placed fourth in Central Park's design competition. The Olmsted firm periodic consultation ran from 1876 to 1930. A focus from 1904-1916 included circulation and entrances, as well as siting of athletic fields and playgrounds. One of the prominent remaining Olmsted features is the stone walls and fences

Druid Hill Park (1860) was initially designed by Howard Daniels, who in 1858 had placed fourth in Central Park's design competition. The Olmsted firm periodic consultation ran from 1876 to 1930. A focus from 1904-1916 included circulation and entrances, as well as siting of athletic fields and playgrounds. One of the prominent remaining Olmsted features is the stone walls and fences protecting Druid Lake from automobiles, a solution which Olmsted Jr described in detail after he was asked to come immediately to Baltimore in 1930, following a hiatus of 14 years in the project correspondence files. Other features include the Promenade and its paving detail worked out by Olmsted Jr. Ironically in 1963 the Jones Falls Expressway severely impacted the eastside of the park and the major southeast entrance from Mount Royal Avenue. As a result the Union Soldiers and Sailors Monument, which was a focus of that entrance, was moved to Wyman Park. The impact of the expressway was ironic since the Olmsted reports in 1904 and 1926 had identified Jones Falls stream valley as an ideal route for a parkway to connect Baltimore's parks. See Baltimore's other Olmsted park projects, including 02401.

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