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synopsis

In 1864, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to prepare a report for not only the improvement of the College of California, but also for an adjacent residential neighborhood. While only elements of Olmsted’s plan, namely Piedmont Avenue, were adopted by the College, now known as University of California, Berkeley, principles of this first campus design followed his future work

In 1864, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired to prepare a report for not only the improvement of the College of California, but also for an adjacent residential neighborhood. While only elements of Olmsted’s plan, namely Piedmont Avenue, were adopted by the College, now known as University of California, Berkeley, principles of this first campus design followed his future work on academic institutions. As detailed in his 1866 report, Olmsted wanted the structures of the college campus to reflect the ‘dignified’ activity that was occurring within the walls. He did not want to follow the trend of the English and “build great stacks of buildings”, but rather envisioned the creation of civilized and “attractive open-air apartments”. To encourage movement and exercise, Olmsted called for “the common roads and walks of the immediate neighborhood, at all times of the year, must be neither muddy nor dusty,”. Commenting on the beauty of the rolling hills and favorable climate of Berkeley compared to nearby San Francisco, Olmsted called to “arrange the roads upon which private property will front as to secure the best practicable landscape effects from the largest number of points of view.” [Projected Improvement of the Estate of The College of California_1866_FLOP-SF-R40-im.6,7&12]

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