Olmsted Brothers: Original Landscape Designers

The original Olmsted firm was founded by Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., who is known for designing many iconic American landscapes, including Central Park in New York City and the U.S. Capitol grounds in Washington, D.C. After he retired in 1895, his sons continued his legacy as the Olmsted Brothers.

The original design

The original Olmsted design included West Capitol Campus, with the Legislative Building at the core.

The image to the right, courtesy of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, shows the original Capitol Campus design, featuring several signature Olmsted elements:

• the Great Lawn oval and other organically sculpted grass areas
• the two welcoming diagonal roads
• curving paths that progress to straight paths around the building complex
• the traffic circle around the Winged Victory Monument
• the classic Sunken Garden and other gardens

The Great Depression's effects

The original plan called for three sunken gardens throughout Capitol Campus, but only one Sunken Garden was installed due to the Great Depression's impact on funding.

Shortly after work on the original plantings began, the Great Depression forced the Olmsted Brothers to halt.

However, 90 years later, we are able to develop new beds per the original Olmsted principles. We proudly follow the original design, creating layers of trees, shrubs, and grounds covers.

Incorporating trees

The Olmsted Brothers loved trees and recognized the value and importance of displaying native and adaptable trees in this public landscape.

They believed that large shade trees complemented the site's forest setting and enriched the health and experiences of visitors.

Many of the oldest and largest trees on West Campus were planted as part of the original Olmsted design.

We plant new trees on campus every year to replace the ones we have to remove due to old age, drought, disease, or construction activities.

Learn more about the trees on Capitol Campus.

Uniting old and new

The work we do to update Capitol Campus today continues the Olmsted legacy by following the original principles, while adding our modern takes on the classic design. 

The original planting design intended to create a layering and framing effect, so we've kept that vision recently by planting new trees to complement the original trees and those planted 90 years ago.

The photo below shows a view of the Legislative Building that highlights the Olmsted principles of using both tree placement and layering to frame an important feature.

In 2022, the Professional Grounds Management Society recognized the DES buildings and grounds team with the National Honor Award for Olmsted Properties for the care and custody of the Olmsted landscape over nearly a century.