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Join us for a Lecture: The Remarkable Revitalization of Olmsted Parks
September 8, 2014 @ 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
What: Rebirth of America’s First Park System: What Can Buffalo’s Olmsted Parks Renaissance Teach Seattle? Lecture preceded by reception and short film.
Who: Thomas Herrera-Mishler, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy President & CEO
When: Monday, September 8, 2014 – 7:00 pm lecture – Doors open at 6:00 for [no host] reception & documentary “The Best Planned City in the World”
Where: Downstairs at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Avenue – Tickets: $10 donation / $8 students & Town Hall members.
Background:
Seattle and Buffalo, N.Y. are blessed with two of America’s best Olmsted-planned park systems. Hear Thomas Herrera-Mishler speak about the astounding success seen in the restoration of Buffalo’s Olmsted parks and surrounding neighborhoods, and learn how Seattle likewise could return its heritage parks to prime condition.
Since arriving in Buffalo six years ago, Herrera-Mishler [or Thomas] has established a national reputation for leading revitalization of Buffalo’s famous but long neglected Olmsted Park system. Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC) now maintains and restores the city’s treasured natural and cultural asset, through a successful public-private partnership modeled after New York City’s Central Park Conservancy. BOPC is a not-for-profit organization 1,000 members strong.
Thomas’ wide-ranging experience includes designing the master plan for Costa Rica’s Zoo and Botanical Gardens, serving as executive director for the esteemed Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and for Awbury Arboretum and Estate in Philadelphia, Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, N.C. and the Toledo Botanical Garden, and Community Landscape Architect for the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
A native of Morelia, Mexico, Thomas earned his Master of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning degree from University of Michigan and a prior degree in Spanish and Business Administration. He serves on the board of the National Association for Olmsted Parks, which was founded in Buffalo thirty years ago after freeway construction destroyed an Olmsted park.
Thomas is a popular lecturer, determines gardener, chef, and voracious reader. He returns to Latin America as often as he can, and consults internationally – most recently in Barcelona, Spain.
