We are developing a book about Seattle’s Olmsted legacy!

The Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks has joined with HistoryLink to produce a book about the Olmsted legacy in Seattle. FSOP sees this book as providing a much-needed tool and educational resource toward advocacy and protection of our Olmsted park and boulevard system, which is the foundation of the Seattle park system. Our current Olmsted parks system can be difficult to define by nature of its nuanced design, broad distribution, age, and continued evolution. By more fully describing the thinking of John Charles Olmsted and his associates and placing it to our modern-day city, we can create a fuller, more comprehensible rendering of this legacy.

We are thrilled that HistoryLink historian Jennifer Ott will be writing this book. She has a master’s degree in environmental and Western American history and has published numerous articles about Olmsted Brothers’ landscapes. Her nine years of experience on the FSOP board, and her extensive work on the Volunteer Park Trust steering committee, makes her the perfect choice.

HistoryLink has been publishing top-quality books for more than 15 years. They have recently partnered with Documentary Media and have produced titles such as Waterway: The Story of Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal, co-authored by Jennifer Ott.

We are joining with HistoryLink to raise money for this book and hope that you will consider a donation, working towards our goal of $95,000. The book will be released mid-year 2019. Donors will receive a copy upon publication and will be listed in the book.

Donations can be made directly to HistoryLink at HistoryLink.org, or sent to:

HistoryLink
93 Pike Street, Suite 315B
Seattle WA 98101

Please note on your donation that you want this gift to go to the Olmsted Book Project. All proceeds from sales of the book will go to FSOP.

Book Details:
144 pages 
overall dimension — 10″ x 9″
over 100 images (both color and black and white)
5,000-copy first edition
cover price: $34.95
release date: Summer 2019

Color photo of woodland path with arching branches full of yellowing leaves overhead. A lighter path and brighter foliage in background indicate a clearing in the woods. Image is bordered at top and bottom with black bands and light text: text at top reads "Olmsted in Seattle; How the Olmsted Brothers Created Seattle's Park System," and text at bottom reads "by Jennifer Ott and the HistoryLink Staff."

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