Recap - An Evening with Acclaimed Biographer Justin Martin

An audience of Olmsted enthusiasts, history buffs and park supporters came together on July 20 to hear Justin Martin talk about his new book, Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted. The sold-out event, a benefit to support the Conservancy’s free music and movie series, “Summer Sundays in the Park,” was held at the Courtyard Restaurant at the Boston Public Library where guests mingled with the author and enjoyed wine and hors d’oeuvres.

With an obvious passion for his subject, Martin described the remarkable life of Mr. Olmsted, from boyhood through a series of diverse and seemingly unrelated careers to his triumphs as designer of Central Park, the Emerald Necklace and parks throughout the country and beyond. Martin holds that Olmsted, “…may well be the most important American historical figure that the average person knows least about.”

Olmsted may well indeed be underappreciated but Genius of Place, an engaging and revealing biography, will go far in countering this assertion.

Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted, in bookstores now, is also available for purchase at the Emerald Necklace Visitor Center.

Listen to an interview with Martin at WBUR>>