Olmsted’s 200th Birthday Celebration

Calendar
When:
July 16, 2022 all-day
2022-07-16T00:00:00-05:00
2022-07-17T00:00:00-05:00

Friends of Milwaukee’s Lake Park will mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted with a daylong celebration in the historic park on Saturday, July 16, 2022. And all are invited. 

Olmsted, best-known for his work on New York’s Central Park and the U.S. Capitol Grounds in Washington, D.C., designed dozens of parks across the country, including Milwaukee’s Lake, Riverside and Washington parks. 

Just as important, Olmsted pioneered a vision of public parks as civilizing and democratizing forces in society – places where people of all walks of life could gather to enjoy the beauty of their natural surroundings – a vision Lake Park Friends continues to nurture today.

The festivities July 16 will include an old-fashioned promenade, music, art activities, a scavenger hunt, a photo exhibit, birthday cake and more. 

 

Here’s a look at the day’s schedule: 
  • An old-fashioned “promenade,”  or leisurely stroll “to see and be seen,” like those popular in public parks in Olmsted’s day. The “parade” begins at Wahl Avenue and Belleview and ends at the Summer Stage. (11 a.m.-noon.)
  • Milwaukee County’s Sprecher Traveling Beer Garden (11 a.m.-10 p.m.)
  • A “Where’s Olmsted?” Scavenger Hunt for all ages. Instructions at the information booth. (Noon-3 p.m.)
  • Art Tables: Artists will construct park benches and trees under the guidance of Montessori instructor, Heather Eiden. All ages. (Noon-3 p.m.)
  • “Frederick Law Olmsted: Landscapes for the Public Good,” a traveling exhibit made available by the National Association of Olmsted Parks, will be shown in the Marcia Coles Community Room, below Lake Park Bistro. (Noon-5 p.m.)
  • A photo exhibit featuring images of Lake Park will be on display at the North Point Lighthouse Museum. (Noon-5 p.m.) For information, click Lake Park Photo Exhibit.
  • Birthday Cake – and a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” for the “father of landscape architecture” – will be served at the Summer Stage. (6 p.m.)
  • And the Chicago Cellar Boys, Chicago’s “premier vintage jazz band,” will wrap up the evening with a concert (6:30-8 p.m.)
PLEASE JOIN US!