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A Rural Retreat in the Gridded City

This chapter describes the development of Central Park. In 1857, Frederick Law Olmsted was hired as the park’s new superintendent. He explored the land and organized the workers, and his efforts suitably impressed the commissioners. By this point, architect Calvert Vaux's agitation for a new design for the park had worked, and on October 13, the commissioners announced a public competition and called for proposals. This was the first significant landscape competition in the country. Olmsted and Vaux formed a partnership and set out to create a beautiful, harmonious park. They titled their proposal the “Greensward Plan,” since it contained large grass-covered areas. There were 33 submissions, and the partners were awarded first prize. With Vaux and Olmsted now in charge, work got underway, and ultimately, Central Park became the nation's biggest public works project.