Environmentalism has had different meanings to people as time has transpired. When we hear the term now we think of recycling, resource conservation, air quality, and habitat preserves for wildlife.
In Frederick Law Olmsted’s time what we now call environmentalism or the “green” movement are terms that we may apply to the then nascent campaign to save beautiful and scenic landscapes for posterity, along with the benefits thus accruing to the general public.
Olmsted’s interest in the health and welfare of the populace, along with his interest in the beneficial effects of a scenic landscape converged about the time of the Civil War to produce his mature design philosophy, of which Riverside is a prime example.
In the years immediately preceding his work in Riverside, we can see his interest in preserving areas of natural beauty through his work at what is now Yosemite National Park.
Olmsted’s appointment by President Abraham Lincoln as secretary (something similar to CEO) of the U.S. Sanitary Commission ended in 1863 when an offer to manage a gold mine in California beckoned. Having performed an invaluable service to the nation inspecting the conditions of the Union troops in the field for two years, the frequently cash-strapped Olmsted leapt at the chance to earn a good salary managing the Mariposa Estate, a gold mining concern near the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The summer of 1864 proved to be unusually hot, and in order to escape the heat Olmsted chose to explore the nearby Sierra Nevadas, using the nearby ranch of acquaintance Galen Clark (now part of Yosemite National Park) as a home base. He quickly identified with the natural beauty of the area and declared the night time view of Yosemite Valley to be “one of the most sublime I have seen.”
Unlike the pre-Civil War work in New York City’s Central Park, here was a landscape needing no help from man. Only the means to access it required that improvements be made.
In June of 1864, the U.S. Congress had deeded Yosemite Valley to the State of California for “public use, resort and recreation,” the first act of the nation reserving a future national park for public use. It was to be managed by an eight-member commission.
By this time, Olmsted’s reputation was well known from the east to the west coasts and he was the natural choice of Gov. Frederick Ferdinand Low to chair the commission. With characteristic enthusiasm, Olmsted sent out a surveying party to map the area even before assuming his duties as commission chair.
In the commission’s first report, dated August of 1865, Olmsted outlined Yosemite’s grandeur and government’s responsibility in protecting scenic areas and making them accessible to the public:
“This union of the deepest sublimity with the deepest beauty of nature, not in one feature or another, not in one part or in one scene or another, not any landscape that can be framed by itself, but all around and wherever the visitor goes constitutes the Yosemite the greatest glory of nature … it is the will of the nation as embodied in the act of Congress that this scenery shall never be private property, but that like certain defensive points upon our coast it shall be held solely for public purposes.”
But it was not enough, in Olmsted’s view, to merely identify and protect scenic areas. Government had a responsibility to make these areas accessible to the public so that they may enjoy the benefits of scenery on body and soul:
“It is a scientific fact that the occasional contemplation of natural scenes of an impressive character, particularly if this contemplation occurs in connection with relief from ordinary cares, change of air and change of habits, is favorable to the health and vigor of men and especially to the health and vigor of their intellect beyond any other conditions which can be offered them …
“It is the main duty of government, if it is not the sole duty of government, to provide means of protection for all its citizens in the pursuit of happiness against the obstacles, otherwise insurmountable which the selfishness of individuals or combinations of individuals is liable to interpose to that pursuit.”
Olmsted’s report continues to reveal his vision for the Yosemite Valley as a series of scenic public lands, connected by an inconspicuous road and offering the traveler rustic camping accommodations. He foresaw that one day “millions” of visitors would come to see the great natural wonder of Yosemite and indicated its potential monetary value as a tourist destination.
He asked the state legislature to provide $37,000 to fund the improvements necessary to bring the Yosemite experience to the people. Shortly after the report was issued, Olmsted returned to New York. The other commissioners, thinking the report too ambitious, undermined Olmsted’s work and never asked for the money to fund the improvements.
But Olmsted’s journalistic admirers picked up on the report, and it was published in prominent national newspapers. Other states began to see the need to preserve their scenic areas and, by 1872, Yellowstone was established as the first National Park.
Olmsted’s California experience helped formulate one of his fundamental lessons to us, namely, that bringing mankind into contact with beautiful scenery and open spaces is a health-giving elixir for the mind and body.
Less than three years after leaving California, Olmsted came to our area and created the Village of Riverside, the physical embodiment of that lesson.
This is his “green legacy” to us and it is our duty to protect and preserve it. Whether entering the village on foot, by motorcar or getting off at the train station, the green legacy of Olmsted still has a soothing and calming effect on the human psyche. May it always be so.
