Olmsted & Vaux

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux collaborated on dozens of parks, parkways and planned neighborhoods across the United States, including their most famous: New York's Central Park.

When the urbanization of the American landscape began in the mid-19th century, new ideas about public parks gained currency. Olmsted and Vaux were the pioneers who propelled the movement to preserve natural spaces within rapidly developing cities.

Olmsted and Vaux each made unique contributions to the design of Central Park. Olmsted the landscape architect focused on terrain construction and plantings; Vaux the architect designed structures including bridges, arches, fountains and rustic shelters.

If you're interested in a fantastically detailed and comprehensive book on this subject, you should consider
The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: Creating Central Park at Amazon.com