Landmark #986 | Alameda County | Visited: February 15, 2014 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
What is it? | Piedmont Way is Frederick Olmsted’s first naturally-contoured parkway! |
What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: Piedmont Way was conceived in 1865 by Frederick Law Olmsted, America’s foremost landscape architect. As the centerpiece of a gracious residential community close beside the College of California, Olmsted envisioned a roadway that would follow the natural contours of the land and be sheltered from sun and wind by “an overarching bowery of foliage.” This curvilinear, tree-lined parkway was Olmsted’s first residential street design. It has served as the model for similar parkways across the nation.
OTHER TIDBITS: Olmsted surprisingly wasn’t that passionate about landscape architecture, yet he created some of the country’s most stunning parks and campuses, including Boston’s Emerald Necklace, D.C.’s Capital Grounds, and Central Park in New York! |
How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: Piedmont Ave between Gayley Rd and Dwight Way Berkeley, CA 94704 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~373mi (601km) — 6.3hrs |
When should I go? | Whenever the mood strikes you! |