General plan of Franklin Park - Vintage map, Norman B. Leventhal Collection

Boston’s largest park, Franklin Park is considered the “crown jewel” of the Emerald Necklace. To Olmsted, rural scenery offered a physical and visual contrast with the crowding and artificiality of the city, allowing visitors to relax physically and emotionally, consciously and unconsciously. This park plan features dense marginal text in which Olmsted laid out his vision for a country park adorned simply with paths, natural ledges, and native plantings, trimmed not by lawn mowers but by grazing sheep. Franklin Park never fully achieved Olmsted’s original vision, but evolved to feature a woodland preserve and open fields, as well as a zoo, public golf course, pedestrian and bridle paths, a stadium, and other recreational facilities.
Courtesy of Boston Public Library