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Frederick Law Olmsted (FLO) was a 19th-century innovator, author, city planner and founder of landscape architecture whose remarkable landscape designs have literally changed the face of America.

Olmsted and the Olmsted Firm developed beautiful and functional landscapes throughout the nation, including parks and parkway systems, diverse recreation areas, college and institutional campuses, urban and suburban areas, planned communities, estates, cemeteries and specialized landscapes for arboreta and expositions. Olmsted envisioned the preservation of America’s great scenic features for the enjoyment of all Americans and his son (FLO, Jr.) played a critical role in the creation of the National Park System.

Olmsted and the Olmsted Firm undertook nearly 6,000 projects over a period of 100 years. These designs can still be enjoyed coast to coast – from New York’s Central Park to Palos Verdes in California. These landscapes are part of America’s cultural heritage.

“Communitiveness,” a word coined by Olmsted, was the bringing together of groups and individuals for the betterment of all. Nothing exemplifies that more than Olmstead Linear Park, the centerpiece of the Druid Hills neighborhood.

The park is divided into six segments –Springdale, Virgilee, Oak Grove, Shadyside, Dellwood, and Deepdene – along Ponce de Leon Avenue. Children ride their bikes, exercise enthusiasts run along the paved pathways, and dogs and their owners enjoy a leisurely stroll through the old-growth forest. Some of the trees in the park are more than 275 years old.

Sandra Stewart Kruger, executive director of the Olmsted Linear Park Alliance (OLPA), said the 45-acres of greenspace had proven, once again, their vitalness to not only Druid Hills but the entire city.

“The park has been a wonderful oasis for visitors who needed to be outside, spend time with their families, and shake off the COVID-19 mess,” Kruger said. “We even had home school and pop-up classrooms.”

It’s hard to believe that the lush park was ever considered disposable, but after decades of neglect, the park was almost lost to a highway project.

“The state thought the park wasn’t important because it had become a place to avoid,” Kruger said. “There had been erosion, people parked their cars in there, modifications that weren’t part of Olmsted’s design had been made, and it was just dilapidated.”

In 1997, the OLPA was formed as a public-private partnership to return the park to Olmsted’s original vision. Through a series of capital campaigns, OLPA raised more than $10 million to ensure the restoration and preservation of the park.

Kruger calls Olmsted a visionary.

“There are all these spaces across the nation we have today because of his vision,” she said. “Olmsted was an abolitionist, fought for social justice, and believed parks and greenspaces should be accessible for everyone. That is definitely something to celebrate in the environment we are in today.” maples. Golf legend Bobby Jones was married in that garden.”

For more about the OLPA, visit atlantaolmsteadpark.org.

The 52nd annual Historic Druid Hills Home & Garden Tour coincides perfectly with the Olmsted 200 celebration with a showcase of 12 of the neighborhood’s most notable dwellings.

According to tour organizer Kit Eisterhold, a real estate advisor with Engel & Volkers Atlanta, this year’s tour has some of Druid Hills’ most beautiful homes, including the “Driving Miss Daisy” house at 822 Lullwater Road.

Now owned by Jim and Cyndy Roberts, the Tudorstyle home has been virtually unchanged since it was built in 1920 and when it was used as the home of the title character in the Academy Award-winning film starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman.

Famed architect Neel Reid designed the French Manor home at 1348 Fairview, which Eisterhold calls “one of the finest in the neighborhood.” It was originally owned by an heir to Rich’s Department Store.

For Tour & Ticket information

Another noted architect, Arthur Neil Robinson, designed the Tudor at 1296 Fairview, which comes with a scandalous history. Eisterhold said C.S. Carnes, an accountant for the Southern Baptist Convention, bought the home with embezzled funds that in today’s dollars would amount to more than $12 million.

Eisterhold described the Tudor-style “estate home” at 1741 S. Ponce, which faces Olmsted Linear Park, as a “showstopper.”

Eisterhold said another tour-stop not to miss is the garden at 797 Springdale. “It’s famous in the neighborhood for having tensof-thousands of bulbs planted and Japanese

Tour hours are 1 to 5 p.m. on April 29; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 30; and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 1. Tickets are $35 and available via Eventabrite.