Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is recognized as the founder of American landscape architecture and the nation’s foremost parkmaker. Olmsted moved his home to suburban Boston in 1883 and established at “Fairsted” the world's first full-scale professional office for the practice of landscape design. Over the course of the next century, his sons and successors expanded and perpetuated Olmsted's design ideals, philosophy, and influence. This workshop is now a National Historic Site.

Park resources include the recently restored “Fairsted” historic landscape and a century-old design office which remains virtually unchanged from the days when the Olmsted firm’s activity was at its height. Housed within the office complex are nearly 1,000,000 original design records detailing work on many of America’s most treasured landscapes including the U. S. Capitol and White House Grounds; Great Smoky Mountains and Acadia National Parks; Yosemite Valley; New York's Central Park; and whole park systems in cities such as Seattle, Boston and Louisville. The Olmsteds also played an influential role in the creation of the National Park Service. Writing from his desk in Brookline, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. crafted evocative words that served as the foundation for legislation establishing the Park Service in 1916:

"To conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."