Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Olmsted Legacy
Gwynns Falls Trail
Think green and thank the Olmsteds as you walk along the Gwynns Falls Trail. If it weren’t for the Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects firm, the City of Baltimore would not be blessed with most of its large multipurpose parks, neighborhood playgrounds, boulevards, parkways, and wooded stream valleys. Hired by the Municipal Arts Society in 1903 and 1926, the Olmsteds envisioned swaths of green tempering the area’s urbanization and providing places to enjoy the outdoors. Over the years the city adopted most of the plan. Today officials, civic organizations, and volunteers from all walks of life are working together to revitalize these natural preserves and complete the plan envisioned over 100 years ago.
This valley (Gwynns Falls) …has been freer from defacement by man’s activities. It is considered by all who view it as one of the best bits of scenery near Baltimore-
Olmsted Report 1926.
[Captions:]
The 1904 Olmsted Report showed Baltimore’s existing parks in green and the firms proposed parklands in orange. The firm later created plans for residential developments, labeled in purple, and participated in the siting and landscaping of significant institutions such as Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
The City and the Bay-Early ecologists, the Olmsteds recognized that water quality and quantity are directly linked to the protection of stream valleys and watersheds. Their insights laid the groundwork for Baltimore’s acquisition of lands to establish parks and reservoirs. These protected lands, in turn play a role in the health of the Chesapeake Bay by providing natural buffers that filter storm water pollutants before they reach the Bay.
Erected by Gwynns Falls Trail Council / A Project of the Parks & People Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Environment • Horticulture & Forestry. A significant historical year for this entry is 1903.
Location. 39° 16.894′ N, 76° 36.673′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in the Inner Harbor. Marker is on Key Highway. The marker is near the front of the Maryland Science Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Baltimore MD 21202, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Port of Baltimore (here, next to this marker); United States Merchant Seamen Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Private Armed Schooner of Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); Baltimore’s Part in Saving the Bay (within shouting distance of this marker); Jake's Skatepark (within shouting distance of this marker); Generating Electricity from the Sun (within shouting distance of this marker); A History of Firsts in Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); 120 East Montgomery Street (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.
Credits. This page was last revised on October 21, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 23, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 285 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 23, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.