Connection to Nature & Learning

Connection to Nature and Learning. . , In 1911, construction of East 33rd Street and The Alameda began to create the "Olmsted Parkways" , tree-lined boulevards that would connect a ring of parks around the city., The parkways were designed and named after Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., a noted landscape architect whose father's work included Central Park and Prospect Park in New York City, the Emerald Necklace in Boston, and the Capital grounds in Washington, D.C. The parkways were envisioned as extensions of city parks , Druid Hill Park, Wyman Park, Venable Park, Lake Montebello, Herring River Park and Clifton Park , and would bring them directly to the people and create green spaces for neighborhoods along the route. They were paved and opened to traffic in 1914. The "parking" of these streets , that is, planting to make them parks, was completed in 1916 and a grand opening celebration on East 33rd Street was held in 1919 after world war one. Each end of the parkway features Hans Schuler sculptures , Johns Hopkins on the west and Martin Luther on the east. Along the East 33rd Street Olmsted Parkway is Medstar Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore City College, the former Eastern High School, Methodist and Lutheran churches and Venable Park, where Memorial Stadium once stood. The Waverly Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library along East 33rd Street also reflects Olmsted's values of improving the quality of life for all Baltimore residents. Enoch Pratt, a successful businessman and noted philanthropist, established the central Enoch Pratt Free Library in 1886 so that it would be open "for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color." The Waverly Branch is one of 21 Enoch Pratt Free Libraries across Baltimore City., Waverly Main Street is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is part of the Baltimore National Heritage Area.