CHAPTER II
AUGUST 1890-DECEMBER 1890

The documents in this chapter present Olmsted’s initial views on the potential sites of the World’s Columbian Exposition. The letter to Lyman Gage of August 12 is his initial report on the use of Jackson Park and the local board of directors’ response to it. Olmsted’s letter to Gage of August 18 is a fuller explication of the seven potential sites, which strongly urged the selection of a northern location overlooking Lake Michigan, while that of August 21 is the earliest indication that Olmsted and his partners had been appointed Landscape Architects for the exposition. The letter to journalist Clarence Pullen of December 4, 1890, reveals how quickly the plan for the exposition grounds came together as well as Olmsted’s effort to ensure favorable publicity for the exposition. Several letters to George W. Vanderbilt and his partners document early progress in the development of Biltmore Estate, which Olmsted considered the first great private work of his profession. They also chronicle the difficulty of working with James Gall, Jr., superintendent of landscape on the estate, who made numerous mistakes in carrying out Olmsted’s instructions. Other documents address a range of subjects: Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.’s, education, the design of the Russell property in Providence, Rhode Island, a proposal to build a seawall, highway, and terrace in Riverside Park in New York City, a defense of the Rochester park commissioners, and Olmsted’s advice on the course of study to a young man considering a career as a landscape architect.