Washington Park Camera Club Celebrates Olmsted200: South Park Then & Now
April 26, 2022, marks the 200th birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., founder of American landscape architecture. Olmsted, who’s core belief is parks are democratic spaces for all people, designed such iconic green spaces as New York’s Central Park, the National Capitol Grounds in Washington D.C; Chicago’s 1871 South Park, now Jackson, Washington Parks and Midway Plaisance; and transformed much of South Park into the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition fairgrounds.
The celebration includes Washington Park Camera Club’s on-line photo exhibit South Park Then and Now which highlights the importance of Olmsted’s landscapes in the past as well as the vital role they play in the lives of Chicagoans today; historian Julia Bachrach’s free summer walking tours and a fall virtual program about the past, present, and future of Olmsted’s parks in Chicago (date to be announced). This program series is part of the nationwide Olmsted 200 “Parks for All People “celebration.
South Park Then and Now, a 22-minute video, weaves together historic and contemporary images of Jackson, Washington Parks and Midway Plaisance. With recent photography by 13 members of the Washington Park Camera Club, the project documents continuity and changes while highlighting the importance of Olmsted’s landscapes in the past and the vital role they play in the lives of Chicagoans today. [Source: Hyde Park Historical Society’s YouTube Channel]
Register for free walking tours led by Julia Bachrach
Presented in collaboration with the Hyde Park Historical Society, South Park Then and Now is part of Art Design Chicago Now, an initiative funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art that amplifies the voices of Chicago’s diverse creatives, past and present, and explores the essential role they play in shaping the now.
Learn more about the project at: https://www.hydeparkhistory.org/blog/south-park-then-and-now
Club Featured on WTTW Chicago’s “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices”
The Club was also featured on Chicago’s WTTW PBS channel during the “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” program on Saturday, April 23, 2022: Click HERE to view the video on WTTW’s website. Fast-forward to 21:30 for the segment on WPCC.
Additional Resources:
- Block Club Chicago – Washington Park Camera Club, Chicago’s Oldest Club for Black Photographers, Spotlights the Park’s Past and Present
- Hyde Park Historical Society
- Olmsted Legacy in Chicago, Julia Bachrach
- Terra Foundation, Art Design Chicago
- WTTW Chicago Tonight Black Voices, WPCC Helps Celebrate Frederick Law Olmsted with New Photos, Historical Context
