50 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY 



which was also the line of the main drive, between the trees and topographical conditions 

 on the one hand and the houses and demands of land-owners on the other. The water- 

 way was changed to fresh water, being supplied by abundant springs and by the brook 

 flowing through Brookline. Various bridges were introduced where necessary or desirable. 

 The preliminary designs for these were prepared by the landscape architects and put 

 in proper architectural shape by Messrs. Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, and the City Engi- 

 neer's office, except the great Longwood Bridge, the engineering part of which was done 

 by Messrs. French & Bryant, of Brookline. The exigencies of design required most of 

 the old creek channel to be filled and a new waterway to be created. A border mound 

 was raised along the railroad to hide it. The shores of the waterway were everjnvhere 

 filled with gravel, to hold back the more or less movable mud. As in the case of the 

 Fens, every portion of the surface, except such limited areas as had trees growing upon 

 them, were regarded according to carefully studied grading plans. 



OLMSTED PARK 



The two parks originally named Leverett Park and Jamaica Park were combined 

 and named Olmsted Park out of compliment to Frederick Law Olmsted, after he retired 

 ■ owing to feeble health. This park comprises an unusual variety of scenery, including 

 Jamaica Pond, Leverett Pond, and other ponds and pools, two wooded knolls, a brook 

 and extensive wooded banks. With so many interesting and picturesque scenes, the main 

 effort of the designers was to preserve and develop each according to its essential 

 characteristics. 



The site of Leverett Pond was a much larger cat-tail swamp, extending on the west 

 to Pond Avenue. To provide an attractive, secluded drive and walk entirely within 

 the park on this side of the swamp, a rather wide strip had to be filled in. The mud was 

 excavated 8 feet deep and gravel dikes filled along the shore where mtld was left, to prevent 

 the mud from sliding. Where land was cheaper, east of Leverett Pond, the bordering 

 parkway was swung well up the hillside, to broaden the park. Above Leverett Pond, in 

 addition to the existing brook and ponds, a number of pools were created, in the expec- 

 tation that this part of the park would be used by the Natural History Society for a Zoo- 

 logical Garden in which aquatic birds and animals would be the principal features. As" 

 the society failed to raise the necessary funds, the superfluous pools have been fifled .up. 



Willow Pond, the next pond above Leverett Pond, was relocated, but in such away 

 that it looks just as natural as before, in fact more so, because it originally had a narrow 

 dam with a row of willow trees growing upon it. The brook, too, existed, yet is now 

 quite different. It is not quite natural in appearance, because it was thought preferable to 

 introduce into it a series of little boulder dams, so as to hold back enough water to show. 



Ward's Pond, the next pond below Jamaica Pond, was less radically changed. A walk 

 was fifled in around the margin, and the narrow dam was widened, so as to disguise its 

 artificial character. AH these and other changes were carefufly planned on paper and 

 carried out by means of plans and specifications by a contractor. The engineer in charge 

 estimated that the grading would have cost 25 per cent more if done by the regular park 

 day's-work gangs. 



Jamaica Pond is in general landscape effect what it was, except that numerous houses 

 and two great ranges of ice-houses were removed, and that a good deal of the margin 



