Justin Martin

Suburbs are ubiquitious today — and much maligned. But in 1868, when Olmsted did his masterful plan for Riverside, Illinois, a suburb was nothing short of a revolutionary new way of living.

People tend to view Niagara Falls as a natural wonder surrounded by manmade blunder. If not for Olmsted’s efforts, it would be a whole lot worse.

Prospect Park has 45 — count ’em — 45 full-time employees. But an army of 6,000 volunteers helps tend this 526-acre greenspace in the heart of Brooklyn.

People forget that not only was Olmsted a peerless landscape architect, he was also a pioneering conservationist.

Visiting Buffalo to see the work of Olmsted and Vaux. They designed five of this city’s parks. Amazing thing is, 131 years after they first began planning them, not only do these parks still exist, but they remain vital places.