Olmsted in Milwaukee: A Comparative Ethnography of Lake and Riverside Parks

Abstract

Lake Park and Riverside Parks have a long history in Milwaukee from their creation to the present. In 1891, Frederick Law Olmsted designed these parks as part of a larger park system that was connected via the Newberry Boulevard greenway. Over a century later, Lake Park has retained most of its original elements and remains true to Olmsted’s original intention for the park, however, Riverside Park has drastically changed over the decades and has largely fallen into disrepair. This project aimed to investigate the reasons why Riverside Park has undergone significant changes while the structure of Lake Park has remained largely the same. This project explores the literature pertaining to ecological anthropology and how it relates to each of these parks over time. Archival research was performed to explore Olmsted’s history as a landscape architect and examine his philosophy as it pertains to values and principles of park design. Extensive archival research was conducted to obtain historical information for each park and historical photographs were examined to make comparisons to the current conditions of specific park elements, and the Toolkit for the Ethnographic Study of Space (TESS) was used to identify the ways in which Lake and Riverside Parks were used. Ken Leinbach was interviewed and provided information on the history of Riverside Park and the Urban Ecology Center. Findings indicated that Lake Park was primarily used for leisure activities, sports and recreation, as well as being a site for larger city events, whereas Riverside Park was primarily used as a site for nature-based activities, whether they be educational or recreational. This project resulted in the ironic and revelatory finding that Riverside Park has surprisingly become a more accurate reflection of his philosophy and more closely represents vision. While the structure of Lake Park has remained truer to Olmsted’s original landscape design, Riverside Park has become a more accurate representation of that which Olmsted values in his philosophy of park design.