Monday Night October 27, 2014 Speaker-Frank Kowsky

Posted by Vern Anderson 
on Oct 27, 2014
 

 Francis Kowsky is SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus. For many years, he taught the history of art and architecture at Buffalo State College. He has written books and articles on 19th century American architects. The New York Times called his book Country Park and City: The Life and Architecture of Calvert Vaux “a handsome effort to rescue from comparative oblivion the architect who shared – sometimes more than equally – with Frederick Law Olmsted in the design of Central Park and other New York amenities. His book The Best Planned City in the World: Olmsted, Vaux and the Buffalo Park System (University of Massachusetts Press and the Library of American Landscape History, 2013) examines the celebrated urban park plan that the designers of Central Park created for Buffalo in 1868-1870 and the 30 years association that Frederick Law Olmsted and his firm had with the Great Lakes city. Frank Kowsky has been a member of the New York State Board for Historic Preservation and has prepared many nominations for listing buildings in the National Register of Historic places.  His book illustrates the development, details and synergy by which the Olmsted park system of the City of Buffalo was designed.  The author was interested in parks and Olmsted and when he came to Buffalo, it was an opportunity to pursue this interest by writing the book.

 

 
  • The Buffalo Park system is in the national register. Calvert Vaux discovered Frederick Law Olmsted.
  • Olmstead tried to find himself and had various vocation until Calvert Vaux told him that he had a talent for designing landscapes and he partnered with Olmstead to win the competition for the design of New York’s Central Park. The philosophy behind it was that people in cities needed a place which gave them a country type landscape and experience to come together and relax in.
  • Olmstead and Vaux also designed Prospect Park as their second endeavor.
  • William Dorsheimer in the summer of 1868 invited Olmstead to Buffalo. Vaux was in Europe at that time. Olmstead recommended 3 parks for 3 different perspective:
    • Delaware Park was created similar to Central Park,
    • The parade, also called the Humboldt Park, and currently Martin Luther King Jr. Park; was created for socializing and sports.
    • The third park was for access to the waterfront which is why it was called the Front Park. All 3 parks were connected by parkways and the drive around the parkway to all 3 parks totaled 6 miles.
  • The Delaware Park was at its peak during 1901.
  • The Parade was a symbol for providing a place where anybody irrespective of their social status could came and join in the social activities of the community. As such there was a big dance hall created in this park. This only lasted for 30 years but due to a fire and a little bit of beer drinking on Sundays it was not considered totally kosher to continue. Humboldt parkway was at one time a globally renowned street but it has decayed now. There are plans to redo it on top of the expressway and turn the expressway into a tunneled road.
  • Front Park has pretty much depleted due to a variety of reasons including all the roads and heavy traffic around it. The noise pollution as a consequence of the resulting traffic is also quite high in that area.
  • The parks had different paths for horse riders, vs cars vs pedestrian. The American Elm was chosen as the tree of choices and they have been replanted several times.
  • When the book was being published they took some current photos and Gates Circle which still looked similar to how it was planned originally.It was an interesting challenge to get the shot from the roof of one of Kalieda Health’s property.
  • After Olmstead’s death in 1904 Frank Lloyd Wright built the Darwin Martin House in Parkside.
  • The title of the book came from a quote from Olmstead.
  • The cemetery forest lawn was already present in 1868 when Olmstead came to Buffalo.
  • The golf course came into play around 1916.
  • The presentation was full of pictures of before and after views of the three parks through the various stages of the parks lives in the past century.