Matthew Evans, Landscape Architect of the U.S. Capitol, "Where We Live, Where We Work: The Olmsted Influence in America."
Chevy Chase Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Avenue Chevy Chase, Maryland at 8pm.
Community residents were invited to hear Matthew Evans, Landscape Architect of the U.S. Capitol, describe the influence of Frederick Law Olmsted and his sons on the development of suburbs like Chevy Chase, Maryland. Considered the father of American landscape architecture, Olmsted urged a separation of business place and residence, a revolutionary idea at the turn of the 20th century. He envisioned suburbs connected to the city by commuter trains as relaxed country settings with winding streets and abundant tree canopy – a calm contrast to the rigors of noisy, densely populated cities.
Mr. Evans explainedl how these Olmsted design principles influenced early suburbs like Riverside, Illinois and Chevy Chase.
Evans is a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Senior Landscape Architect and Horticulturist of the U.S. Capitol. Projects he has designed during his 16 years at the U.S. Capitol include Bartholdi Park, the Senate Rain Garden and a four-acre park connecting the Rayburn House Office Building with Metro’s Federal Center Southwest Station.
