Publisher's Weekly Review
Historian Howard (Architecture's Odd Couple) provides a solid dual biography of pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (1882--1903) and his influential friend, neighbor, and frequent collaborator, building architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838--1886). Howard believes that the pair's joint efforts, including the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, were notable for "unifying buildings and grounds" in a manner that influenced Frank Lloyd Wright's "organic architecture" and other modern trends. Though Howard briskly and lucidly chronicles both men's professional and private lives, and notes the important role they played in each other's careers (Olmsted coordinated the publication of Richardson's biography--"the first book devoted to an American architect"--after his death from complications of Bright's disease), there are few specifics about the manner in which they collaborated or how they actively influenced one another's approaches. Both men's greatest achievements--Central Park and the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore estate for Olmsted; Boston's Trinity Church and Chicago's Marshall Fields wholesale store for Richardson--were done without the other's involvement. Still, Howard succeeds in shining a spotlight on the lesser-known Richardson and documenting Olmsted's innovations as "a democratic designer of places that belonged to everyone." Architecture buffs will be engrossed. (Jan.)
Kirkus Review
The engaging lives of two American visionaries. In a vivid, deeply researched dual biography, Howard, a historian of architecture and design, pays homage to two men who exerted a huge influence on America's homes, parks, and public spaces: landscape designer and environmentalist Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886). The men, who became collaborators, friends, and neighbors, could not have been more different. The ebullient Richardson, the son of a wealthy Southern mercantile family, was brilliant, handsome, and privileged. A grandson of naturalist Joseph Priestly, he went to Harvard, and when he decided to enter the relatively new profession of architecture, he enrolled at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he embarked on a productive apprenticeship. Olmsted, quieter and reserved, had been prevented from going to college because of an eye problem; after working at several jobs, he thought he might become a farmer. During a trip abroad in the early 1850s, however, he was inspired by Europe's public parks to stand for election as superintendent of Central Park in Manhattan--a project that earned him accolades. The Civil War changed both men's lives. Louisiana-born Richardson faced financial straits; Olmsted headed the Army's Sanitary Commission and, after the war, worked for a mining company in California, where he obtained a commission to design what would become Berkeley, including the University of California campus. Howard details their many collaborative projects, including the Albany Capitol, the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, the Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane, and many private estates. Olmsted designed Brooklyn's Prospect Park as well as other parks across the country. Richardson was the acclaimed architect for Boston's Brattle Square Church and Trinity Church as well as for his innovative open-plan homes. Howard chronicles their family lives and health problems as well as their creative work, illustrated with period photographs. As he did in Architecture's Odd Couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson, the author brings the architectural world to life on the page. An absorbing and informative history from a significant historian/biographer. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Architect Henry Hobson Richardson and landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted were great friends and collaborators. Both men, notes Howard, "left an indelible imprint on buildings and parks, both public and private." Even so, they never forged a professional partnership; instead, their "bond was akin to a brotherhood." Howard offers a double biography, as he did in Architecture's Odd Couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson (2016), noting the two men's opposite temperaments; Olmsted was somber, Richardson exuberant. Howard chronicles their lives and careers, noting their best-known works. Chapters are devoted, for example, to Olmsted and his codesigner Calvert Vaux's design for Central Park in New York City and Richardson's Romanesque-style Trinity Church in Boston. Olmsted's other important works include Chicago's Jackson Park and the planned suburban community of Riverside. Richardson also designed several iconic Chicago buildings, including the convention-defying Glessner House, which looked like a fortress, and his "open plan" for family homes. A well-researched dual biography, rich in historical context, presenting two gifted architects who as robust allies utterly transformed the look of American buildings and landscapes.
Library Journal Review
Howard, whose Architecture's Odd Couple focused on Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson, here pairs another design team: Frederick Law Olmsted, the first and arguably best U.S. landscape designer, whose accomplishments ranged from Manhattan's Central Park to the preservation of Yosemite National Park, and the first leading U.S. architect, Henry Hobson Richardson. The two were friends, and though Richardson isn't as well-known now, we have him to thank for Boston's stunning Trinity Church and the open plan for family homes.
