Olmsted Garden - Jacksonville, FL - Olmsted Designed Parks on Waymarking.com

"First developed in the early 1930s by the renowned landscape firm Olmsted Brothers for homeowners Waldo and Clara Cummer, the garden was maintained by the firm until 1958 when it sold the property to Barnett Bank. For several decades employees of the bank used the garden property as a place for picnics and recreation, including a shuffleboard court.

After the Museum was established, it bought the property in the early 1990s and used it for a summer camp, creating faux archeological digs, according to Holly Keris, chief curator. “The Museum staff ‘planted’ archeological items from various periods so that children could get involved in uncovering history.”

The revival of the original Olmsted Garden has been nearly a decade in the making. Although Olmsted the architect didn’t document the results with “as-built” drawings, correspondence between the firm and Clara Cummer, as well as archival photos, provided a good blueprint for the Cummer’s current staff and contractors to create a near-faithful 21st century facsimile.

Aside from three majestic oak trees, the curved stone wall at the back of the property, the pergola and the feature wall that separates the Olmsted Garden from the Italian Garden, almost everything else is brand new. One historic piece – the Mercury statue – was tracked down in Melrose, FL and returned to sit proudly in the center of the garden."

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Type of Public Space: Garden Job Number: 06165 Architect: Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

Visit Instructions:
There are no specific visit requirements, however telling about your visit is strongly encouraged. Additional photos of the park to add to the gallery are also nice, but not required. Pictures with a GPS or you in them is highly discouraged.

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