IV. The Design Features of Central Park  Wood, Water, and the Meadow; The Circulation System & Comparison with Western European Gardens 

V. Prospect Park --- Viele's plan to Vaux, and Vaux and Olmsted: the Gem of their early works  Other Plans, Suburban Development, The Plant Associations, & Gifts from the Nations of the World

Prospect Park was the crowning achievement of Brooklyn's golden decade - the 1860's. The largest single investment made by the City of Brooklyn up until that time, the cost of acquiring the Park land was upwards of $4 million. The actual cost of construction of the Park amounted to more than $5 million. 

The decision to build a major park in Brooklyn was no doubt inspired by the scarcely completed but already world-famous Central Park. In 1860 the City of Brooklyn bought a large tract of land to be developed as a park under the direction of Egbert Viele, the Chief Engineer for Central Park's construction. The tract included the northern end of what is now Prospect Park, the east side lands (where the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Brooklyn Botanic Garden are now located) and several blocks to the north and east of what would later become Eastern Parkway. 

The purchase of land on the east side of Flatbush Avenue was designed to include Mt. Prospect and its reservoir (at 198 feet above sea level, the second highest point in Brooklyn) noted for its panoramic views of the ocean, bays, harbors, and rivers. According to Viele's plan, the park was to be built on both sides of Flatbush Avenue with a pedestrian bridge at the north end and an underpass at what is now the Willink entrance. 

 The outbreak of the Civil War stopped all construction on the Park and gave Park Commissioners time to reconsider Viele's plan.  Finding it unsatisfactory, in 1865 they engaged Calvert Vaux, co-designer of Central Park, to make a new study of the Park lands. 

Vaux realized that it would be impossible to create a broad expanse of rural scenery with a main highway jutting through its center. He also pointed out that the tract had no space for a large lake for ice skating, then the city's most popular outdoor sport. In a masterly solution, Vaux advised selling the east side lands and buying a large tract to the south and west of existing Park lands. The recommended purchase included most of the area of the present Nethermead, the two southernmost moraines (present day Lookout Hill and Breeze Hill) and beyond these ridges, a flat
stretch of farmland to accommodate the proposed lake. 

The Park Commissioners, under the brilliant and incorruptible leadership of James S.T. Stranahan, followed Vaux's recommendations. At the close of the Civil War in 1865, Vaux and   his partner, Frederick Law Olmsted, were engaged to draw up plans for the enlarged and unified Park. The Park Commissioners, recognizing the superlative artistry and skill of the new design, adopted the plan and thereafter staunchly defended it against attempted incursions by special interest groups and politicians. 
 

VI. Other Early Developments (Urban Parks)  A. California Developments of Olmsted 
Fredrick and Mary Olmsted - Yosemite Valley in 1864

B. Mount Royal in Montreal, Canada - begun in 1874

Mount Royal, begun in 1874, was the first park that Olmsted designed after he and Calvert Vaux dissolved their partnership.

Olmsted decided that he would emphasize the areas mountainous topography.  To do this, he decided to make the mountain more mountainous through the use of exaggerated vegetation, such as shade trees at the bottom of the carriage path that climbs the mountain, so that it resembles a valley. 

Unfortunately for Olmsted and the park, the city of Montreal suffered a depression in the mid 1870s, and many of Olmsted's plans were abandoned. The carriage way was built, but it was done hastily and without regards to the original plan. None of the vegetation choices were followed and the reservoir was never built.
 

C. Seneca Park in Rochester, NY 

D. Jackson Park in Chicago, IL (Known as the South Park in 1871) 

E. South Park in Buffalo, NY 

F. City Park in Albany, NY 

G. Public Pleasure Grounds in San Francisco, CA 

H. Parks were developed in numerous cities throughout the USA