From the Archives: Mary Louise Curtis Bok, Olmsted Brothers, and the Creation of Harbor Park
(Image courtesy Camden Public Library)
James Frederick Dawson, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and
Percival Gallagher (Photo courtesy Camden Public Library/National Park Service)
Mary Louise Curtis Bok (Image courtesy Camden Public Library)
Aerial view of Harbor Park (Photo courtesy Camden Public Library/5iveleaf Photography)
(Image courtesy Camden Public Library)
James Frederick Dawson, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and
Percival Gallagher (Photo courtesy Camden Public Library/National Park Service)
Mary Louise Curtis Bok (Image courtesy Camden Public Library)
Aerial view of Harbor Park (Photo courtesy Camden Public Library/5iveleaf Photography)
The Camden Public Library invites the public to travel back in time to 1930s Camden during the depths of the Depression. During this time the publishing heiress, philanthropist, and progressive activist Mary Louise Curtis Bok hired America’s preeminent landscape architect team, the Olmsted Brothers Firm, to realize her vision for Camden’s harbor shorefront.
Using documents and photographs from the Walsh History Center, the presentation by members of the Library’s Board of Trustees will present a biography of Camden’s generous benefactress, provide key insights into the Olmsted’s design principles, and show how these two larger-than-life forces came to transform the head of Camden Harbor into the beloved oasis of beauty known as Harbor Park.
The event is free and open to the public and will take place on Sunday, April 13, at 2 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
