I have heard the Morris Arboretum was designed by the son and
stepson of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Is
this true? — All About Olmsted Dear landscape lover, Well, not
exactly. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of Olmsted Sr., was
hired in 1932 to draw up plans for the Arboretum, though his
impact was not a huge one. His half brother, John Charles
Olmsted, had died in 1920. The Olmsted Brothers firm, which did
design work at the White House, U.S. Capital and, locally, at
Bryn Mawr and Haverford colleges, was hired by the Arboretum at
a time of change. Founded by the wealthy brother and sister pair
of John and Lydia Morris in 1887, the gardens did not officially
become part of Penn until 1932, the same year Olmsted was
brought in. The Morrises had spent years molding their former
family summer home into a garden showcase, and many of the
garden’s most famous features—the Fernery (1899), the Log Cabin
(1908) and the Loggia (1913), among others—were built long
before Olmsted showed up. Bob Gutow