Fairsted, the Brookline estate where Frederick Law Olmsted lived and worked, became America’s first professional landscape architecture firm. From this historic home and design studio, Olmsted and his team shaped over 6,000 landscapes, including Central Park, Boston’s Emerald Necklace, the U.S. Capitol Grounds, and early plans for Yosemite and Niagara Falls. His groundbreaking belief that green spaces were essential for public health and democracy helped define the American city park movement.

Today, Fairsted is preserved as a working design studio frozen in time. Visitors can step inside his home and drafting rooms, where original blueprints, photographs, and nearly one million archival records reveal the creative process behind some of the nation’s most famous landscapes. Outside, Olmsted’s own grounds serve as a living model of his design philosophy, featuring the sunken Hollow garden for quiet reflection, a secluded Rock Garden path, and the open South Lawn framed by towering trees.

Guided tours offer a rare chance to explore the birthplace of American landscape architecture and walk the very land that inspired Olmsted’s designs. For those fascinated by parks, urban planning, or history, Fairsted is a hidden gem that brings the origins of America’s great green spaces to life.