01
Work with the land
Roads, parks, and public spaces follow the natural topography of the central Florida ridge — the lakes, hills, and groves that define the region.
1929 — Present
The Olmsted Brothers plan for Lake Wales.
In 1929, the most celebrated landscape architecture firm in American history drew a blueprint for a small citrus town on Florida's central ridge. Nearly a century later, Lake Wales is finally building it.
Context
Who were the Olmsted Brothers?
The Olmsted Brothers firm — led by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and John Charles Olmsted — was the direct successor to Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., designer of Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, Biltmore Estate, and Stanford's campus. By 1929 the firm had completed more than 3,500 landscapes across North America.
Their Lake Wales commission came during Florida's land boom, when small cities were competing through ambitious city planning. The Olmsted plan was Lake Wales' bid for permanence — a vision of how a citrus town could grow gracefully for a century.
Core ideas
Design principles.
02
Connected green spaces
A continuous system of parks, tree-lined streets, and landscape corridors linking neighborhoods to civic spaces and the natural environment.
03
Civic beauty as public good
Streetscapes, public buildings, and landscape design that elevate daily life for every resident — not just property owners.
04
Walkable, human-scale streets
Neighborhoods designed for people on foot: narrow streets, generous sidewalks, shade trees, destinations within walking distance.
Timeline
A century in motion.
1928
The commission
Lake Wales engages the Olmsted Brothers — successors to Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., who designed Central Park — at the height of the Florida land boom.
1929
The plan delivered
Olmsted Jr. and his associates deliver a visionary master plan that works with the Ridge's natural topography — the rolling hills, chain of lakes, and citrus groves.
1929–1940
Partial implementation
The Depression halts most development. The downtown grid, parts of the park system, and the civic layout are built. The Northwest neighborhood is left outside the plan's formal scope.
1990s–2010s
Rediscovery
Planners and preservation advocates rediscover the plan and begin advocating for its principles — walkability, green infrastructure, civic beauty — decades before mainstream planning catches up.
2020–present
Lake Wales Connected
The city adopts Lake Wales Connected, a 21st-century update by Dover, Kohl & Partners. Combined with the $23M RAISE grant, it is the largest investment in the Olmsted vision since 1929.
The legacy
Crown jewel of the Ridge.
Lake Wales' city motto — "Crown Jewel of the Ridge" — speaks to the Olmsted-era ambition that still animates the town. The 2020s represent the most significant investment in the Olmsted vision since the plan was delivered: Lake Wales Connected and the $23M RAISE grant are rebuilding infrastructure, reconnecting neighborhoods, and finally extending the plan's promise of civic beauty to every corner of the city.