“Further Information: History of Louisville’s Park.” Olmstedparks.org. n.d. Web.

Cherokee Park’s trails and relaxed environment are not recent developments. The park was designed nearly one-hundred and twenty years ago by Frederick Law Olmsted. He had designed Central Park in New York City as well as the United States Capital Grounds. He was highly qualified for the designing of Cherokee Park. Olmsted was said to have strong social values that he incorporated into his park’s architecture. This information was obtained and written by the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Inc. They are a non-profit organization that is in place to help preserve and better the Frederick Law Olmsted parks in Louisville.
According to the Conservancy, Mr. Olmsted was said to have strong social values which he integrated into his parks through architecture and design. Cherokee Park thus has a calming and relaxing environment for people to escape to. The Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy discussed their views of Olmsted’s architectural style in connection to his high social values. They claim that “For a balanced life, Olmsted realized, people need contact with nature. The parks would provide that, green oases that would relieve the stresses that came with close living conditions, poor air quality, lack of peace and solitude.” The view that a balanced life needs contact with nature supports the ideologies of the Louisville Olmsted Parks Conservancy. They enhance and protect our beautiful parks because they agree that parks offer beneficial factors to our community.
This source of Frederick Law Olmsted’s motivations in park architecture supports the same feelings I have with Cherokee Park’s trails. People need a break from our highly stressful society we live in today. This begins an important discussion as to the underlying motivation for parks in general. On a more specific note, is Cherokee Park and its trails maintained by our government and community for the same reasons that it was founded on a hundred years ago? The Louisville Olmsted Conservancy seems to be a great source of information in researching Cherokee Park. They must also have educated members in the field that can help in further research and questions that arise from the early ideas that created Cherokee Park.