Overlooking Lake Erie, The Front was a key part of the nation’s first park and parkway system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux for Buffalo, New York in 1868. The most formal of the three parks linked by parkways, Olmsted saw The Front as a spot with “a character of magnificence admirably adapted to be associated with stately ceremonies, the entertainment of public guests, and other occasions of civic display."
Olmsted’s design for The Front included a playground, grassy fields for baseball and cricket, and an amphitheater, the last of which was proposed by Vaux. Next to the playground is a formal gravel space referred to as “The Terrace", and a steep slope leads down to the Erie Canal and railroad lines. To avoid park users from seeing these, Olmsted screened them with thick plantations, and benefited from the natural difference in elevation.
As with many Olmsted designed landscapes, The Front was artfully constructed to enhance nature. Extensive pathways and carriage drives provide accommodation to those walking and driving. When viewing The Front, an early Buffalo Parks Commissioner noted that “In the summer and autumn months it is fanned by a cool westerly breeze, almost constantly blowing from the lake…."
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service