ISBN: 961203846; Author: Foreman, L. Ronald; Publisher: Audubon Park Press; Format: Hardcover; Former plantation, site of the 1884 Cotton Exposition, living example of Olmsted landscaping, and home of the Audubon Zoological Garden, New Orleans' Audubon Park is as exciting today as it is rich in history. Audubon Park: An Urban Eden celebrates the hundreth anniversary of the park in over 200 lush photographs and historical documents. Meandering through the paths from St. Charles Avenue to Magazine Street, the reader begins a visual excursion that reflects the planners' sense of commitment to creating an urban setting dominated by natural scenery. Full color photographs show joggers and weekend fishermen enjoying the fruits of the vision of John Charles Olmsted, nephew of Frederick Law Olmsted, whose landscaping firm was also responsible for planning New York City's Central Park. From there the tour goes across Magazine Street through the zoo, an award-winning facility that provides natural habitats for its variety of animals. The antics of the monkeys, beauty of exotic birds, and ferocity of tigers are only some of the memorable photographs that speak of the enjoyment both children and adults find at the zoo. Interwoven throughout this pictorial fabric is an engaging and thorough account of Audubon Park's past. Rare photographs of the early sites before planning of the park and zoo create an appreciation for the lush landscape and moss-covered live oak trees that exist today. Together this wealth of visual beauty and fascinating history documents the unique quality of New Orleans' urban eden. ( 164 pages) |