Olmsted Report The following images and text have been excerpted from Pittsburgh Main Thoroughfares and the Down Town District: Improvements Necessary to Meet the City's Present and Future Needs, A Report by Frederick Law Olmsted  On steep hillsides:  "Generally speaking, these steeper and more irregular pieces will be of greater use to the public than they could be to private occuptants. It must be noted, however, that their value for recreation is distinctly limited. They cannot adequately or economically supply the local needs for playfields, out-door gynasiums and the like; and as isolated fragments they cannot, of course, fulfill the lfunctions of large rural parks. It is possible, however, to lay out sidehill walks on easy gradients and to furnish seats and terraces, especially near the upper edge of such declivities, where the people of the neighborhood can stroll and rest and enjoy interesting and extensive views over the city, the river, or the adjacent valley; always with the steep natural hillside below as a foreground." -Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., 1910  Next Page   map of Nine Mile Run  Olmsted on Nine Mile Run  Olmsted on Steep Hillsides  Olmsted on Special Park Opportunities