Another weekend, another Olmsted Park. This time, I found myself with my family in Echo Lake Park in Mountainside, NJ. I realize I’m late to the game in knowing the Olmsteds designed boatload of parks in northern New Jersey, but I’m excited about it anyway. The opportunity to see so many examples of late 19thand early 20thcentury park design is unique. Yet, public parks have had a rough history and many these incredible places show the scars.
Olmsted is a god-like figure in New York City. It’s impossible to overstate how Olmsted Sr. influenced the way New Yorkers feel the city via his masterpiece Central Park. And yet, Central Park was his first attempt at “landscape gardening” and not a later-in-career project. Even his less known projects like Prospect Park and Forest Hills Garden are wildly majestic both in place as well as rumor. A sense of pride introduces itself to you with regard to the Olmsted firm’s work in the five boroughs. Anytime I went to Central Park or Prospect Park or Forest Park or Forest Hills Garden with anyone that knew anything about Olmsted, they would tell their tale with great reverence. This level of awe and respect doesn’t exist for the dozens upon dozens of Olmsted designs spaces in New Jersey.
Essex and Union counties has between 50 and 70 parks designed by one phase or another of the Olmsted firm. Yet, there’s not that same sense of pride about them as I experienced in NYC. Sure they are an assortment of sizes and locations compared to the gigantic and “central” locale of Central Park, but the vignettes created in these NJ parks are spectacular. The use of water and hills…the way trees and tree lines direct the eye…the sense of everlasting nature just beyond the border of the space makes these places incredible. But they are almost entirely hidden from local knowledge though they are embedded into the fabric of the towns and villages they are part of.
Essex and Union counties has between 50 and 70 parks designed by one phase or another of the Olmsted firm. Yet, there’s not that same sense of pride about them as I experienced in NYC. Sure they are an assortment of sizes and locations compared to the gigantic and “central” locale of Central Park, but the vignettes created in these NJ parks are spectacular. The use of water and hills…the way trees and tree lines direct the eye…the sense of everlasting nature just beyond the border of the space makes these places incredible. But they are almost entirely hidden from local knowledge though they are embedded into the fabric of the towns and villages they are part of.
We parked in near the dog park and walked toward the southern shore of Echo Lake. To call it a shore is a little incorrect. A short concrete wall creates a definite line where the water meets the land. From the wall, beautiful views flow in one after another. On the far side of the lake, the land slopes up quickly forming both a wall of sorts as well as a canvas for trees.
Since it was late October when we visited, the leaves on the trees had made the canvas of trees that much more colorful and dramatic. A small signs says that a local Elks Lodge had restored the area back in 1994.
One complaint is that there wasn’t a direct path to the lake from the parking lot or a crosswalk that made the journey a little nerve racking because I had 2 kids in tow. But once we got to the water, a pathway drew us south in two ways. First, the lake narrows to the south creating a visual sense of movement. Secondly (and this is how design doesn’t always have to be visual), we could hear the sound of water falling. We couldn’t see what was making the noise, but the two elements made it irresistible to not go and find out.
One complaint is that there wasn’t a direct path to the lake from the parking lot or a crosswalk that made the journey a little nerve racking because I had 2 kids in tow. But once we got to the water, a pathway drew us south in two ways. First, the lake narrows to the south creating a visual sense of movement. Secondly (and this is how design doesn’t always have to be visual), we could hear the sound of water falling. We couldn’t see what was making the noise, but the two elements made it irresistible to not go and find out.
Echo Lake Park was one of the first parks designed and constructed within the Union County Park System in the early 1920s. The layout reminds me of Branch Brook Park in Newark (which I hope to blog about in the future). Echo Lake frames the park in the same way Branch Brook Lake frames Branch Brook. We didn’t get to see the entire places, but only the southernmost portion of Echo Lake. Last Saturday, it was rainy and cloudy so my family went to Mountainside to see a movie. After the movie, I made a point to going into Echo Lake to see it. Park Drive snakes through the landscape with the signature Olmsted gesture that I’ve seen over and over. They like use roadways to define the edges or act as a spine for parks. We only had about 30 minutes to see as much of Echo Lake as we could. That little amount of time allowed us to see a nice chunk of it.
The path curves and flows south changing your relationship to the water, slope, trees and land with each step. A gazebo anchors the walkway at the southernmost tip to help guide you. It’s not necessarily a magnificent structure, but it pulls you toward it.
The surprise comes when you reach it. Below the gazebo is a working waterwheel spinning to move water into a man-made canal.
The stonework of the canal and how it moves across the area is definitely interesting, but the fact that it flanks a 60 or 70ft long waterfall makes it that much more impactful.
Echo Lake pours over the man-made falls to make a stream that whines south to where Park Dr meets Mountain Ave (the southern boundary of the park)
Unfortunately, this area is fenced and gated off with signs posted to “Keep Out”. My guess is enough people climbed out onto the waterfall and got hurt to require the barriers. These additions do take away from the scene.
Unfortunately, this area is fenced and gated off with signs posted to “Keep Out”. My guess is enough people climbed out onto the waterfall and got hurt to require the barriers. These additions do take away from the scene.
However, when you are standing in the gazebo, you can see a bench farther down the stream. Again, there’s no direct path to the bench. With little exploring, we found a break in the trees and dirt path to it. When we got to the bench, we got to see a huge blue heron in the stream fishing. I guess it didn’t feel super social because it to flight and flew in the along the stream out of sight. My kids couldn’t have been more excited to see it.
We followed the stream until it came to Mountain Ave. Seeing the time, I knew we had to hightail it back to the parking lot. On our way back, we made a detour across Park Drive and up a steep hill. On the map of the park, it shows a soccer field passed the top.
We didn’t make it that far, but from the top of this hill the entire feeling of the landscape changes. Where trees and the walkways at the lake constrain the sense of space, the opposite was true from the top of the hill. Everything flops out before you to see. The air seems fresher and the light brighter. My kids ran about exploring whatever came before them like trees and grasses and shrubs. They ran through a Sept 11 memorial nearby…and then, after seeing all that could be seen, they rushed down the hill as fast as possible yelling with glee.
At that point, it was time to go. My wife had an appointment to make so we all had to switch to a more utility mentality of getting back to my truck to leave. We didn’t get to see everything, but there’s something nice about that. It leaves a wanting while leaving. We all wanted to come back and explore more.
These are all of the good things about the park. There are a few negative points too. The park isn’t maintained with great care. I guess in its heyday every blade of grass was manicured, but the spaces are only maintained good enough. The lakeside pathway is caked in mud and falling apart in places. There’s little trace of the park being updated…all of the plants and trees seem to be marginal. That said, we were practically running the entire visit. It was enough exercise to put my youngest to sleep after the fieldtrip. And yet, the lack of care given to the park makes me thing about how many outdoor spaces aren’t simply forgotten but merely tolerated with the minimal amount of attention.
I read a history about the Union County Park System. It highlights how different economic and social changes have negatively effected the system from the Great Depression in the 1920’s to funding being focused on highway construction post-World War 2 to how other factors in the 1970s and 80s drew people from the parks. Maybe people are beginning to see these parks as a valuable asset. People want to have incredible places to see nature. Public parks are ideal for this and the park system in Union County is posed to offer something quite unique indeed. For me, I’ll find any excuse to drag my family to see a work of art nearby anytime.
At that point, it was time to go. My wife had an appointment to make so we all had to switch to a more utility mentality of getting back to my truck to leave. We didn’t get to see everything, but there’s something nice about that. It leaves a wanting while leaving. We all wanted to come back and explore more.
These are all of the good things about the park. There are a few negative points too. The park isn’t maintained with great care. I guess in its heyday every blade of grass was manicured, but the spaces are only maintained good enough. The lakeside pathway is caked in mud and falling apart in places. There’s little trace of the park being updated…all of the plants and trees seem to be marginal. That said, we were practically running the entire visit. It was enough exercise to put my youngest to sleep after the fieldtrip. And yet, the lack of care given to the park makes me thing about how many outdoor spaces aren’t simply forgotten but merely tolerated with the minimal amount of attention.
I read a history about the Union County Park System. It highlights how different economic and social changes have negatively effected the system from the Great Depression in the 1920’s to funding being focused on highway construction post-World War 2 to how other factors in the 1970s and 80s drew people from the parks. Maybe people are beginning to see these parks as a valuable asset. People want to have incredible places to see nature. Public parks are ideal for this and the park system in Union County is posed to offer something quite unique indeed. For me, I’ll find any excuse to drag my family to see a work of art nearby anytime.
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