Frederick Law Olmsted
SUBJECT FILE
Community Design
Hyde Park, N.Y.
1888[*V 1/2*]
[*From Miss Bulard*]

J D Larkin & Co. 
PARFUMEURS.
MANUFACTURE
SOAP
OF EVERY KIND AND DESCRIPTION

Buffalo, N.Y.   Feby 18/88

F.L. & J.C. Olmsted
Brookline, Mass.

   Gentlemen,
      Your bill
[V4.?] The Hyde Park Land Syndicate, ltd. has 
been handed to me with a request that
I should write you in reference thereto.
      Last summer
a sketch of the map was submitted to most of
the Directors of this Co. for their criticism,
suggestions were made at that time to which 
no attention seems to have been given, one objection
in particular to this plan is, taking
almost entirely our land for the second st east of Delaware
Ave, but giving us no frontage on the east
side of it, while there is depth enough to make 
five rows of lots over 200 ft deep. I haven't 
the figures at hand but think could [get] make
them about 215 ft or more, deep. We were led
to believe that we would receive a map of our
plot after the plan was made satisfactory to us,
this we have not as yet seen. Will only add that
we are ready to pay our portion when these terms
are complied with. Awaiting your reply, I remain
Resptly yours
J. D. Larkin
Secy.      20th, Feby. 1888
J. D. Larkin Esq, Secy Hyde Park Land Syndicate 
   Dear Sir 
      Your letter giving reasons
for dissatisfaction with our plan [for]
as far as concerns the property of the Hyde Park Land
Association, is a surprise to us.
We did not prepare the final plan
until we had been made to understand
that our advice was satisfactory
to all concerned and [we prepared]
[it supposed] that it embodied all
instructions which had been given
us. We did not render our bill
[for or] in full for our advice until
nearly a year after presenting the
last plan, [when] by which time we supposed that ample [time]
opportunity had been given to all for formulating any
objections that might have been overlooked
at first

We did not, [receive any suggesions]
[last summer] as you seem
to think, receive last summer the suggestion
that five tiers of lots were desired,
on your property on the contrary, we find that our study
dated 11th, June 1886, (of which we enclose a
partial copy,) embodies exactly that idea, but [appears]
that there is a pencil memorandum
upon it instructing us to move the
second street east of Delaware Avenue
over onto the boundary line, [of Mr. W.
H. Glenny,] to have only one street
parallel to Delaware Avenue entirely
in your land and in general to
make the lots larger. As we had
no objection to modifying our advice
[accordingly] so as to [meet] embody these instructions,
we [accordingly] prepared the Study
dated October 1886 (of which we also enclose a partial copy) accordingly. [This]
[letter] [study was submitted, we understood,][to all interested]
We were afterwards given to understand that this latter
study had been submitted to an approved
by all the representatives of the
properties concerned, and it was
therefore reproduced in the final plan.
A return in the lines of the study
 of [June] 11th. June. 1886 would,
we suppose, be all you desire,
but [we cannot] to do so] this would
necessitate alterations in the
plans which have been adopted for the lands of both Mr.
Ramsey and Mr. Glenny. We
have personally no objection to reverting to
our previous advice, but we suggest
that you had better confer
with these gentlemen and let us
know whether they are willing to

alter their plans. If they are, we
will prepare a study to which you
can endeavor to get their assent.
[If they agree, the general plan can]
[be changed accordingly.] We do not
suppose there will be any difficulty
in this case, but we beg you will permit
us respectfully to to suggest that
our charge is for professional advice
and that we ought not to be held
responsible for any failure of
different parties to come to an agreement
in following our advice. As
in the ease with lawyers or doctors,
we do the best we can for
our clients but are not [responsible] liable
for [failure of our] good advice
failing through causes beyond
our control.
When this matter is settled,we should advise you to obtain
and return to us the "general
plan" which we sent Mr.
Ramsey in February 1887, so
that we can make the alteration
upon it. It would be well
also to obtain a general assent
to names for all the new streets
so that they can be marked on
the plan. The plan can then be
photolithographed in order to
supply [each] every one interested
with copies and to advertise the
fact of there being villa sites for
sale. The cost [of lithogra] of lithographing
divided among the
several owners [to] would amount
to a trifling sum to each.
Awaiting your reply we remain
Yours respectfully,
F.L & J.C. Olmsted