Vintage landscape: the lake

Bois du Boulogne, Paris, France, between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900, a photochrom by Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

The park is the second largest in Paris.  It opened in the 1850s — the first park in the western part of the city and an important part of Baron Haussmann’s vision for a greener, healthier Paris.

The plan of the Bois, developed by Jean-Charles Alphand, featured meandering paths and naturalistic hills, lawns, and lakes.  It was the model for all the 19th century Paris parks to follow.