Olmsted City of Greater Utica Incorporated

08/13/2026

We are very pleased to announce that our multiyear effort to rehabilitate the "North Side" (the approximately 8-acre part of Frederick T. Proctor Park that is located on the other side of the Starch Factory Creek) is finally beginning to take shape.

Last year, Olmsted City invested $65,000 in the removal of dead, dying, or invasive trees, shrubs, and vines that had turned that part of the park--which once contained elegant walking loops--into a forbidding jungle that few people felt comfortable visiting. We will likely commission a private contractor to do still more such forestry work in this part of the park this fall.

As part of an agreement that we evolved over the course of years of discussions with the City of Utica, the Parks Department has now begun to create looping paths through much of that area, inspired by the original 1913 Olmsted Brothers plan for this part of the park, a plan that was a beloved reality for generations but was abandoned amidst budget cuts in the 1970s (neglect like this--or worse--happened in historic parks like this across the country in the 1960s and 70s, including NYC's famed Central Park, which was designed by the father of the Olmsted who shaped much of the beautification work and park-building in Utica in the first decades of the twentieth century).

The path-building will continue as long as the Parks Department employees currently performing this work are free of other responsibilities. We hope Phase One of their contribution will be finished this fall. In the meantime, we'd suggest that if you want to take a peek at it, you do so either on a weekend or after 4:00 or so on workdays. Olmsted City intends to plant trees and shrubs this fall and perhaps again next year to complement these paths and make this part of the park even more attractive, as it once was. We will post an update once Phase One is completed.

In the meantime, we want to send a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported our efforts either financially or by volunteering their free time (or both), helping to make the dreams that inspired us to found Olmsted City in August 2021-- five years ago!! --a reality. Warm thanks as well to the City of Utica, which has been a close and valued partner in a number of major rehabilitation projects at the park and for supporting our efforts in other ways since 2021.

07/23/2026

CALLING VOLUNTEERS! This Sunday, July 26, 10-1:00, will be our next service day. Please join us!

Moderate temps (in the 70s), low humidity, and a tiny bit of cloud cover will make this a great day to pitch in at out our beautiful historic Olmsted park.

If you can participate, please meet us at the pavilion adjacent to the the Rutger Street parking lot at 10:00, or come find us, likely around the Lily Pond, if you have to be later!

07/09/2026

We are very excited to announce that Olmsted City’s project to install signage at Frederick T. Proctor Park has been completed. This week, we added another half dozen “way finding” signs (with blades pointing the way to various landmarks in the park) to the half dozen others we installed last year.

And we’ve also added large signs with information about the history, significance, and layout of the park and a map of the park.

We hope all this will help visitors navigate with greater confidence and ease around the park and to therefore get as much out of their time there as possible. The park covers 62 acres, and there’s so much beyond its large upper meadow to discover!

07/09/2026

CALLING VOLUNTEERS!!!
On *this* Saturday, July 11, 10-1:00, Olmsted City will hold its next volunteer service day at Utica’s Frederick T. Proctor Park.

No experience needed. We provide the tools. You can participate as much or as little as you like—either way, you’ll still earn our deepest gratitude (and perhaps a smile and a “thank you!” from park visitors).

Meet at the pavilion at the *Rutger Street* parking lot at 10:00. If you need to arrive later, you will likely find us either at the park’s main gate (Rutger and Culver) or near the Lily Pond.

Many thanks—we can’t continue to improve and maintain this beloved historic park without our fantastic volunteers!!

06/30/2026

We greatly value our relationship with Mohawk Valley Community College and the many contributions its students, faculty, and staff have made to our efforts to restore, maintain, and promote awareness about beautiful historic Frederick T. Proctor Park and the rest of Utica's rich Olmsed heritage. Thank you, MVCC for all you have done for 80 years and continue to do for this community!!

F.T. Proctor Park is a historic public park located in Utica, New York. Known for its scenic landscape.

06/26/2026

Join us Sunday! See our latest blog post for all the details.

What better way to celebrate National Pollinator Week than to join us for a Bioblitz! This is a fun, free event for people of all ages. No experience required. Just put on your comfy walking shoes, grab your smartphone, and join us at the Pavilion at FT Proctor Park on Sunday, June 28th from 12:30

05/10/2026

More photos from Olmsted City volunteer service days at Utica’s Frederick T. Proctor Park over the past few weeks—the first involving a group from Mohawk Valley Community College and the second involving students from Hamilton College. They made fantastic, vitally important contributions to Olmsted City’s efforts to maintain this beautiful popular park. They show how much we can accomplish if we unite as a community to get the job done—and keep it done!

If you would like to be on our no-obligations volunteer contact list (you are free to contribute as little or much of your time as you like), or if your business or organization would like to organize a special service day, please email us at [email protected] or message is through Facebook. Thank you!!