FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2019
Charlie Newman, Local Attorney, Received Prestigious Olmsted Award
MEMPHIS, TN --- Memphis based attorney, Charles F. Newman of Burch, Porter, Johnson LLC received the distinguished Frederick Law Olmsted Award bestowed by the Tennessee Chapter American Society of Landscape Architects (TNASLA) at their state awards dinner and conference April 25.
Newman was honored for his leadership in conservation and his role in providing access to and protection for the most prominent and beloved public landscapes in Memphis-Shelby County.
Through Charlie’s decades of service, he shared the values of the landscape architecture profession by working behind the scenes on complex legal strategies to secure acquisition and protection for notable parks and greenways such as Overton Park, Shelby Farms Park, Shelby Farms Greenline, and Big River Crossing (formerly Harahan Bridge).
In the 1970s, Newman led the Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. Vole case that saved Overton Park. In the 2000s he shaped the establishment of the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, negotiating the conservation easement. Later he negotiated with CSX for the acquisition of the abandoned railroad corridor that is now Shelby Farms Greenline. Most recently, he was instrumental in reaching an agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for shared use of the Harahan Bridge.
Charlie Newman said, “Landscape Architecture is perhaps the most important of the visual arts, the most consequential with the most significant social consequences. I have been very lucky to have had, in over 50 years, so many opportunities to support what you [landscape architects] do, and I appreciate this award very much.”
The purpose of TNASLA’s Olmsted Award, named in honor of the founding father of Landscape Architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, is to promote the ideals he established to ensure the health and enjoyment of the environment by all mankind. The award is given annually to recognize significant contributions in one of four categories: contributions to the profession in Tennessee, preservation of the landscape of Tennessee, enhancement of Tennessee’s physical environment, or landscape architectural education.
Owen Harris of Dalhoff Thomas Design Studio and TNASLA President-Elect, said “The TNASLA Past-Presidents Council awarded Mr. Newman for his lifetime of service and leadership in protecting some of the most significant public spaces in Memphis.”
Newman is a graduate of Yale University and Yale Law School and has been listed for 25 years in Best Lawyers® in America. He has served on the Memphis Landmarks Commission, TN Nature Conservancy, Wolf River Conservancy, Environmental Action Fund, Memphis College of Art, and Civil Rights Museum Foundation.
Past TNASLA Olmsted Award Winners include Barbara Hyde, Jean Nelson, Larry Mizell, and Caron Beard.
Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects is a non-profit dedicated to the advancement of knowledge, education and skill in the art of Landscape Architecture and the promotion of the profession of Landscape Architecture as an instrument of service in the public welfare. For more information visit www.tnasla.org.
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