"In early Victorian America there was no man more widely known, respected, and loved by those interested in rural concerns (and that was almost everyone) than Andrew Jackson Downing of Newburgh, New York. Through his books and writings on landscape gardening and architecture his magnetic personality through a spell on admirers throughout this country, and also Europe." (Downs 1)

     Perhaps no man has shaped the architecture of his hometown more than Andrew Jackson (A.J.) Downing. Nevertheless, probably no man who has influenced the beauty of his hometown—and of landscapes throughout the country—has been so easily forgotten. He is considered the father of landscape architecture and the modern pubic park, yet he was often called "prophet without honor." His democratic beliefs led him to create landscapes that would be enjoyed by all classes of society, thus he favored large inner city parks (FLO Web site). He envisioned a park in New York City and teamed up with his partner, Calvert Vaux, to devise preliminary plans for what would become Central Park. In addition to contributing to the design of the world's greatest urban park, he was also commissioned to design the grounds of many revered attractions in Washington, DC such as the Smithsonian, the White House, and the Capitol. Unfortunately Downing died prematurely, at only 37 years of age, when a ship caught fire and he drowned. Though he left the world that fateful day on 1852, leaving many of his designs unrealized, his ideas permeated through the work of the architects that followed.

     A memorial to Downing designed by Calvert Vaux shortly after his death (pictured below) sits near the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, like the memory of Downing, the urn was neglected for years, until restorations in 1972. The picture above alludes to the forgotten memories of Downing that we are now trying to resurrect and piece back together.

photo credit: smithsonian institution

     The inscription on the urn, from Downing's Rural Essays, reads:

"The taste of an individual, as well as that of a nation, will be in direct proportion to the profound sensibility with which he perceives the beautiful in natural scenery. Open wide, therefore, the doors of your libraries and picture galleries all ye true republicans! Build halls where knowledge shall be freely diffused among men, and not shut up within the narrow walls of narrower institutions. Plant spacious parks in your cities, and unclose their gates as wide as the gates of morning to the whole people."

"a heinous crime"

     Above, is a letter stored in the Newburgh Free Library's archives. The author, a landscape architect, laments that Newburgh has forgotten Downing (which he considers a 'heinous crime') and appeals to a librarian to act to restore and properly honor his memory.

     A quote from Architecture magazine describes the essence of Downing's work:

"Downing was struck by Tocqueville's assessment that Americans were a peripatetic people, a nation of emigrants who as soon as they put a field under cultivation set off westward to find something better. To counteract this destructive (as he saw it) tendency Downing believed that his brand of 'landscape gardening' might ground Americans by linking them to their soil, thus helping to foster a strong American society" ("Will the Real" 10).

     Downing's memorable life coincided with Newburgh's climb out of economic decline brought about by the Erie Canal. By the mid-1800s, a new tide of industries emerged, bringing prosperity, new construction, and work for Downing. Downing's father ran a nursery in Newburgh, which was part of the family's compound at Broad and Liberty Street. After graduating from school at nearby Montgomery Academy, where he learned how to make architectural and landscape sketches, A.J. stayed home to work at his father's nursery named "Botanical Gardens and Nursery." He became quite adept at horticulture, growing 150 varieties of apples and 200 varieties of pear and continually refining his knowledge by corresponding with European colleagues (Baker 128). When he was only 26 years old, he published Treatise on the Theory and Practices of Landscape Gardening, the first American book on the subject. His next works were Cottage Residences and Fruit and Fruit Trees of America. In 1846, he became editor of the journal The Horticulturalist, a journal of "Rural Art and Rural Taste." Besides his artistic endeavors, Downing also supported the community in other ways. He served on the Newburgh Library Association board and helped found the Newburgh Lyceum, an institution for popular education (Schuyler).

     In 1850 Downing toured England's greatest estates. There he met architect Calvert Vaux and brought him to America. Soon enough, they started the firm Downing & Vaux. The results of their collaboration are all over Newburgh.