Landscape Architecture in the Hudson Valley

Frederick Law Olmsted, Calvert Vaux, and Andrew Jackson Downing
This program showcases the rich legacy of Landscape Architecture in southern New York. Highlighting the work of Calvert Vaux, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Andrew Jackson Downing, Prizgintas explored their rise to fame and most famous projects—much of which can be drawn to the city of Newburgh where the three crossed paths for the first times in the 1850s. Adapted from Alex’s 2021 film documentary produced in part with Marist College’s Hudson River Valley Institute, both Olmsted and Vaux remained tied to the Hudson Valley even after their fame with the construction of Central Park—particularly through Vaux’s architectural works and the business of the Olmsted Bros. firm. This program pays particular attention to two landmarks that received influences from both minds: Middletown’s Hillside Cemetery and Newburgh’s Downing Park, Matthew Vassar’s Springside, the Hudson River State Hospital, and other locations across the Hudson Valley.