Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

landscape designer Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and ga ...

, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

, of what would become

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

. Vaux, on his own and in various partnerships, designed and created dozens of parks across the northeastern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, most famously in New York City,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and Buffalo. He introduced new ideas about the significance of

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

s in America during a hectic time of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

. This

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

of the

cityscape In the visual arts, a cityscape (urban landscape) is an artistic representation, such as a painting, drawing, Publishing, print or photograph, of the physical aspects of a city or urban area. It is the urban equivalent of a landscape. ''Town ...

inspired Vaux to focus on an integration of buildings, bridges, and other forms of architecture into their natural surroundings. He favored naturalistic and curvilinear lines in his designs. In addition to landscape architecture, Vaux was a highly-sought after architect until the 1870s, when his modes of design could not endure the country's return to classical forms. His partnership with

Andrew Jackson Downing Andrew Jackson Downing (October 31, 1815 – July 28, 1852) was an American landscape designer, horticulturist, and writer, a prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–5 ...

, a major figure in

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, landscape design, and domestic architecture, brought him from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

, in 1850. There, Downing's praise of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

architecture contributed to Vaux's personal growth as a designer of homes and landscapes. After Downing's sudden death in 1852, Vaux was left with their assistant Frederick Clarke Withers to continue Downing's legacy. He left Newburgh in 1856 to grow his practice in New York City, where he began, received, and completed commissions with Olmsted, Withers, and

Jacob Wrey Mould Jacob Wrey Mould (7 August 1825 – 14 June 1886) was a British architect, illustrator, linguist and musician, noted for his contributions to the design and construction of New York City's Central Park. He was "instrumental" in bringing the Brit ...

. As a result, Vaux's name was frequently overshadowed by other designers, such as Olmsted, yet the contemporary American public still recognized his talents.

Early life

Born in

to a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Vaux was baptized at St Benet Gracechurch on February 9, 1825. He trained as an apprentice under the architect

Lewis Nockalls Cottingham Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787 – 13 October 1847) was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings. He set up a Museum of Medieval Art in Waterloo Road, Lon ...

, a leader of the

movement interested in Tudor architecture. Vaux trained under Cottingham until the age of twenty-six, also befriending George Godwin and

George Truefitt George Truefitt (1824–1902) was born in 1824 at St George's Hanover Square, London. He practiced architecture from age 15 (1839), when he began working with the British architect Lewis Cottingham, until his retirement in 1899. Career Truefitt ...

during his studies.

First partnership

In 1850, Vaux exhibited a series of

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

landscapes that he made while en route to the

that caught the attention of

, a noted landscape architect in

. Rejected in his offer to

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis, or A. J. Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892), was an American architect, known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at ...

to form a partnership, Downing traveled to London in search of a new architect who would complement his architectural vision. He believed that architecture should be visually integrated into the surrounding landscape, and wanted to work with someone who was equally passionate. Vaux accepted the opportunity and subsequently moved to the United States. Vaux worked with Downing for two years and became a firm partner. Together, they designed many projects such as the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

grounds and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

in Washington, D.C. Vaux's work on the Smithsonian inspired him to write an article in 1852 for ''The Horticulturalist,'' of which Downing was the editor. In his publication, he argued that the government should recognize and support the arts. Shortly afterward, Downing died in a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

accident.

Vaux & Withers

After Downing's death, Vaux gained control of the firm. As a partner, he hired Frederick Clarke Withers, who was already working at the company. In two separate periods of partnership, interrupted by the Civil War, their projects included multiple houses in Newburgh, the Hudson River State Hospital, and the

Jefferson Market Courthouse The Jefferson Market Branch of the New York Public Library, once known as the Jefferson Market Courthouse, is a National Historic Landmark located at 425 Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), on the southwest corner of West 10th Street, in Green ...

U.S. citizenship, affiliations, and publishing

In 1856, he gained U.S. citizenship and became identified with New York City's artistic community, “the guild,” joining the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

, as well as the Century Club. In 1857, he became one of the founding members of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...

. Also in 1857, Vaux published ''Villas and Cottages,'' which was an influential pattern book that determined the standards for “Victorian Gothic” architecture. These particular writings revealed his acknowledgment and tribute to Ruskin and

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...

, as well as to his former partner Downing. These people, among others, influenced him intellectually and in his design path.

Collaboration with Olmsted

New York City-Manhattan-Central Park (Gentry)

In 1857, Vaux recruited

, who had never before designed a landscape plan, to help with the Greensward Plan, which would become New York City's

. They obtained the commission through the

Greensward Plan Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 ...

, an excellent presentation that drew upon Vaux's talents in landscape drawing to include before-and-after sketches of the site. Together, they fought many political battles to make sure their original design remained intact and was carried out. All of the built features of Central Park were of his design;

Bethesda Terrace Bethesda Terrace and Fountain are two architectural features overlooking the southern shore of the Lake in New York City's Central Park. The fountain, with its ''Angel of the Waters'' statue, is located in the center of the terrace. Bethesda T ...

is a good example. In 1865, Vaux and Olmsted founded Olmsted, Vaux and Co., which went on to design Prospect Park and Fort Greene Park in

, and Morningside Park in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, they planned one of the first suburbs, called the Riverside Improvement Company in 1868. They also were commissioned to design a major park project in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, which included The Parade (now

Martin Luther King, Jr. Park :''There is also a Martin Luther King, Jr., Park in Oberlin, Ohio.'' Martin Luther King Jr. Park, originally The Parade and after 1896, Humboldt Park, is a historic park located in Buffalo in Erie County, New York. The park is located in east Bu ...

), The Park (now the Delaware Park), and The Front (now simply Front Park). Vaux designed many structures to beautify the parks, but most of these have been demolished. Vaux also designed a large Canadian city park in the city of

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of ...

called Rockwood Park. It is one of the largest of its kind in Canada. In 1871, the partners designed the grounds of the New York State Hospital for the Insane in Buffalo and the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane in Poughkeepsie. In 1872, Vaux dissolved the partnership and went on to form an architectural partnership with George K. Radford and

Samuel Parsons Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr. (8 February 1844 – 3 February 1923), was an American landscape architect. He is remembered as being a founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, helping to establish the profession. Early years Parsons w ...

. In that same year he completed work on Olana, the home of artist

Frederic Edwin Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

, who collaborated with Vaux on the mansion's design. Famous

buildings Vaux designed are the Samuel J. Tilden House, and the original Ruskinian Gothic buildings, now largely invisible from exterior view, of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. In addition to the New York buildings, Vaux also was the architect for

The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, known to many simply as Sheppard Pratt, is a psychiatric hospital located in Towson, a northern suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1853, it is one of the oldest private psychiatric hospitals in the na ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincor ...

. Less familiar are twelve projects Vaux designed for the

Children's Aid Society Children's Aid, formerly the Children's Aid Society, is a private child welfare nonprofit in New York City founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace. With an annual budget of over $100 million, 45 citywide sites, and over 1,200 full-time employ ...

in partnership with Radford; the

Fourteenth Ward Industrial School The Fourteenth Ward Industrial School is located at 256-258 Mott Street between Prince and Houston Streets in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was built for the Children's Aid Society in 1888–89, with funds provided ...

(1889), pp. 256-258 Mott Street, facing the churchyard of

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick's Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick's, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located in the Nolit ...

, and the Elizabeth Home for Girls (1892), 307 East 12th Street, both survive and are landmarked. Downing Park, Newburgh, NY - 1

The last collaboration between Vaux and Olmsted was Downing Park in Newburgh, given to the memory of Downing. Divided into two sections, a hillside landscape and a meadow, the partners handled each differently, connecting them via paths. After Vaux's death, his son Downing completed the grounds, adding a conservatory of his own design. John C. Olmstead completed his father's portion as he had become gravely ill and could not return to Newburgh.

Death

On November 19, 1895, Vaux accidentally drowned in Gravesend Bay in

while visiting his son, Downing. He is buried in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the Unite ...

's Montrepose Cemetery. In 1998, the city of New York dedicated

Calvert Vaux Park Calvert Vaux Park (formerly known as Dreier Offerman Park) is an public park in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in New York City. Created in 1934, it is composed of several disconnected sections along the Belt Parkway between Bay 44th and Bay 49th Street ...

, situated in Gravesend overlooking the bay, to him.

Personal life

In 1854, Vaux married Mary Swan McEntee, the sister of Jervis McEntee, a

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...

painter. They had two sons (Calvert and Downing) and two daughters (Helen and Julia).

Selected architectural works

Downing & Vaux (1850–52)

* Joel T. Headley House, "Cedar Lawn,"

New Windsor, NY New Windsor is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. History The region was originally inhabited by the Munsee people, part of the Lenape confederation. The first European settlers were colonists from Scotland who arrived in ...

(1850–51) *Remodel of

Warren Delano Warren Lyford DeLano (June 21, 1972 – November 3, 2009) was an advocate for the increased adoption of open source practices in the sciences, and especially drug discovery, where advances which save time and resources can also potentially save liv ...

House, "Algonac," Balmville, NY (1851) * Dr. William A. M. Culbert House,

Newburgh, NY Newburgh is a city in the U.S. state of New York, within Orange County. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown metropolitan area. Located north of New York City, a ...

(1851–52) * William L. Findlay House,

(1851–52) * Daniel Parish House,

Newport, RI Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

(1852–53; 1855) * Robert Dodge House, Washington, D.C. (1850-53)

Sole Partner

* William E. Warren House,

(1853) * Nathaniel Parker Willis House, "Idlewild," Cornwall on Hudson, NY (1853) *Remodel of Henry Winthrop Sargent House, "Wodenethe," Beacon, NY (1853), independently *Lydig M. Hoyt House, " The Point," Staatsburg, NY (1855), independently

Vaux & Withers (1854–56)

* James Walker Fowler House (project),

(c. 1855) * Halsey R. Stevens House,

(1855) * Bank of New York,

New York, NY New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

(1856), independently *Leonard H. Lee Cottage,

(1856) * John A. C. Gray House,

(1856–57), independently

Central Park Structures (1857–70)

* Bow Bridge (completed 1858), with

* Ramble Arch (completed 1859) *

(built 1862–73), with Mould * Boys Play House, (completed 1868) * The Dairy (completed 1869) * Belvedere Castle (built 1867–71), with Mould

Country Houses (1856–63)

* Remodel of

John Bigelow John Bigelow Sr. (November 25, 1817 – December 19, 1911) was an American lawyer, statesman, and historian who edited the complete works of Benjamin Franklin and the first autobiography of Franklin taken from Franklin's previously lost origina ...

House, " The Squirrels,"

Highland Falls, NY Highland Falls, formerly named Buttermilk Falls, is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Orange County, New York, Orange County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,900 at the 2010 census. The villa ...

(1857) * Peter Chardon Brooks III House, "Point of Rocks,"

Medford, MA Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

(1859) * Thomas E. B. Pegues House, " Ammadelle," Oxford, MS (1859–61) * Frederico Berreda House,

(1859–60) *Francis Tomes House, Greenwich, CT (1861) *Stephen B. Hammond House, " Ashcroft,"

Geneva, NY Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake; all land portions of the city are within Ontario County; the water portions are in Seneca County. The population was 13, ...

(1862)

Vaux, Withers & Co. (1863–1871)

* Landscape architecture with Olmstead,

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the Hearing loss, deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a gramma ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

(1866) * Landscape architecture with Olmstead, Hudson River State Hospital,

Poughkeepsie, NY Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

(1867) * Consulting, Frederic E. Church House, " Olana,"

Hudson, NY Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the riv ...

(1870–72) *

(1872–77), with Mould * George J. Bull House, Worcester, MA (1874–75) * Design for New York City Prison, "

Tombs A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

," (1874)

Later Career (1869–1889)

(1874–1880), with Mould * East Side Boys' Lodging House and Industrial School for

(1879) * Raphael Pumpelly House,

(1880) * Garden,

Grace Church Grace Church may refer to: Canada * Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto China * Grace Church, Guanghan Poland * Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland United Kingdom United States * Grace Cathedral (dis ...

(1881) * Remodel of Samuel J. Tilden House,

(1881–84) *

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatric ...

House, "Boothden," Middletown, RI (1883) * Tompkins Square Lodging House and Industrial School, New York, NY (1885) * Canal Street Park,

(1887–88) * Mulberry Bend Park,

(1895) * Downing Park,

(1889), with Olmsted Kowsky, 261–319. The Pumpelly house no longer stands.

Sources

* Kowsky, Francis R. ''Country, Park, & City: The Architecture and Life of Calvert Vaux''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

References

External links

Calvert Vaux Preservation Alliance profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaux, Calvert 1824 births 1895 deaths Architects from New York City American landscape and garden designers American landscape architects Central Park British emigrants to the United States People from Kingston, New York Architects from London Deaths by drowning in the United States Accidental deaths in New York (state) Burials at Montrepose Cemetery Fellows of the American Institute of Architects