Calvert Vaux FAIA (; 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 garde ...

. He and his protégé

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

designed parks such as

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and Prospect Park in New York City and the Delaware Park–Front Park System in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

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

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, most famously in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

s in America during a hectic time of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, 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. ...

. This

industrialization Industrialisation (British English, UK) American and British English spelling differences, or industrialization (American English, US) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an i ...

of the cityscape inspired Vaux to focus on the 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, writer, prominent advocate of the Gothic Revival in the United States, and editor of ''The Horticulturist'' magazine (1846–1852). ...

, a major figure in

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, landscape design, and domestic architecture, brought him from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

, in 1850. There, Downing's praise of

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

and

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

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. 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, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, Vaux was baptized at St Benet Gracechurch on February 9, 1825. He trained as an apprentice under the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham, 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 during his studies.

First partnership

In 1850, Vaux exhibited a series of

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting metho ...

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 (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 the American Academ ...

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. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

grounds and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

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.

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, 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. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

. Also in 1857, Vaux published ''Villas and Cottages,'' which was an influential

pattern book A pattern book, or architectural pattern book, is a book of architectural designs, usually providing enough for non-architects to build structures that are copies or significant derivatives of major architect-designed works. A number of pattern bo ...

that determined the standards for “Victorian Gothic” architecture. These particular writings revealed his acknowledgment and tribute to

Ruskin Ruskin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ruskin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Ruskin (given name), a list of people Places United States * Ruskin, Florida, a census-designated place * Ruskin, Georgia, an uni ...

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, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

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

Collaboration with Olmsted

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, 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 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

. In

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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

, which included The Parade (now Martin Luther King, Jr. Park), 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 port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

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. 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 painting, landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for paintin ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

buildings Vaux designed are the

Samuel J. Tilden House The Samuel J. Tilden House is a historic townhouse pair at 14-15 Gramercy Park South in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1845, it was the home of Samuel J. Tilden (1814–1886), former governor of New York, a fierce opponent of the Tweed ...

, 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 (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. In addition to the New York buildings, Vaux also was the architect for The Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital in Towson, Maryland. 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 employees ...

in partnership with Radford; the Fourteenth Ward Industrial School (1889), pp. 256–258 Mott Street, facing the churchyard of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and the Elizabeth Home for Girls (1892), 307 East 12th Street, both survive and are landmarked. 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 the only Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in, and the county seat of, Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany, New York, Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grou ...

's Montrepose Cemetery. In 1998, the city of New York dedicated Calvert Vaux Park, 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 painter. They had two sons (Calvert and Downing) and two daughters (Helen and Julia).

Selected architectural works

Downing & Vaux (1850–1852)

* Joel T. Headley House, "Cedar Lawn," New Windsor, NY (1850–51) *Remodel of Warren Delano House, "Algonac," Balmville, NY (1851) * Dr. William A. M. Culbert House, Newburgh, NY (1851–52) * William L. Findlay House, Newburgh, NY (1851–52) * Daniel Parish House, Newport, RI (1852–53; 1855) * Robert Dodge House,

(1850–53)

Sole partner

* William E. Warren House, Newburgh, NY (1853) *

Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American writer, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...

House, "Idlewild," Cornwall on Hudson, NY (1853) *Remodel of

Henry Winthrop Sargent Henry Winthrop Sargent (November 26, 1810 – November 11, 1882), American horticulturist and landscape gardener. Early life Henry Winthrop Sargent was born in Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, the first child of Hannah (Welles) Sargent and artist ...

House, "Wodenethe," Beacon, NY (1853) * Edward S. Hall House (project), Middletown, CT (1853) *Lydig M. Hoyt House, " The Point," Staatsburg, NY (1855), independently

Vaux & Withers (1854–1856)

* James Walker Fowler House (project), Newburgh, NY (c. 1855) * Halsey R. Stevens House, Newburgh, NY (1855) * Bank of New York,

New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

(1856) *Leonard H. Lee Cottage, New Windsor, NY (1856) *Thomas Earle House, Worcester, MA (1856) * John A. C. Gray House,

(1856–57)

Central Park structures (1857–1870)

* Bow Bridge (completed 1858), with Jacob Wrey Mould * Ramble Arch (completed 1859) * Bethesda Terrace (built 1862–73), with Mould * Boys Play House, (completed 1868) * The Dairy (completed 1869) * Belvedere Castle (built 1867–71), with Mould

Country houses (1856–1863)

* Eugene Dutilh House, Garrison, NY (1857) * Remodel of John Bigelow House, " The Squirrels," Highland Falls, NY (1857) * Peter Chardon Brooks III House, "Point of Rocks," Medford, MA (1859) * Thomas E. B. Pegues House, " Ammadelle," Oxford, MS (1859–61) * Frederico Berreda House, Newport, RI (1859–60) *Francis Tomes House, Greenwich, CT (1861) *Stephen B. Hammond House, " Ashcroft," Geneva, NY (1862)

Vaux, Withers & Co. (1863–1871)

* Landscape architecture with Olmsted,

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

(1866) * Landscape architecture with Olmsted, Hudson River State Hospital, Poughkeepsie, NY (1867) * Civic planning and landscape design with Olmsted, Riverside, Illinois (1869)
Dore Cottage
Riverside, Illinois (1869) * Consulting, Frederic E. Church House, " Olana," Hudson, NY (1870–72) *

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

Later career (1869–1889)

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

(1879) * Raphael Pumpelly House, Newport, RI (1880) * Garden, Grace Church,

(1881) * Remodel of

(1881–84) *

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

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) * Rockwood Park (Saint John, New Brunswick) (1894) * Downing Park, Newburgh, NY (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
*
Description of a plan for the improvement of the Central Park
' (1858),

and Calvert Vaux. New York: The Aldine Press * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaux, Calvert 1824 births 1895 deaths Architects from London Architects from New York City American landscape and garden designers American landscape architects Burials at Montrepose Cemetery English emigrants to the United States Fellows of the American Institute of Architects People from Kingston, New York Deaths by drowning in New York (state)