Landscape Architecture of the Hudson Valley

“From the beauty of Central Park to the many Gilded-Age estates across our nation that featured sprawling grounds, much of the legacy of Landscape Architecture in our country finds its roots in the Hudson Valley,” says historian Alex Prizgintas, whose newest local history program will be coming to the Desmond-Fish Library in Garrison, NY on Thursday, June 11 at 6:00 PM.
Highlighting the local and national work of Calvert Vaux, Frederick Law Olmsted, and Andrew Jackson Downing, Prizgintas explored their rise to fame while contrasting their noted national projects with some of their contributions to the Hudson Valley. “Vaux and Olmsted are sometimes best thought of as a partnership,” says Prizgintas, “but they had very different mindsets on the perception of landscape architecture, and had it not been through the genius of Newburgh’s Andrew Jackson Downing, the two brilliant minds may have never crossed paths.” Adapted from his 2021 film documentary produced in part with Marist University’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 multiple landmarks that received influences from both minds, including Matthew Vassar’s Springside Estate, Newburgh’s Downing Park, Middletown’s Hillside Cemetery, the Hudson River State Hospital, and more. A graduate of Marist with degrees in Hudson River Valley History and Public Administration, Alex has been published in the Hudson River Valley Review, New York Archives Magazine, and Orange County Historical Society Journal on topics including Hudson River railroad history, Orange County’s dairy farming history, and the region’s early settlers. He serves as president of the Woodbury Historical Society and town historian of both Woodbury and Tuxedo in Orange County, New York.