Calvert Vaux: The Visionary Landscape Architect Behind Central Park

Calvert Vaux, a prominent 19th-century English-American architect and landscape designer.

Creator of Central Park November 19, 1895    Today is the anniversary of the death of the Landscape Architect Calvert Vaux (“Vox”), who died on this day in 1895. Calvert was born in England, but he came to the United States at the age of 24 to work on landscape projects with Andrew Jackson Downing.…

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Sydney Dylan Ripley and the Creation of the Smithsonian Gardens

Sidney Dillon Ripley

The Louvre Inspiration It was on this day that the horticulture program at the Smithsonian Gardens was established by Sydney Dylan Ripley, who served as the secretary of the Smithsonian. An American ornithologist and conservationist, Sidney had been inspired by the area around the Louvre in France as a child. With the Louvre always in…

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