Frances F. Dunwell presents a rich portrait of the Hudson and of the visionary people whose deep relationship with the river inspires changes in American history and culture. Lavishly illustrated with color plates of Hudson River School paintings, period engravings, and glass plate photography, The Hudson captures the spirit of the river through the eyes of its many admirers. It shows the crucial role of the Hudson in the shaping of Manhattan, the rise of the Empire State, and the trajectory of world trade and global politics, as well as the river's influence on art and architecture, engineering, and conservation.
- Table of Contents
- Foreword, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Prologue: River of Imagining, People of Passion and Dreams
- Acknowledgments
- 1. World’s End, World Trade, World River: Henry Hudson’s Failed Quest, Adriaen Van der Donck’s Utopian Vision, and the Legend of the Storm Ship
- 2. The River That Unites, the River That Divides: King George and George Washington Vie for the Hudson
- 3. America’s River of Empire: Robert Fulton’s Folly, Robert Livingston’s Venture Capital, and DeWitt Clinton’s Ditch Spark the Rise of New York Port
- 4. First Stop on the American Tour: Europe Discovers Sylvanus Thayer’s West Point, a Catskills Sunrise, and a River That Defines the American Character
- 5. America’s First Artists and Writers: The Sacred River of Thomas Cole, the Mythic River of Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper
- 6. The Industrialized River: Gouverneur Kemble’s Weapon Works, Henry Burden’s Iron Foundries, and Colonel Stevens’s Engine Factory
- 7. Going up the River for Health and Fun: New York City Journalist N. P. Willis Survives TB and Discovers an Idle Wild
- 8. Design with Nature: The Landscape Gardens of A. J. Downing, the Architecture of A. J. Davis, and the Inspiration for Central Park and Riverside Drive
- 9. Gateway to America, Escape Route to Canada: Immigrants Greet a Beacon of Liberty, John Jervis Creates a New River Route, and a Railroad Goes Underground
- Color Plates
- 10. Millionaires’ Row: The River Castles of J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould, and Frederic Church, and the Floating Palaces of Manhattan’s West Side
- 11. A Forest to Protect a Commercial River: Land Surveyor Verplanck Colvin, Photographer Seneca Ray Stoddard, and the New York Board of Trade Campaign to Safeguard the Hudson in the Adirondacks
- 12. An Interstate Park for the Palisades and the Highlands and a New Progressive Vision: Elizabeth Vermilye’s Women’s Clubs, Edward and Mary Harriman’s Park, Mrs. Olmsted’s Fresh Air Camp, and Margaret Sage’s Charity
- 13. Over, Under, Across, and Through: Civil Engineers Triumph Over Nature, Except in New York Harbor
- 14. Surviving the Depression, Connecting with Nature: FDR’s River of Dignity, Robert Moses’s Riverside Drive, and John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s Parkway
- 15. The 1960s: Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper, Clearwater, and The Nature Conservancy Campaign to Save a Mountain and Revive a “Dead” River
- Epilogue: A River of Power, and the Power of Passion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
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