Author’s Note ix
Companion Website xi
A Rambler’s Map of Olana xii
Introduction 1
Section 1: South Road, 1865 15
David Huntington, the Man Who Saved Olana, 18 • The Indispensable Partnership, 22 • The
Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape, 27 • Catskill Mountain House and the Roots of
Landscape Tourism, 30 • The Name "Olana", 34 • The "Land" in Landscape, 34
Section 2: North Road, 1869 39
"Donkey Fever", 40 • Downie Church, 42 • Andrew Jackson Downing, 43 • Foremothers, 45 •
Columbia-Greene Community College, 48 • En Plein Air Painters, 49
Section 3: Ridge Road, 1884 53
Composing a View, 53 • Becraft Mountain, 54 • Mount Merino, 56 • The City of Hudson, 58 •
Hudson Hall, 62 • Niagara Falls, 63 • The Erratics, 66
Section 4: New Approach Road, 1887–1888 69
A Real-World Panorama, 69 • Church’s Studios, 75 • The Bend in the River, 76 • The Olana
House, 80 • Fallen Hemlock, 86 • The Mingled Garden, 88
Section 5: Lake Road, 1884–1885 91
Olana Lake, 92 • The Business of Ice, 93 • Cosy Cottage, 94 • The Preservation of Olana, 96 •
Farm Road, 98 • When the Future Came to the Olana Farm, 99 • Dogs of Olana, 100
Section 6: Crown Hill Road, 1884–1885 103
The Plan of Olana, 1886, 104 • Buckthorn Fence, 106 • Landscape Furniture, 108 • Wildlife, 110 •
The Park, 110
Section 7: Bethune Road, 1864–1865 115
Dead Trees, 116 • Guerilla Art, 118 • The Olana Eye SkyCam, 119 • The Soundscape, 121
Section 8: The Hudson River Skywalk and Art Trail, 2019 127
The Rip Van Winkle Bridge, 129 • Thomas Cole Site, 130 • Emily Cole, 132 • The Hudson River, 134 •
Rogers Island, 135 • Hudson River Boat Traffic, 137 • Icebergs, 139
Acknowledgments 145
Notes 149
Bibliography 171
Index 175