Belvedere/Prospect tower/Observatory

History

The feature known as belvedere, prospect tower, or observatory was a raised structure or tower placed either on top of a building or as an independent structure in the garden. The belvedere provided a viewing platform from which to look out to the garden or surrounding landscape. With a continuous tradition in Europe since the Renaissance, by the late eighteenth century the belvedere was recorded as being part of American gardens. Although many images have been collected illustrating this feature in American gardens, relatively few specific written references have been found. It seems that the terms “tower,” “pavilion,” “summerhouse,” “obelisk,” and “column” were all used interchangeably to describe multi-storied structures that permitted viewers to ascend to a height that would offer a new, broader view not available from ground level [Fig. 1]. Regarding André Parmentier’s horticultural and botanical garden in Brooklyn, N.Y., A. J. Downing (1849) reported that although “the garden walks afforded no prospect,” from the summit of the tower, “a beautiful reach of neighborhood for miles was enjoyed.” In 1802 Eliza Southgate described the summerhouse at the Elias Hasket Derby Farm, which had a staircase “by which you ascend into a square room . . . it has a fine airy appearance and commands a view of the whole garden.”1

The belvedere in the garden was often the focus of highly inventive designs, such as the observation tower at Monticello. During the course of several years, Jefferson made alternate designs for a multi-staged tower [Figs. 2 and 3], in which he experimented with a Gibbsian round-headed cupola for one and for the other a castellated turret. This latter design represents an early American foray into the Gothic revival style that would become popular only after the turn of the century, as seen in a British example that J. C. Loudon had published in An Encyclopaedia of Gardening (1834) [Fig. 4]. Notes on the verso of Jefferson’s ca. 1771 drawing indicate that the tower was intended for “directing the line of sight to Monticello.” He later changed his mind and planned a 200-foottall column, with a balustrade at the top.2

Belvedere or prospect towers were designed in all shapes and sizes. The central characteristic of the feature was that it provided a viewing platform rising above the surrounding site, offering a beautiful view, a prospect, a bel vedere. The importance of the prospect is critical to understanding the belvedere in landscape design (see Prospect). Since ancient Rome, the awareness of the delights of the prospect guided the development of villa design.3 The drawing of the belvedere in the grounds of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House [Fig. 5] gives some sense of the concern for height; it is depicted as located on top of a hill with angles of sight measured from its peak to the lowest ground level. The image of the tower at Monte Video [Fig. 6] illustrates that the height of the belvedere contributed to its importance in the designed landscape.

The provision of height for a belvedere could be achieved either by building a multi-staged tower, as at Monticello and the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House, or by placing a viewing platform on top of another building or by using the natural eminence of a hilltop, cliff, or water’s edge. A painting of Harlem in Baltimore [Fig. 7] depicts both a prospect tower and a castellated belvedere surmounting the mansion itself. The Harlem tower, in fact, looks like a raised summerhouse. It was reported to be “a pavilion,” on an eminence under which was “a well-constructed ice vault.”4

The stylistic ornamentation and even basic shape of these constructions ranged broadly. A. J. Downing (1849) for example, as a proponent of rural architecture,recommended that prospect towers be constructed of rustic branches and thatch such as that at André Parmentier’s horticultural and botanical garden in Brooklyn, N.Y. The observatory at Bute, Mass. [Fig. 8], described by William Bailey Lang (1845), adhered more closely to the neoclassical tradition, and resembled a truncated obelisk, another popular form of belvedere. Observation towers in the form of monumental obelisks were frequently used for public monuments, beginning with Solomon Willard’s design of 1825 for the Bunker Hill Monument in Boston (see Obelisk).5

The garden belvedere was carefully sited so as to take in the most desirable views of the property and the landscape surrounding it. For example, the location of the belvedere at Point Breeze in Bordentown, N.J., facilitated a view that encompassed both the natural and designed landscapes surrounding the mansion. A painting of Cannon House and Wharf depicts a prospect tower in the garden [Fig. 9]. This house belonged to the family of Capt. John Cannon, a prominent merchant in New York; the belvedere would have provided a fine view of the wharf and harbor that was the source of the family’s wealth and fame. A. J. Downing described an “American Mansion” with a plan that included a prospect tower “on a little eminence overlooking the whole estate,” suggesting again, the claim of ownership implied by the view.6

“Belvedere” or related words were often given as names to country seats in America. Estates called “Belvidere” could be found in the cities of Richmond and Baltimore and the state of New York, to mention just a few examples. It carried with it a sense of pride of ownership and the importance of selecting a site with a bel vedere (see Alcove, Eminence, Prospect, and View for further discussion of the significance and control of vision in American gardens).7

-- Therese O'Malley