{"nrhp_refnum":"84002879","name":"Maple Lawn","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"24 Downing St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Balmville","county":"Orange County","state":"NY","lat":41.523851154000056,"lon":-74.01175032699996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-06-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two and one-half story red brick Gothic Revival villa at 24 Downing Avenue in Balmville, near Newburgh, Orange County, New York, built in 1859 on a one-acre plot with a small brick outbuilding (privy).","why_significant":"The nomination argues that Maple Lawn is a distinguished and largely unaltered example of Gothic Revival domestic architecture reflecting the picturesque movement popularized by Andrew Jackson Downing. It is also a well-documented early work of architect Frederick Clarke Withers, a member of the Downing School. It is described as one of the most intact, representative Gothic Revival buildings in the mid-Hudson region.","narrative":"Maple Lawn is a red brick villa at 24 Downing Avenue in Balmville, outside Newburgh, built in 1859 for Walter S. Vail to a design by architect Frederick Clarke Withers. It rises two and one-half stories from a red sandstone foundation, under a steeply pitched slate roof with broad eaves, pierced vergeboards, bay windows and wooden porches. Inside, the original moldings, wainscoting, marble mantels and Gothic window surrounds survive. The grounds hold mature copper beech, cut leaf beech, black walnut and catalpa trees, many planted when the house was built. Withers had come to Newburgh in 1851 at the invitation of Andrew Jackson Downing, and Maple Lawn shows his restrained approach to the picturesque style, with plain surfaces and little ornament beyond bargeboards and brackets. Its rooms are arranged in relation to sun and landscape, following Downing's ideas. Only minor changes have occurred, including a rear garage added about 1950. These qualities led to its listing as an intact example of mid-Hudson Gothic Revival design.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Frederick Clarke Withers (arch.)","architectural_style":"Gothic Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Exterior and interior described as relatively intact and in excellent, unaltered condition; the property remains in private ownership and is used as a private residence.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:41.329954-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/84002879.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002879/0176409c28-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002879/0176409c28-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Daniel Case","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maple_Lawn,_Balmville,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daniel Case</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maple_Lawn,_Balmville,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75320684","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_Lawn","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q609226"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/orange-county/maple-lawn-84002879/"}