entertainment for man and horse may be had. The 'High Bridge' is a place of great resort in pleasant weather for those who love the road and rural scenery." Even closer at hand, the Murray Hill Distributing Reservoir was, at least at first, a wel- come oasis for those who wanted to get away from more crowded areas of the City. Curher and Bornet both depicted the citizens on the parapet, from which one could admire the water inside, and the landscape view outside. Well before the end of the century, the disharmonious juxtaposi- tion of the geometric Receiving Reservoir to the newer picturesque landscaping style of Central Park (developed during the 1850s) eclipsed its popularity, and perhaps also that of Murray Hill. The Croton engineers' lake-lil<e designs for additional reservoirs at the site reflected changing sensibilities favoring seemingly "natural" and "rustic" open spaces in urban settings. As an 1872 article in Harper's Magazine discussing the history, present-day operation and beautiful scenery of the water system, noted: "The old we need but glance at, for the new render them insignificant and unattractive."-'^ Several developments influenced the changing nature of popular imagery toward the end of the century. New techniques of phnting wood engravings and advances in photography contributed to an explosion of popular illustrated literature. Numerous articles about the Aqueduct, which appeared in magazines ranging from Harper's Weekly to Scientific American after 1850, are embellished with not only the types of scenes described above but also — beginning with the enlargement of High Bridge in 1861 — depictions of laborers at construction sites and overseers inside the mechanical workings. The lithographs of workers at the High Bridge construction site which were published in Valentine's Manual were actually copied from pho- tographic documentation of this project (figure 53). This apparent shift in bias away from the pastoral romanticism of technology and increased fascination with the machinery of progress"" coincided with New Yorkers' heightened awareness of their constantly expanding water system and the need for prudent use of water. But in the early 1840s, America was still searching for self-confi- dence and self-definition. "Imagining" public works such as the Old Croton Aqueduct, in creating a symbolic imagery for the public, helped people place themselves in the context of human experi- ence throughout the ages and encouraged faith in the expansionist concept of manifest destiny. The way the Aqueduct's meaning was constructed reflects an attempt to reconcile conflicting issues of "rural resources meeting urban needs." These hopeful ideals obscured the reality of situations such as New York's appropriation of Westchester's and Putnam's assets and the exploitation of workers who built projects like the Aqueduct. At the same time, the romantic view of the countryside through which it passed also calls to mind 19th-century views of the city as an unhealthful environ- ment. Though probably not overtly intended as such, these scenes suggested the wholesome nature of the water being conveyed to New York City, by association with its source. The intended opti- mism of the Croton Aqueduct's image was destined to fade in the face of New York's crushing population growth and increased per capita use of water, which quickly proved that the water system, instead of serving generations to come, needed expansion after a mere 20 years. By the end of the century, its urbanizing achieve- ment and symbolism had diminished in view of its suspect purity and decreasing role in the overall water system; and its image as a pastoral icon gradually shifted in the minds of local residents to the more modest nature trail it is enjoyed as today. figure 52. above: Thomas Dougfity (1793-1856). Fairmount Water Works, Philadelphia, c.1826, oil on canvas, 2lV4x 29 inches Courtesy HirschI & Adier Galleries, Inc.. New York (not in exhibition) Photo: Helga Photo Studio figure 53, right: Arthur Brown, High Bridge During Construction of the Large IVIain, Viewed from the West Gate House, looking East, 1861, three-color lithograph from Valentine's Manu.il Courtesy private collection. Photo: B. Sigler Hardin Notes 1. William H. Gerdts, "American Landscape Painting: Critical Judgments, 1730- 1845," The American Art Journal, 17, No. 1 (1985), pp. 45-54; Carol Troyon, "Retreat to Arcadia: American Landscape and the American Art Union," The American Art Journal, 23, No. 1 (1991), pp.20-37. Troyon points OUt that despite the general popularity of landscape paintings at this time, It was not until the late 1840s that they started playing a m^or role in the Art-Union's pubiicatlons. 2. Troyon; Sarah Bums, Paaortd Inventions: Rural Ufe in Nineteenth Century American Art and Cukure (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989); Raymond O'Brien. American Sublane: Landscape and Scenery of the Lower Hudson Valley (Columbia University Press, New York, 1981), pp.170-175, 184-190, 224- 225. Thomas Cole's seminal essay on American Scenery was not published until 1835. 3. These concepts are discussed extensively