[ 138 ] IAN R. STEWART ment of the commissioners. On July 11, less than one hundred days after the mayor's message, the state legislature, in extra session, approved the city's request by authorizing it to take possession of the territory between Third Avenue and the East River and Sixty-sixth and Seventy-fifth streets.22 The site seemed ideal for the purpose outlined. Long a city landmark because of its beautiful, wild condition, it was covered with a good, full growth of mature oak, chestnut, and elm trees. Uncultivated in appearance, and abounding with wildlife, it was a particularly fine example of picturesque scenery. As a park site it was further enhanced by its attractively irregular surface and by its proximity to the river for potential recreational use. Hardly had the authorization act been published than there arose a chorus of opposition to the proposed site. Surprisingly, Downing led it off by writing a fiery piece called "The New York Park!' which was published in the August 1851 issue of the Horticulturist. Thanking Mayor Kingsland for his support, he declared that his only objection was that the site was too small. A mere 160 acres would be "only a child's playground" for the world's fourth largest city. "London has over 6,000 acres within its own limits or in the accessible suburbs" he reminded his readers. He went on to castigate those "timid tax-payers, and men nervous in their private pockets of the municipal expenditures!' and then urged: Five hundred acres is the smallest area that should be reserved for the future wants of such a city, now, while it might be obtained. Five hundred acres may be selected between Thirty-ninth street, and the Harlem River, including a varied surface of land, a good deal of which is waste area, so that the whole may be purchased at something like a million dollars.28 Downing went on to draw a picture of the park he envisioned, with its statues, commemorative monuments, gardens, and artistic adornments. With surprising and prophetic accuracy, he closely outlined the details and picturesque quality of the very park New York would finally build. In addition, Downing took the opportunity with this article to state his arguments more clearly as to the "social influence" 22New York City, Proceedings, Approved by the Mayor, XDC (1851), 241-42, as cited in Stokes, Iconography, V, 1834. 28 Downing, Rural Essays, 147-53.