Some incorporated groundbreaking design trends pioneered by Newburgh native Andrew Jackson Downing, making the area important in architectural history.

Three contributing properties — the David Crawford House, Old Town Cemetery, and Newburgh's main post office — are separately listed on the Register, and one, the Dutch Reformed Church, has been recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

The Dutch Reformed Church had only recently been saved from demolition after almost a decade of vacancy; before that, the Crawford House had come close to being bulldozed for a school parking lot.

It established a zoning code to maintain a consistent appearance of new construction in the district and a seven-member Architectural Review Commission to enforce it.

The most visible example is the cobblestone surface of Liberty Street, neglected for many years and frequently cut open by local utility companies for repairs and resurfaced with asphalt.