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Before They Were Parks
Many City parks are in their second or third lives, having served other purposes prior to their acquisition by the Department of Parks & Recreation. Most of them have interesting stories to tell about their former uses. A few highlights below serve as reminders that everything has a history, sometimes scandalous, sometimes sad, and sometimes silly.
Bryant Park, Manhattan
The City of New York established a potter's field—that is, a burial place for unknown or indigent people—on the site of modern day Bryant Park in 1823. The potter's field continued to be used until 1840.
Around that same time, between 1839 and 1843, the Croton Distributing Reservoir was built where the New York Public Library now stands, on the east side of the park. The land of the former potter's field became Reservoir Park in 1847. The reservoir, which was the city's prime water source for a time, was removed in the 1890s. In 1884, the park was renamed Bryant Park for New York Evening Post editor William Cullen Bryant.
Washington Square Park, Manhattan
Washington Square is yet another park that once served as a potter's field, established as such in 1797, and concluding this role in 1827 with its designation as a public park.
It is said that while a potter's field, Washington Square was once the site of a public execution, giving rise to the tale that the Hangman's Elm that still stands in the northwest corner of the park was once used for hangings. Finally, Washington Square Park's last use before becoming a park was as a military parade ground in 1826.
Prospect Park, Brooklyn
One of the major early battles of the Revolutionary War was fought in Prospect Park in August 1776. In fact, the topography of Battle Pass — on the east side of the park along the park drive — looks much the same as it did when George Washington's Continental Army forces dug in against British and Hessian soldiers moving up from the south, eventually forcing Revolutionary troops to retreat in defeat.
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
You might not think of it while lounging on a blanket, but Fort Greene Park's high vantage point suited it well for a military installation. Indeed, it was one during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
In 1776, American Major General Nathanael Greene, for whom Fort Greene Park is named, supervised the construction of Fort Putnam on high ground that is now part of Fort Greene Park. The fort was renamed for General Greene and rebuilt for the War of 1812. When the threat of war passed, locals enjoyed visiting the grounds of the old fort for recreation and relaxation, and the City of Brooklyn designated the site a public park in 1845.
Claremont Park, Bronx
The area that is now Claremont Park was once part of the Morris family estate, founded in 1679. The Morris family lived on the land during the Colonial era; the most famous Morris, Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816), wrote the final draft of the Constitution. Gouverneur Morris II (1813-1888) auctioned off much of his land in 1848 and wealthy newlyweds Elliott and Anna Zborowski de Montsaulain acquired a parcel in the northern portion of the former Morris property.
In 1859, the Zborowski de Montsaulains built the Claremont mansion and developed the grounds with terraced lawns, descending to the Mill Brook (now Webster Avenue).
After the site became a park, the mansion was converted for use as the local administrative headquarters of the Bronx Parks Department. The mansion was razed in 1938 and replaced with a gazebo.
Pelham Bay Park, Bronx
The city's largest park, Pelham Bay Park also features a rich and varied history. Siwanoy Native Americans originally inhabited this area, followed by a short–lived English colony founded by Anne Hutchinson (for whom nearby Hutchinson River is named) in what is now the northwest corner of this park.
Englishman Thomas Pell purchased 50,000 acres of land from the Siwanoy in 1654; during the Revolutionary War, Pell's land was part of the buffer between the British–held Manhattan and rebel–held Westchester.
Robert Bartow purchased the land in 1836, building the Bartow–Pell Mansion, which remained in the family until 1888 when the City acquired the estate. The mansion still sits on Shore Road.
In the 1930s, Parks under Commissioner Robert Moses completed one of the most impressive public works projects by actually filling in the area between Hunter and Twin Islands in the Long Island Sound with three million cubic yards of landfill to craft Orchard Beach.
Silver Lake Park, Staten Island
The original Silver Lake (currently the south basin of the reservoir) was a spring-fed body of water formed at the end of the ice age. During the 19th century, a casino and saloon existed on the lakeshore and several companies harvested ice during the winter months for use in homes and businesses.
Once modern refrigeration made ice harvesting unnecessary, the lake was connected to the city water supply system, serving as the endpoint of the city's Catskill water supply system from 1917 to 1971.
Just before the site became a City park, in February 1897, Silver Lake hosted the National Skating Amateur Championship races.
Mariner's Marsh Park, Staten Island
The area around Mariner's Marsh Park was once dominated by industrial development. The Milliken Brothers' Structural Iron Works and Rolling Mill built its plant on the site of the park in 1903. Milliken Brothers was once one of the world's largest manufacturers of steel products.
In 1917, the plant was converted to Downey's Shipyard, which, needless to say, was bustling with activity as a result of World War I.
The park's ten ponds are actually remnants of the site's shipbuilding past: a system to get ships to the nearby Kill Van Kull necessitated exposing the area's water table. The basins created to solve this problem became the ponds we see today.
Newtown Playground, Queens
As early as 1730, the land now comprising Newtown Playground was used as a cemetery. Some of Newtown's most prominent residents were buried here, including members of the Moore and Fish families, successful fruit growers and farmers.
The land was transferred to the Department of Parks in 1917. The 1927-28 Queens Annual Report noted that "[a]ll the old headstones, which stuck up like eyesores, were laid flat and covered with soil." Newtown Playground was fully developed as a playground in 1934–35.
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens
The former dumping ground labeled a "valley of ashes" by F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Great Gatsby went on to become Queens' largest park.
The swampy area was first converted into a 1,200–acre fairground for the 1939–40 World's Fair. For a five–year span between 1946 and 1950, while its permanent home was being built on the East side of Manhattan, the first United Nations assembled within the park.
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