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Prospect Park (Brooklyn) Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools
Coordinates: 40°39′42″N 73°58′15″W This is a good article. Click here for
more information. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Prospect Park
MapWikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Type Urban park Location Brooklyn, New York
City, United States Coordinates 40°39′42″N 73°58′15″W Area 526 acres (2.13
km2) Created 1867–1873 Owned by NYC Parks Operated by Prospect Park
Alliance Visitors about 8–10 million annually[1][2] Status Open all year
Public transit access Subway and bus; see below Website www.prospectpark.org
U.S. National Register of Historic Places New York City Landmark Architect
Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), Calvert Vaux (1824–1895) NRHP reference
No. 80002637[3] Significant dates Added to NRHP September 17, 1980
Designated NYCL November 25, 1975[4] Prospect Park is an urban park in the
New York City borough of Brooklyn. The park is situated between the
neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens,
Flatbush, and Windsor Terrace, and is adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum,
Grand Army Plaza, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. With an area of 526
acres (213 ha),[5] Prospect Park is the second-largest public park in
Brooklyn, behind Marine Park. Designated as a New York City scenic landmark
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Prospect Park is
operated by the Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks. First proposed in
legislation passed in 1859, Prospect Park was laid out by Frederick Law
Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also helped design Manhattan's Central Park,
following various changes to its design. Prospect Park opened in 1867,
though it was not substantially complete until 1873. The park subsequently
underwent numerous modifications and expansions to its facilities. Several
additions to the park were completed in the 1890s, in the City Beautiful
architectural movement. In the early 20th century, New York City Department
of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) commissioner Robert Moses started a
program to clean up Prospect Park. A period of decline in the late 20th
century spurred the creation of the Prospect Park Alliance, which
refurbished many parts of the park from the 1980s through the 2020s. Main
attractions of the park include the 90-acre (36 ha) Long Meadow; the Picnic
House; Litchfield Villa; Prospect Park Zoo; the Boathouse; Concert Grove;
Brooklyn's only lake, covering 60 acres (24 ha); and the Prospect Park
Bandshell that hosts outdoor concerts in the summertime. The park also has
sports facilities, including the Prospect Park Tennis Center, basketball
courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, and the New York Pétanque Club in
the Parade Ground. There is also a private Society of Friends (Quaker)
cemetery on Quaker Hill near the ball fields. In addition, Prospect Park is
part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, a network of green spaces that
stretch across western Long Island. History Before the park The Battle Pass
area from the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn in the American Revolutionary War
(1775–1783), an etching circa 1792 Approximately 17,000 years ago the
terminal moraine of the receding Wisconsin Glacier that formed Long Island,
known as the Harbor Hill Moraine, established a string of hills and kettles
in the northern part of the park and a lower lying outwash plain in the
southern part.[6][7] Mount Prospect (or Prospect Hill), near the
intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway, is one of the tallest
hills in Brooklyn, rising 200 feet (61 m) above sea level.[8]: 218 [9] It
is the highest among a string of hills that extends into the park,
including Sullivan, Breeze, and Lookout hills. The area was originally
forested, but became open pasture after two centuries of European
colonization. Significant stands of trees remained only in the peat bogs
centered south of Ninth and Flatbush Avenues, as well as in a large bog
north of Ninth Street, and contained chestnut, white poplar, and oak.[11]
Some of these stands were preserved in the modern-day Prospect Park Ravine
and nicknamed "The Last Forest of Brooklyn".[12] During the American
Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the park was a site of the Battle of Long
Island (aka Battle of Brooklyn). American forces attempted to hold Battle
Pass, an opening in the terminal moraine where the old Flatbush Road passed
from the villages of Brooklyn to Flatbush, where a large white oak tree was
cut down to block the progress of the British forces.[13] It fell after
some of the heaviest fighting in the engagement, and its loss contributed
to George Washington's decision to retreat. Even though the Continental
Army lost the battle, they were able to hold the British back long enough
for Washington's army to escape across the East River to Manhattan. Plaques
north of the zoo, as well as the Maryland Monument at Lookout Hill's foot,
honor this event.[14][15] The City of Brooklyn built a reservoir on
Prospect Hill in 1856 to serve the western half of the city with water
pumped from the Ridgewood Reservoir.[16] The need to keep the lots around
the reservoir free of development, as well as the preservation of the
Battle Pass area, were cited as two reasons for establishing a large park
nearby.[17] Planning Frederick Law Olmsted, as depicted by John Singer
Sargent in 1895 The original impetus to build Prospect Park stemmed from an
April 18, 1859, act of the New York State Legislature, empowering a
twelve-member commission to recommend sites for parks in the City of
Brooklyn.[18][19] At the time, Brooklyn was the world's first commuter
suburb,[20] and it became the third largest city in the country from 1860
to 1880, behind New York City (which then included Manhattan and parts of
the Bronx) and Philadelphia.[21] During this time, concepts concerning
public parks gained popularity. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert
Vaux had created the design for Central Park in Manhattan, which became the
first landscaped park in the United States.[14][17] James S. T. Stranahan,
then President of the Brooklyn Board of Park Commissioners, believed that a
park in Brooklyn "would become a favorite resort for all classes of our
community, enabling thousands to enjoy pure air, with healthful exercise,
at all seasons of the year..." He also thought a public park would attract
wealthy residents.[14] Stranahan originally envisioned one large park
extending eastward to Jamaica, Queens. However, the city's rapid
development made this impossible, and today, the largest remnants of this
proposed landscape are Prospect Park and the 538-acre (218 ha) Forest Park
in Queens.[22] In February 1860, a group of fifteen commissioners submitted
suggestions for locations of four large parks and three small parks in
Brooklyn, as well as a series of boulevards to connect said
parks.[17][19][23] The largest of these proposed parks was a 320-acre (1.3
km2) plot centered on Mount Prospect and bounded by Warren Street to the
north; Vanderbilt, Ninth, and Tenth Avenues to the west; Third and Ninth
Streets to the south; and Washington Avenue to the east.[17][24] Egbert
Viele began drawing plans for "Mount Prospect Park", as the space was
initially called, and published his proposal in 1861. The park was to
straddle Flatbush Avenue and include Prospect Hill, as well as the land now
occupied by the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and
Brooklyn Museum.[17][23] By late 1860, land had been purchased for Viele's
plan.[17] However, the onset of the Civil War stopped further activity, and
the boulevards and smaller parks were pushed back.[23] The delay prompted
some reflection; Stranahan invited Calvert Vaux to review Viele's plans
early in 1865.[17][25] Vaux took issue with Flatbush Avenue's division of
the park, thought that the park should have a lake, and urged for southward
expansion beyond the city limits and into the then-independent town of
Flatbush.[26]: 86–91 Vaux's February 1865 proposal reflected the present
layout of the park: three distinctive regions, meadow in the north and
west, a wooded ravine in the east, and a lake in the south, without being
divided by Flatbush Avenue. Vaux included an oval plaza at the northern end
of the park, which would later become Grand Army Plaza.[27][28] The revised
plan called for the purchase of additional parcels to the south and west to
accommodate Prospect Lake, but it excluded parcels already purchased east
of Flatbush Avenue, including Prospect Hill itself. In addition,
engineer-in-charge Joseph P. Davis and assistants John Bogart and John Y.
Culyer were named to work on the project.[17][29][30] Friends Cemetery By
then, land speculation was underway. The plot bounded by Ninth and Tenth
Avenues between Third and Fifteenth Streets was held by real estate
developer Edwin Clarke Litchfield, who had erected his home, Litchfield
Manor, on the east side of Ninth Avenue in 1857.[31] The Parks Commission
ultimately acquired the Litchfield plot in 1868 for $1.7 million, forty-two
percent of the overall expenditure for land, even though the plot
constituted just over five percent of the park's acreage. Much of this
acreage houses the maintenance yards and is rarely seen by the public.[32]
In 1866, the New York state legislature passed a bill approving the
acquisition of additional land on the southwest side of the park.[17][33]
The park was built around the preexisting Quaker cemetery,[34] which was
accommodated by an agreement under which the Society of Friends deeded
their unused acreage to the park. In exchange, they retained the remaining
10 acres for their private cemetery in perpetuity, as well as the rights to
access the cemetery.[17] Construction Despite the repercussions of Vaux's
revisions, Stranahan championed the revised proposal. Vaux recruited
Olmsted and formally presented the plan in February 1866.[35] The revised
plan was accepted by May. Construction started the following month, and
initial work focused on draining the land.[17] Then, the roads, bridle
paths, and walks within Prospect Park were graded and individual features
were landscaped. Three scenic roads, the West, Center, and East Drives,
were built within the perimeters of the park. Depending on the time of
year, between 250 and 2,000 workers were employed.[17][29][36] Much of the
landscaping focused on removing obstructions such as pits and swamps, and
enhancing other natural features such as hills. Trees were only removed if
they blocked a roadway or path that was being built.[37]: 38 The first
section of the park opened to the public on October 19, 1867, while it was
still under construction. The segment that was open to the public included
part of the East Drive between the north end of the park, at modern-day
Grand Army Plaza, and Coney Island Avenue at the southeast corner.[38][39]
The park initially contained the Playground, which had a croquet lawn, a
sailboat pond, a maze, and a summer house. By 1868, the open portions of
Prospect Park were patronized by 100,000 people per month,[17] and several
miles of roads, paths, and walkways had been completed.[29] The land for
Prospect Park's Parade Ground was acquired that year.[33] A series of
pedestrian arches to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the park
were also built during this time.[17] Over 200 benches were installed to
accommodate the new visitors. Rustic wooden shelters with "various oblong
and polygonal shapes" were placed along the shore of Prospect Park's lake
and were designed to be used as scenic overlooks. Several bridges and eight
hundred bird houses were installed to enhance the park's rustic
quality.[17] In its 1870 annual report, the Brooklyn park commissioners
reported that the lake was nearly completed, and that widening of nearby
streets was underway.[37]: 9, 11 By 1871, the monthly visitor count had
increased to 250,000.[17] The park's patronage continued to increase, and
in an 1873 article, The New York Times described Prospect Park as having
become an "indispensable Sunday resort for the toiling thousands of
Brooklyn."[40] However, the high patronage also had downsides: an 1875
editorial in the Times observed that many people would take shortcuts along
the grass rather than travel on designated routes.[41] Prospect Park was
substantially complete in 1873, but with the financial panic of that year,
Olmsted and Vaux stopped collaborating on the park's construction. Some of
the originally envisioned facets of the park, such as an observation tower,
a terraced restaurant, and a top-shaped Carriage Concourse, were not
built.[15][42] Olmsted and Vaux had also planned for a system of parkways
to connect to Prospect Park, though only two were built: Ocean Parkway,
running to Coney Island in the south, and Eastern Parkway, running to Crown
Heights in the east.[36] Overall, the city of Brooklyn spent more than $4
million to acquire the parkland, while the actual cost of construction
amounted to more than $5 million.[17] Stranahan was regarded by his
19th-century peers as the true "Father of Prospect Park", a reputation
established through his 22-year reign as Park Commission president
(1860–1882), engagement of Olmsted and Vaux, overseeing complex land
acquisitions,[43] securing funding to build the park, and after the park's
completion, defending the park against changes that were not compatible
with the overall design.[44] A statue of James S. T. Stranahan was proposed
in 1890.[45] Located inside the Grand Army Plaza entrance, the statue was
sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies and presented to Stranahan in June
1891.[46] Late 19th century Prospect Park in 1880 Prospect Park became
widely used after its opening, and many sports were hosted there. By the
late 19th century, archery was among the most popular sports being
practiced on the Long Meadow,[42] and up to 100 groups would convene on the
Long Meadow to play croquet on weekend afternoons.[47] During winters,
people practiced "ice baseball" on the lake.[42] Ice skating was also a
common sport, and was frequently practiced on the lake during the
winter.[48] Because picnicking was banned in Central Park, and generally
disapproved-of in many other parks in Manhattan, Prospect Park became a
popular picnic spot.[15][49] However, this also resulted in litter, and by
1881, The New York Times was receiving complaints about a lack of
cleanliness in the park.[50] No new structures were constructed in Prospect
Park until 1882, when a utilitarian brick stable was constructed on the
park's western side.[17] The same year, Brooklyn mayor Seth Low did not
reappoint Stranahan or the other commissioners, a change that neither
Stranahan nor the other commissioners actively opposed. Stranahan, for his
part, was becoming more engaged in other Brooklyn concerns.[51] The action,
however, did signal a change in the style of park management, which grew to
embrace neoclassicism.[25] Simultaneously during the 1880s, the quality of
Prospect Park had declined through overuse and a corresponding lack of
maintenance.[42] After Brooklyn Mayor Alfred C. Chapin walked through the
park in 1888, he requested that $100,000 be allocated for improvements.[52]
Subsequently, the Brooklyn Parks Commission embarked on a $200,000 program
to restore the park. It repaved many of the walkways and drives, as well as
replanted flora.[53]: 9–12 The commission also proposed purchasing the land
around the Mount Prospect Reservoir, northeast of modern-day Prospect Park,
which had been excluded from the final plan for the park.[54]: 54–64 [55]
Instead, this space was developed as the Brooklyn Museum in the 1890s,
followed by the Brooklyn Central Library and Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the
early 20th century.[17] The reservoir was filled in, and along with Mount
Prospect Hill, became the separate Mount Prospect Park in 1940.[56] The
park and its surroundings were subsequently restored in the 1890s during
the City Beautiful movement.[42] After the Soldier's and Sailor's Arch at
Grand Army Plaza was built in 1892, the park commissioners engaged the
McKim, Mead, and White architectural firm to redesign Grand Army Plaza in a
complementary, neoclassical way. By 1896, Grand Army Plaza sported four
towering granite columns adorned with carved fasces and eagles at the base,
though the bronze eagles atop the columns would not be installed until
1902. Granite fencing with decorative bronze urns replaced simple wooden
fencing, and polygonal granite pavilions on the east and west corners of
the park supplanted earlier rustic shelters. All the major entrances of the
park gained similar neoclassical treatments. By the turn of the twentieth
century, sculptures by Frederick MacMonnies graced the Arch and works by
MacMonnies and Alexander Proctor adorned many of the entrances.[25]
Neoclassical structures appeared within the park as well. In 1893 and 1894,
McKim, Mead and White transformed the Children's Playground and Pools in
the park's northeast quadrant into the Rose Garden and the Vale of
Cashmere, each a formally arranged space.[17] Stanford White's Maryland
Monument was installed near the Terrace Bridge in 1895 in recognition of
the Maryland 400, who fought in the Battle of Long Island on the slopes of
Lookout Hill.[8]: 130 [57] Horse riders on the Bridle Path in Prospect
Park, 1912, Charles D. Lay Horse riders on the Bridle Path in Prospect
Park, 1912, Charles D. Lay Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Park, c. 1903–1910.
Eugene Wemlinger Brooklyn Museum, Prospect Park, c. 1903–1910. Eugene
Wemlinger Snow Scene, Prospect Park, c. 1872–1887. George Bradford Brainerd
Snow Scene, Prospect Park, c. 1872–1887. George Bradford Brainerd Rose
Arbor in Winter, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, c. 1872–1887. George Bradford
Brainerd Rose Arbor in Winter, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, c. 1872–1887.
George Bradford Brainerd Water Tower, Prospect Park, c. 1903–1910. Eugene
Wemlinger Water Tower, Prospect Park, c. 1903–1910. Eugene Wemlinger Early
20th century 1901 map of Prospect Park, published in the Parks Department's
1902 Annual Report The city of Brooklyn merged with Manhattan and other
outlying boroughs in 1898, creating the City of Greater New York. By the
end of the century, Prospect Park saw about 15 million visitors per
year.[36] Though people were officially banned from hosting picnics and
other large eating events in Prospect Park, the rule was not enforced for
several years until 1903, when a surge of visitors from Manhattan led to an
increase in luncheons being hosted.[58] In 1907, lights were installed to
deter couples from kissing or other intimate activity within the park.[59]
At the same time, the city embarked on an improvement program at Prospect
Park by cleaning out the landscape, constructing the Bartel-Pritchard
Square entrance, and removing an old boathouse that had been supplanted by
the Boathouse on the Lullwater.[60] The construction of structures
continued in the first decade of the 20th century. The neoclassical
Peristyle (1904), Boathouse (1905), Tennis House (1910), and Willink
Comfort Station (1912) were all designed by Helmle, Hudswell and Huberty,
alumni and proteges of McKim, Mead, and White.[8]: 130 [57] The entrances
into Prospect Park that were constructed during this time were also in the
neoclassical style.[8]: 130 [17] Two now-demolished structures were also
constructed on the peninsula, the Model Yacht Club House (1900–1956) and a
shelter (1915 – c. 1940s).[17] Olmsted was said to have been "distressed"
by these modifications to the park's original plan.[36] From World War I to
the mayoral administration of Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s, investment
in park infrastructure declined. A two-story brick building was opened in
the Menagerie in 1916, housing monkeys, some small mammals, and several
birds.[61] After the end of World War I, a memorial commemorating fallen
soldiers was proposed;[62] it was dedicated in 1921.[63] The only other
structures to be built during this period were the Picnic House (1927) and
a small comfort station at the Ocean Avenue entrance (1930), both designed
by J. Sarsfield Kennedy.[17] A golf course was proposed for the Long Meadow
in the 1920s, but eventually, it was built on the Peninsula, abutting the
Lake at the park's southern end.[42] In 1932, a faux Mount Vernon was built
in Prospect Park to commemorate the bicentennial of George Washington's
birthday.[64] However, Prospect Park was in stasis for the most part, and
like many of the city's parks, it was run year-after-year with declining
budgets. The New York Times observed that by the 1930s, "generations of
Parks Department officials had lived well and got rich by diverting
maintenance funds, and the park showed the result of a half century of
abuse and neglect."[65] Robert Moses era In January 1934, newly elected
Mayor Fiorello La Guardia appointed Robert Moses as the commissioner of the
New York City Department of Parks (NYC Parks), a new organization that
eliminated borough park commissioners.[66] Moses would remain commissioner
for the next twenty-six years, leaving significant impacts on the city's
parks. Moses used federal monies made available to relieve Depression-era
unemployment, and this resulted in a boom in construction at Prospect
Park.[25][67] The Prospect Park Zoo opened in 1935 on the east side of the
park, replacing the former Menagerie.[67] The Bandshell and five
playgrounds were also constructed toward the end of the 1930s.[25][67] In
addition, the Carousel was opened in 1949 as a gift from the foundation of
the late philanthropist Michael Friedsam.[68][69] Moses also enacted new
policies at the park, including a ban on sheep grazing at the Long
Meadow.[26]: 16 [70] During World War II, Prospect Park hosted a portion of
the city's antiaircraft defense. Three hundred soldiers manned batteries,
underground ammunition dumps, observation towers, repair shops and barracks
around Swan Lake in the Long Meadow. Though the defenses were disbanded in
1944, traces of slit trenches and sandbagged gun emplacements could still
be found several years afterward.[71] In 1959, the southern third of the
Long Meadow was graded and fenced off for ballfields.[17][72] The Boathouse
on the Lullwater, almost demolished in 1964 Plans for the Kate Wollman
Memorial Rink were approved in 1960,[73] and the rink opened in December
1961.[74] The rink was built on a filled-in portion of Prospect Lake,
necessitating the removal of Music Island and the panoramic view of the
lake created by Olmsted and Vaux.[73] To make the park more visually
appealing, NYC Parks also began to clear the area of weeds and invasive
species, though this had the unintended effect of hastening
erosion.[17][72][75] It was not unusual in the Moses years, and especially
the decade after his departure, to quietly remove underutilized or
redundant structures. To do so was regarded as economical and prudent
management. Several structures had been destroyed by the time Moses left
his position as NYC Parks commissioner in May 1960. These included the
Dairy, destroyed 1935;[17] Concert Grove House, demolished 1949;[76] Music
Island, razed 1960;[77][78] the Flower Garden;[15] the Thatched Shelter,
destroyed in the 1940s;[17][79] the Model Yacht Club, burned down in
1956;[17][79] and the Greenhouse Conservatories, taken apart in 1955.[80]
Late 20th century 1960s and 1970s The demolition of Pennsylvania Station in
Manhattan during 1963–1968 spawned a nascent historic preservation
movement.[81] In September 1964, the Parks Department was within
forty-eight hours of demolishing the Boathouse on the Lullwater.[17][82] At
the time the structure was underutilized; the boat concession only operated
on weekends and its peak traffic was fewer than ten people per hour.[83]
However, the Boathouse shared many architectural design features with the
famous station. A preservation group, The Friends of Prospect Park,
including in its membership, poet and longtime Brooklyn resident Marianne
Moore,[84] built public awareness over disappearing historical structures
and threatened flora within the park. Public pressure induced Park
Commissioner Newbold Morris to rescind the decision to demolish the
Boathouse in December 1964.[85] Projects to restore Prospect Park were
taken up by the late 1960s. In 1965, the city allocated $450,000 to
renovate the Vale of Cashmere and the Rose Garden ahead of Brooklyn's 300th
anniversary, and the park's 100th anniversary, the following year.[86]
Another $225,000 was allocated to renovate the boathouse, and $249,000 was
allotted to overall renovations.[87] The city renovated part of the Long
Meadow on the northwest side of the park, as well as the children's farm.
However, some of the contracts were delayed, including renovations to the
Boathouse and the tennis courts, as well as a reconstruction of the Music
Pagoda, which had burned down in 1968.[88] By 1971, the city had spent $4
million to renovate Prospect Park, including renovating the Boathouse and
dredging the lake. The Rose Garden and the Vale of Cashmere had also been
re-landscaped.[89] Also part of the renovation was a restoration of the
Prospect Park Carousel from 1971 to 1974,[90] and the exterior of the
Boathouse was restored in 1979.[91] By the 1970s, Prospect Park was beset
by crime; a 1974 report found that 44 percent of city residents would warn
people to stay away from the park under any circumstances.[42] Much of
Prospect Park suffered soil erosion and lack of maintenance caused the
landscape to deteriorate. By 1979, park attendance dropped to two million,
the lowest recorded level in the history of the park.[25] 1980s and 1990s
The mayoral administration of Ed Koch formed plans in 1980 to turn over the
administration of the troubled Prospect Park Zoo to the Wildlife
Conservation Society.[92] Over the next seven years, the city invested $17
million in cleaning up the park,[93] including $10 million in federal funds
from a Community Development Block Grant.[94] Annual visitor numbers had
nearly tripled to 5 million between 1980 and 1987.[93] During this period,
Prospect Park also received two historic designations: it was made a New
York City Historic Landmark on November 25, 1975,[4] and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1980.[3] The Prospect
Park Alliance, a non-profit organization, was created in April 1987 based
on the model of the Central Park Conservancy, which had helped restore
Central Park in the 1980s. Shortly afterward, NYC Parks began entering into
restoration projects with the organization.[93] The Alliance's first major
project was the $550,000 restoration of the Carousel in 1987–1989. The
carousel had not operated since 1983, and its original horse-shaped seats
were removed during the restoration.[95] Nine years later, in 1996, it
started a $4.5 million restoration of the Ravine.[12][42] The Boathouse was
also restored again in the late 1990s due to deterioration of the exterior
terracotta.[91] The National Audubon Society signed a lease for the
Boathouse in 2000,[96] and the building became the site of the nation's
first urban Audubon society.[97] The restoration of the Harmony Playground
and Bandshell was completed the same year.[98] However, other parts of
Prospect Park remained neglected, such as the eastern side of the park,
where the surrounding community was generally poorer than the western
side.[99] Early 21st century 2000s and 2010s A promenade facing the lake,
built in the first decade of the 21st century By 2000, the Wollman Rink was
deteriorating, and there was a need to replace it.[100] The Alliance soon
formed plans to restore Music Island and the original shoreline, both
obliterated by the construction of the original rink in 1960.[101][102]
Several Moses-era playgrounds and the Bandshell were retained because their
venues were popular. Original rustic summer houses were restored or
recreated on the shores of Prospect Park Lake, along the Lullwater and in
the Ravine.[103] As part of the restoration plans, the Wollman Rink was to
be replaced by two rinks in the new LeFrak Center, a year-round
recreational facility.[103] Work on the LeFrak Center began in 2009, and
the Wollman Rink had been demolished by 2011.[104] The Samuel J. and Ethel
LeFrak Center at Lakeside was completed in December 2013 at a cost of $74
million.[105][106] As part of the Wollman Rink's replacement, plans for the
restored Music Island were announced in 2009.[107] The Chaim Baier Music
Island, and the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade overlooking the
island, were restored using a $10 million grant, and were officially
rededicated in October 2012.[77][78] The Prospect Park Alliance
subsequently completed or proposed more restoration projects for the
park.[108] Long Meadow ball field 1 was rebuilt between 2013 and 2014.[109]
The following year, the Alliance announced some projects on Prospect Park's
eastern side, including the $200,000 restoration of Battle Pass. The
Alliance also intended to restore the water-damaged Oriental Pavilion for
$2 million and replace fencing on Flatbush Avenue for $2.4 million.[108] In
2016, the Alliance also received $3.2 million from NYC Parks' Parks Without
Borders program to construct two new entrances on Flatbush Avenue, the
park's first new entrances in over 70 years,[110][111] as well as rebuild
the Willink entrance.[112] During the city's 2016 fiscal year, which ended
June 30, 2016, politicians also contributed funds toward various
restoration projects in the park. These included $2.5 million for
renovating Lefferts Historic House, $2 million to rebuild pathways, $1.75
million for replacing fencing on Ocean Avenue, $750,000 for renovating the
ballfields on Long Meadow, and $500,000 for the Carousel's restoration. In
addition, $100,000 was earmarked for the installation of an experimental
running surface on Park Drive, and through a participatory budgeting
program, residents of the surrounding communities allocated funds for other
projects such as new drinking fountains, a dog run, community barbecue
sites, and an aquatic weed harvester.[113][114] Also in 2016, as part of a
project to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Prospect
Park Alliance used goats to clean up the shrubbery in woodlands around the
Vale of Cashmere,[115] then re-landscaped the sites at a cost of
$727,000.[108] The Well House, located on the Lake, reopened in 2017 as a
composting restroom,[116][117] and the Dog Beach along the watercourse's
Upper Pool was renovated.[118] The same year, the Alliance received funds
to renovate the Parade Ground, the Tennis House, and ball fields.[119] The
Alliance also announced an upcoming renovation of the Rose Garden.[120]
Ball fields 6 and 7 were renovated and reopened in 2017,[121] while ball
fields 4 and 5 reopened in late 2020.[122] Construction started on the
Flatbush Avenue fence repairs in 2018, and the new entrances were slated to
start construction in early 2019.[111][123] Construction of a dog run in
the Parade Ground also started in August 2019,[124] and the dog run opened
in July 2020.[125] In addition, Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous were
selected in 2019 to design Our Destiny, Our Democracy, a monument near the
Ocean and Parkside Avenue entrance.[126][127] 2020s The Concert Grove
Pavilion reopened in April 2021 after a one-year renovation.[128][129] That
December, a $40 million renovation of the Vale of Cashmere was
announced.[130][131] The last two ball fields on Long Meadow reopened in
early 2023 after several years of renovations.[132][133] During mid-2023,
the New York City government considered erecting tents in Prospect Park to
temporarily house asylum seekers.[134][135] The Prospect Park Alliance
reopened Fallkill Falls to the public in October 2023;[136][137] prior to
Fallkill Falls' reopening, trespassers regularly accessed it.[138] The
organization announced in January 2024 that an abandoned comfort station at
the Ocean and Parkside Avenue entrance would be converted into a welcome
center named for Shirley Chisholm, which was expected to open in 2026.[139]
Geography MapWikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Map of notable buildings and
structures at Prospect Park (note: not all entrances shown). Click on
points for more details. This map: viewtalkedit Prospect Park occupies 526
acres (213 ha) in central Brooklyn. It is bound by Prospect Park West and
the neighborhood of Park Slope to the northwest; Prospect Park Southwest
and the Windsor Terrace neighborhood to the southwest and west; Parkside
Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, and the neighborhood of Flatbush to
the south and southeast; and Grand Army Plaza and the neighborhood of
Prospect Heights to the north.[5] Design Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert
Vaux engineered Prospect Park to recreate in real space the pastoral,
picturesque, and aesthetic ideals expressed in contemporary paintings.[4]:
3 [8]: 219–220 The overall design was inspired partially by Birkenhead Park
in the United Kingdom.[42] Prospect Park had recent precedents in the
pastoral style, notably Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston and Green-Wood
Cemetery a few blocks away.[23] Olmsted and Vaux felt they had greater
success in Brooklyn because of the lack of obstacles there, but they were
also assisted in part by park commissioner
Skype Technologies Article Talk Read Edit View history Tools From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the company which
develops Skype. For the instant messaging client, see Skype. Skype
Technologies S.A.R.L Company type Subsidiary Industry Telecommunications
Founded 2003; 21 years ago Founder Janus Friis Niklas Zennström
Headquarters Luxembourg Area served Worldwide Key people Deepak Kashyap
Products Videotelephony Online Chat Business VoIP Revenue 185,000,000
United States dollar (2009) Number of employees Increase 788 (2010) Parent
Microsoft Subsidiaries GroupMe Website skype.com Skype Technologies S.A.R.L
(also known as Skype Software S.A.R.L, Skype Communications S.A.R.L, Skype
Inc., and Skype Limited) is a telecommunications company headquartered in
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, whose chief business is the manufacturing and
marketing of the video chat and instant messaging computer software program
Skype, and various Internet telephony services associated with it.[1]
Microsoft purchased the company in 2011, and it has since then operated as
their wholly owned subsidiary;[2