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56-515: Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza is a 1.59-acre (0.64 ha) public park in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan , New York, United States. Located on the south side of East 47th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue , the park was established during the late 1940s and early 1950s, when 47th Street was widened to create a landscaped approach to the headquarters of the United Nations . It

112-451: A 10-minute walk , provides multiple benefits. A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade , with an increasing emphasis on reducing an urban heat island effect. Some early parks include

168-484: A Collegiate Gothic style. In the 1970s, and early 1980s, Stern developed a reputation as a postmodern architect for integrating classical elements into his designs for contemporary buildings, but in the mid-1980s, his work became more traditional, more in keeping with the then emerging New Classical architectural movement . Stern, however, has rejected such characterizations, arguing that his projects draw on vernacular context and local traditions. In recent years,

224-455: A 150-foot (46 m) wide east-west approach running through a nine-block redevelopment area bounded by First Avenue, 45th Street, Lexington Avenue , and 48th Street. The AIA claimed their plan would require the demolition of only two large buildings, one of which was a ten-story YMCA branch at 224 East 47th Street. The city decided to proceed with its original plan in August 1947, believing that

280-495: A consortium of investors who bought that building from Helmsley, agreed in 1994 to rebuild the plaza's sculpture garden for $ 300,000, in exchange for being absolved of responsibility for the garden's upkeep. The plans include lowering the sculpture garden so it was more visible from the street. As part of the renovations, a garden was created along the southern edge of the park and dedicated to actress Katharine Hepburn on May 12, 1997, her ninetieth birthday. The former actress had been

336-428: A new landscaped approach to the headquarters of the United Nations , which then was being developed on the east side of First Avenue between East 42nd and 48th streets in Turtle Bay, Manhattan . The city proposed widening and reconstructing several streets in the vicinity of the United Nations to accommodate the new complex, one of which was the segment of East 47th Street from First to Second avenues. Specifically,

392-649: A park north of the General Assembly Building . In the book New York 1960 , architect Robert A. M. Stern and his co-authors characterized the widened street as "in many ways an empty gesture". After Dag Hammarskjöld, the Secretary-General of the United Nations , was killed in a plane crash while traveling on a peacekeeping mission to the Congo, the New York City Council approved legislation to rename

448-529: A partner at RAMSA, and has indicated he has no plans to retire. Stern was the dean of the Yale School of Architecture from 1998 to 2016, and has continued to teach there since the end of his tenure. Previously, he taught at Columbia University, in the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation , and from 1984 to 1988 was the director of Columbia's Temple Hoyne Buell Center for

504-612: A resident of the Turtle Bay neighborhood for six decades and fought to save trees on her block. Katharine Hepburn Garden includes a bench taken from her estate in Fenwick, Connecticut , stepping stones inscribed with her quotations, and tablets with pictures from her films. The final phase of the renovation, which included narrowing 47th Street between First and Second avenues to a westbound-only, three-lane street, could not commence until eastbound M27 and M50 crosstown buses were rerouted away from

560-673: A small cafe opened in a private concession space near the eastern end of the park that was designed by NYC Parks to resemble a glass greenhouse. By the 21st century, Katharine Hepburn's birthday was celebrated at the park's Katharine Hepburn Garden annually. Public park Depending on size, budget, and land features, which varies considerably among individual parks, common features include playgrounds , gardens , hiking, running, fitness trails or paths, bridle paths , sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, performance venues, or BBQ and picnic facilities. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within

616-517: Is a New York City–based architect, educator, and author. He is the founding partner of the architecture firm, Robert A. M. Stern Architects, also known as RAMSA. From 1998 to 2016, he was the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture . His firm's major works include the classically styled New York apartment building, 15 Central Park West ; two residential colleges at Yale University ; Philadelphia's Museum of

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672-454: The Brooklyn borough of New York City, in 1939 to a Jewish family, Stern spent his earliest years with his parents in the nearby Manhattan borough. After 1940, they moved back to Brooklyn, where Stern grew up. Stern received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1960 and a master's degree in architecture from Yale University in 1965. Stern has cited the historian Vincent Scully and

728-547: The La Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville. The Városliget ( City Park ) in the City of Pest , what is today Budapest, Hungary , was a city property when afforestation started in the middle of the 18th century, from the 1790s with the clear aim to create a public park. Between 1799 and 1805 it

784-602: The Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto , which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a greenbelt . There is a form of an urban park in the UK (officially called a "recreation ground", but commonly called a "rec" by

840-687: The American Revolution ; and the modernist Comcast Center skyscraper in Philadelphia. In 2011, Stern was honored with the Driehaus Architecture Prize for his achievements in contemporary classical architecture . Schwarzman College was designed by Stern; the 200,000 square foot campus houses one of the most advanced higher-education facilities in the world and is one of the first LEED Gold-certified academic buildings in China. Born in

896-595: The Study of American Architecture. A prolific writer, Stern has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books about architecture, including five volumes about New York City's architectural history, each focusing on a different period. In 1986, he hosted "Pride of Place: Building the American Dream", an eight-part documentary series that aired on PBS. The series featured Peter Eisenman , Leon Krier , Philip Johnson , Frank Gehry and other notable architects. "Pride of Place"

952-593: The UK, with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many parks are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in

1008-515: The United States and the world, though cow grazing did not end until the 1830s. Around the country, the predecessors to urban parks in the United States were generally rural cemeteries . The cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for

1064-827: The United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II , new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services, such as sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors, adults, teens and children. Green space

1120-562: The architect Philip Johnson as early mentors and influences. After graduating from Yale, Stern worked as a curator for the Architectural League of New York , a job he gained through his connection to Philip Johnson . While at the League, he organized the second 40 Under 40 show, which featured his own work alongside work of then-little-known architects Charles Moore , Robert Venturi and Romaldo Giurgola , all of whom were featured in

1176-537: The award. More recently, Stern has designed three skyscrapers in New York City, 220 Central Park South , 520 Park Avenue and 30 Park Place , which will be among the tallest buildings in the city and the United States when complete. In 2017 RAMSA completed a major addition to the campus of Yale University, with two new residential colleges, Pauli Murray College and Benjamin Franklin College , both designed in

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1232-488: The board of the Walt Disney Company . Stern is now better known for his large-scale condominium and apartment building projects in New York City, which include 20 East End Avenue , The Chatham, The Brompton and 15 Central Park West . The latter was, at the time of its completion, one of the most financially successful apartment buildings ever constructed, with sales totaling $ 2 billion. Stern has designed some of

1288-474: The city to select another street to serve as the approach to the United Nations. Other groups felt that the city's proposal was inadequate. William Zeckendorf submitted a plan to redevelop six blocks from First to Third avenues with a 320-foot (98 m) wide east-west concourse leading to the north end of the United Nations site. The New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) proposed

1344-415: The city's plans called to widen this street from 60 to 160 feet (18 to 49 m) to create a two-way thoroughfare. The road was to consist of two 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) roadways separated by a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) median, with a landscaped park running along the remainder of the south side of the street. This project was to cost about $ 1 million. The widened section of 47th Street was intended to serve

1400-490: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much-imitated design for Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . The latter commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas which Paxton had pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

1456-449: The designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile (an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park in London) and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodelling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End . With

1512-494: The establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile sector. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence in global maritime trade before 1800, and during the Victorian era its wealth rivalled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

1568-423: The footbridge, which was never completed. Another unrealized plan, in 1968, called for Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza to be redesigned into an actual park. At the time, The Washington Post, Times Herald described the park as "a rather sorry affair which has only a row of young trees to justify its name". In 1970, the western portion of the park was leased for 125 years to developer Harry Macklowe for incorporation into

1624-779: The form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or sedentary activity such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or a portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Many ski resorts combine active recreation facilities (ski lifts, gondolas, terrain parks, downhill runs, and lodges) with passive recreation facilities (cross-country ski trails). Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

1680-575: The garden. The city announced that it would go ahead with the park expansion in September 1998 after an agreement was reached with the MTA to reroute the M27 and M50 buses. The expansion of the plaza was completed in August 1999, which increased the size of the park by half an acre. In 2000, a weekly greenmarket was added to the park, which continues to be held each Wednesday and is managed by GrowNYC . The following year

1736-586: The influential issue of Perspecta that Stern edited a year before at Yale. Upon leaving the Architectural League in 1966, Stern worked briefly as a designer in the office of the architect Richard Meier , then worked for two and a half years at New York City's Housing and Development Administration, after which he established Stern & Hagmann with John S. Hagmann , a fellow student from his days at Yale. In 1977 he founded its successor firm, Robert A.M. Stern Architects , now known as RAMSA. Stern remains

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1792-525: The large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, city managers or politicians can target these parks as sources of free land for other uses. Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature. There are around estimated 27,000 public parks in

1848-567: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Passive recreation typically requires little management and can be provided at very low costs. Some open space managers provide nothing other than trails for physical activity in

1904-491: The northern part of the United Nations headquarters, complementing the widening of 42nd Street to the south. The project required condemnation of all of the buildings along the south side of East 47th Street, including St. Boniface Church , the church's rectory and parochial school, and a furniture maker. Over 2,000 people signed a petition sent to the Board of Estimate to block the proposed demolition of St. Boniface Church and asked

1960-495: The other proposals for "monumental" approaches were not justified given the city's financial condition and the legal obstacles that they would face. A New York Supreme Court justice determined in January 1948 that the properties, which the city was to acquire for the widening of 47th Street, were worth $ 1.435 million. The Board of Estimate authorized $ 3 million for the acquisition of property in August 1948. The city revised its plans for

2016-604: The park on 47th Street in his honor. Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza was formally renamed on November 11, 1961. New York City and UN officials announced plans in April 1964 to redesign the plaza by adding a wall with quotations from the late Secretary-General. The plans also included a memorial footbridge over First Avenue, designed by Daniel Chait , which would connect the plaza with the UN headquarters. The city government provided $ 255,375 in December 1965 for

2072-404: The park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of

2128-426: The park, which would include removing the elevated sculpture garden at the west end of the park and the eastbound roadway on East 47th Street. These plans were met by opposition from some of the local residents, who said the plaza had become overrun by homeless in the prior decade and did not want homeless encampments to grow larger. Homeless persons had congregated in the sculpture garden at the park's western end, which

2184-420: The past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

2240-462: The plaza and arcade for the new office building at 866 Second Avenue, also known as 2 Hammarskjold Plaza. As part of the agreement, the developer built a sculpture garden and was responsible for its maintenance. In exchange, Macklowe was permitted to add 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m) to his building. After advocacy from local civic groups, the western part of the plaza was redesigned in 1985. Throughout its history, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza has been

2296-497: The plaza. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) proposed rerouting the buses onto either 46th or 48th Street, but residents of both streets opposed the plans. Mayor Rudy Giuliani decided in December 1997 to cancel plans for the final phase of the renovation, which involved converting the eastbound roadway into an expanded plaza, after local residents and the city government were unable to agree on plans to narrow 47th Street. This led Hepburn to threaten to remove her name from

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2352-452: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. Another early public park, the Peel Park, Salford , England, opened on 22 August 1846. Boston Common was purchased for public use grazing cows and as a military parade ground and dump in 1634. It first started to get recreational elements in 1728, arguably making it the first municipal park in

2408-456: The public.) and some EU states that have mostly recreation grounds for kids to play within a park, but may also have a duck pond, large grassy zones not meant exclusively for sports, many trees, and several bushy places. When it occurs as a separate facility on its own, without any parkland, at a street corner or by a shop, the play facility is called a playground . Robert A. M. Stern Robert Arthur Morton Stern (born May 23, 1939)

2464-494: The site of numerous political protests and demonstrations given its location near the United Nations. The New York Times wrote in 1991 that Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, along with the smaller Ralph Bunche Park at 43rd Street and First Avenue, were "the city's speakers' corners. The soapboxes to the world." At the time, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) was issuing more permits for protests at

2520-490: The tallest structures in the United States, including the glass-clad Comcast Center, the second tallest building in both Philadelphia and Pennsylvania . The Driehaus Prize committee (commenting on a preliminary, stone-clad, pyramidal-topped scheme) characterized the design as "[carrying] forward the proportions of the classical obelisk". The scheme, along with Stern's 15 Central Park West , and his master plan for Celebration, were cited as contributing factors in his having won

2576-494: The two parks than at any other part of the city; in 1990 alone, NYC Parks issued 236 permits for protests at these parks. The plaza has also served as a focal point for major marches, including the end point of marches supporting the Soviet Jewry movement in the 1970s and 1980s and the starting point of the 2017 Women's March in New York City. In the early 1990s, NYC Parks made plans for a $ 2.5 million expansion and renovation of

2632-485: The wealthy. In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, city governments purchased large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities to form "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially

2688-465: The widening of 42nd and 47th streets near the UN headquarters in March 1950, raising the total cost of the two projects by $ 3 million. During the construction of the UN headquarters, the planned Secretariat Building was shifted closer to 42nd Street. As a result, the enlarged portion of 47th Street failed to serve as a proper approach to the UN headquarters once the complex was completed, as the street ended at

2744-544: The work of Stern's office has ranged from traditional to modernist, depending on the building type and project location, and is best characterized as eclectic and contextual. Stern owns an apartment in The Chatham, a building he designed in New York City. In 1966, he married photographer Lynn Gimbel Solinger , the daughter of David Solinger and the granddaughter of Bernard Gimbel , a marriage that ended by divorce in 1977. They had one son, Nicholas S. G. Stern , who manages

2800-484: The workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums. These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional parks , because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks. According to the Trust for Public Land , the three most visited municipal parks in

2856-524: The world are joining together to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Some examples of linear parks in North America include New York's High Line and

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2912-503: Was no longer displaying sculptures and was seen as a security risk by local residents. In 1993, Friends of Hammarskjold Park was formed as a community organization to address concerns that these problems would continue in a new and expanded park. The renovations to Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza were designed by NYC Parks architect George Vellonakis and included six fountains within reflecting pools, steel lattice pavilions and colonnade, and new landscaping and benches. The owners of 866 Second Avenue,

2968-525: Was of secondary importance. As urban land prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks . One example of a pocket park is Chess Park in Glendale, California. The American Society of Landscape Architects gave this park a General Design Award of Honor in 2006. These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a playground for children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of

3024-438: Was renamed after Dag Hammarskjöld , the Secretary-General of the United Nations , after his death in 1961. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced plans in the early 1990s to expand the plaza, which was completed in 1999. The plaza is a frequent site of protests and demonstrations given its location near the United Nations headquarters. Plans for the new park were originally conceived in 1947 as part of

3080-537: Was rented out to the Batthyány family to carry out such a project but the city had eventually taken back control and in 1813 announced a design competition to finally finish the park; works started in 1816. An early purpose-built public park, although financed privately, was Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth . This was laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which

3136-559: Was well received by the public. Many of Stern's early works were private houses in the New York metropolitan area , including in the Hamptons and in Westchester County . Early commercial commissions included projects for Walt Disney World such as Disney's Yacht Club Resort , Disney's Beach Club Resort and the masterplan for Celebration, Florida , and from 1992−2003, Stern served on

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