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127-578: The Prospect Park Boathouse is in the eastern part of Prospect Park in Brooklyn , New York City . It is situated on the northeast shore of the Lullwater, a waterway north of Prospect Park's Lake and southeast of the Ravine . Helmle, Hudswell and Huberty, protégés of McKim, Mead and White , designed the boathouse. It supplanted an older wooden boathouse further north. The classical design contains an arcade facing

254-524: A children's room. Monuments and vistas were an essential feature of City Beautiful urban planning: in Denver, Paris-trained American sculptor Frederick MacMonnies was commissioned to design a monument marking the end of the Smoky Hill Trail . The bronze Indian guide he envisaged was vetoed by the committee and replaced with an equestrian Kit Carson . Harrisburg 's movement of beautification and improvement

381-419: 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

508-469: A consequence of high birth rates, increased immigration and internal migration of rural populations into cities. The movement flourished for several decades, and in addition to the construction of monuments, it also achieved great influence in urban planning that endured throughout the 20th century, particularly in regard to United States public housing projects. The " Garden City " movement in Britain influenced

635-473: A covered sewer interceptor along the river. The following February 1901, the population voted in favor of a bond issue that funded $ 1.1 million in new constructions and city planning. These improvements, combined with a new state capitol building in 1906, quickly transformed Harrisburg into a proud modern city by 1915. After the Southern Exposition of 1883–1887, Louisville grew rapidly with the advent of

762-459: 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, and several miles of roads, paths, and walkways had been completed. The land for Prospect Park's Parade Ground was acquired that year. A series of pedestrian arches to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the park were also built during this time. Over 200 benches were installed to accommodate

889-476: A model city of grand scale, known as the "White City", with modern transport systems and no poverty visible. The exposition is credited with resulting in the large-scale adoption of monumentalism for American architecture for the next 15 years. Richmond, Virginia 's Monument Avenue is one expression of this initial phase. The popularization begun by the World Columbian Exposition was increased by

1016-463: A myriad of perspectives so that the features could be enjoyed in any order. Olmsted was more involved with the general design of Prospect Park, while Vaux was more involved with specific details. They created the large Long Meadow out of hilly upland pasture interspersed with peat bogs. They also moved and planted trees, hauled topsoil and created a vast unfolding turf with trees placed both separately and in groups. The designers wanted Lookout Hill to be

1143-793: A nascent historic preservation movement. In September 1964, the Parks Department was within forty-eight hours of demolishing the Boathouse on the Lullwater . 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. 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 , built public awareness over disappearing historical structures and threatened flora within

1270-510: A network of green spaces that stretch across western Long Island . 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. Mount Prospect (or Prospect Hill), near

1397-829: A one-year renovation. That December, a $ 40 million renovation of the Vale of Cashmere was announced. The last two ball fields on Long Meadow reopened in early 2023 after several years of renovations. During mid-2023, the New York City government considered erecting tents in Prospect Park to temporarily house asylum seekers. The Prospect Park Alliance reopened Fallkill Falls to the public in October 2023; prior to Fallkill Falls' reopening, trespassers regularly accessed it. The organization announced in January 2024 that an abandoned comfort station at

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1524-487: A pair of one-story structures, which share a planted roof. The rink's ceiling contains abstract light-colored streaks on a blue background, which are intended to represent skaters' movements. Also part of the LeFrak Center is a building with a cafe, offices, and event space. Parkside Avenue, a roughly west–east street, divides the southwestern part of Prospect Park from the rest of the park. This detached sliver of parkland

1651-424: A place of broad views out over Prospect Lake, the farmland beyond, and the bay and ocean in the distance. To create an illusion of an expansive space, Olmsted and Vaux designed the paths in Prospect Park to be meandering. In Olmsted and Vaux's final plan for the park, it was divided into three distinct zones: an open section, a wooded section, and a waterside section. The Parade Ground at the far southwestern corner

1778-720: A plan for a Civic Center, disposed along a grand esplanade that led to the Colorado State Capitol . The plan was partly realized, on a reduced scale, with the Greek amphitheater, Voorhies Memorial and the Colonnade of Civic Benefactors, completed in 1919. The Andrew Carnegie Foundation funded the Denver Public Library (1910), which was designed as a three-story Greek Revival temple with a colossal Ionic colonnade across its front; inside it featured open shelves, an art gallery and

1905-556: 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

2032-505: A roadway or path that was being built. 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. The park initially contained the Playground, which had

2159-407: 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. 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. Stranahan was regarded by his 19th-century peers as

2286-462: A utilitarian brick stable was constructed on the park's western side. 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. The action, however, did signal a change in the style of park management, which grew to embrace neoclassicism. Simultaneously during

2413-520: 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. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux engineered Prospect Park to recreate in real space

2540-463: Is bounded by Parkside Avenue to the north, Coney Island Avenue to the west, Caton Avenue to the south, and Parade Place to the east. It contains the Parade Ground, which has fifteen numbered courts and fields for various sports. All of the waterways in Prospect Park are part of a single man-made watercourse. A winding naturalistic stream channel with several ponds feeds a 60-acre (24 ha) lake at

2667-509: Is considered one of principal documents of the City Beautiful movement. The plan featured a dynamic new civic center, axial streets, and a lush strip of parkland for recreation alongside the city's lakefront. Of these, only the lakefront park was implemented to any significant degree. In 1913, the City of Chicago appointed a commission with a mandate to "make Chicago Beautiful." As part of the plan,

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2794-784: Is the wooded area in the middle of the park and contains the headwaters of the park's watercourse. In this zone, on the northeast side of the park, there are several points of interest: the Ravine, the Vale of Cashmere, the Rose Garden, the Zucker Natural Exploration Area, and the Prospect Park Zoo . The area contains the Nethermead Arch, an elaborate triple-span bridge. Quaker Hill and the Friends Cemetery are located near

2921-640: The American Coatings Association headquartered in Washington, D.C. In 1978, the Commission was reorganized, eliminating the field inspectors. In February 1989, the Commission moved to its present location at The Massey House in Victorian Village, Memphis . According to the author Even Bacon in his book “Orlando: A Centennial History,” Orange County sent a group of agricultural exhibitors to

3048-653: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden . With an area of 526 acres (213 ha), 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 landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux for

3175-656: The Industrial Revolution . Specifically, the Old Louisville neighborhood, that was planned and designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the image of the City Beautiful movement, became the largest Victorian neighborhood in the United States. Central Park sits in the middle of Old Louisville and is home to an annual free public Shakespeare festival. Adjacent to the park is the St. James–Belgravia Historic District which hosts

3302-648: The Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904, held in St. Louis. Its commissioner of architects selected Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray to be Chief of Design. Within three years he designed the following fair buildings in the prevailing Beaux Arts: the Palace of Agriculture; the cascades and colonnades; the Palace of Forestry, Fish, and Game; the Palace of Horticulture; and the Palace of Transportation. All these were widely emulated in civic projects across

3429-530: The National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1980. 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. The Alliance's first major project was the $ 550,000 restoration of

3556-794: The Philadelphia Museum of Art ), Pittsburgh (the Schenley Farms district in the Oakland neighborhood of parks, museums, and universities), San Antonio ( San Antonio River development), San Francisco (manifested by its Civic Center ), and the Washington State Capitol Campus in Olympia , and the University of Washington's Rainier Vista in Seattle . In Wilmington, Delaware , it inspired

3683-596: 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 . Some of these stands were preserved in the modern-day Prospect Park Ravine and nicknamed "The Last Forest of Brooklyn". 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

3810-510: The 1880s, the quality of Prospect Park had declined through overuse and a corresponding lack of maintenance. After Brooklyn Mayor Alfred C. Chapin walked through the park in 1888, he requested that $ 100,000 be allocated for improvements. 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. Ornate gateways were added to

3937-460: The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This greatly influenced city officials and planners at the turn of the century in incorporating diverse trees (such as oak trees, Palm trees, and azaleas) and other natural fixtures into the city's design. With the arrival of the middle-aged couple William S. and Jessie Branch from Parker, South Dakota, in 1903, led to the creation of brochures extolling

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4064-433: The 1920s, Palos Verdes Estates, California , was established as a master planned community by noted American landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. The community was designed as a "City Beautiful." Among its early structures were the buildings comprising Malaga Cove Plaza, designed in a Mediterranean Revival style popular with the City Beautiful movement. Both European and North American cities provided models for

4191-511: 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." 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. Moses would remain commissioner for

4318-571: The 1930s. In addition, the Carousel was opened in 1949 as a gift from the foundation of the late philanthropist Michael Friedsam . Moses also enacted new policies at the park, including a ban on sheep grazing at the Long Meadow. 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

4445-693: The Australian City Beautiful movement. A combination of elements about 1900 also influenced the movement: However, City Beautiful was not solely concerned with aesthetics. The term ‘beautility’ derived from the American city beautiful philosophy, which meant that the beautification of a city must also be functional. Beautility, including the proven economic value of improvements, influenced Australian town planning. There were no formal city beautiful organisations that led this movement in Australia; rather it

4572-572: The Battle Pass area, were cited as two reasons for establishing a large park nearby. 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 . At the time, Brooklyn was the world's first commuter suburb , and it became the third largest city in

4699-465: The Boathouse and dredging the lake. The Rose Garden and the Vale of Cashmere had also been re-landscaped. Also part of the renovation was a restoration of the Prospect Park Carousel from 1971 to 1974, and the exterior of the Boathouse was restored in 1979. 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

4826-514: 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. Stranahan originally envisioned one large park extending eastward to Jamaica, Queens . However, the city's rapid development made this impossible, and today,

4953-408: The Carousel in 1987–1989. The carousel had not operated since 1983, and its original horse-shaped seats were removed during the restoration. Nine years later, in 1996, it started a $ 4.5 million restoration of the Ravine. The Boathouse was also restored again in the late 1990s due to deterioration of the exterior terracotta. The National Audubon Society signed a lease for the Boathouse in 2000, and

5080-655: 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, in 1893–1894. 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. The city of Brooklyn merged with Manhattan and other outlying boroughs in 1898, creating

5207-592: The City Beautiful Commission was officially established by a city ordinance on July 1, 1930, making it the first and oldest beautification commission in the nation. It was the brainchild of the mayor, E. H. Crump . The first Commission was appointed and had operating expenses of $ 1,500. A small office was set up in The Nineteenth Century Club . Mrs. E. G. Willingham was chosen as chairman and Mrs. William B. Fowler served as vice chairman. In 1935,

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5334-639: The City Beautiful ideal with the intent of creating social order through beautification was the McMillan Plan (1902), named for Michigan Senator James McMillan . The plan emerged from the U.S. Senate Park Commission's redesigning of the monumental core of Washington, D.C. , to commemorate the city's centennial and to fulfill unrealized aspects of the city plan of Pierre Charles L'Enfant a century earlier. The Washington, D.C., planners, which included Burnham, Saint-Gaudens, Charles McKim of McKim, Mead, and White , and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. , visited many of

5461-455: The City of Greater New York. By the end of the century, Prospect Park saw about 15 million visitors per year. 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. In 1907, lights were installed to deter couples from kissing or other intimate activity within

5588-576: The East River to Manhattan. Plaques north of the zoo, as well as the Maryland Monument at Lookout Hill's foot, honor this event. The then-independent 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 . The need to keep the lots around the reservoir free of development, as well as the preservation of

5715-789: The Fallkill Bridge, through the Upper Pool and Lower Pool, where migratory birds rest and marsh and other water plants can be found. The Upper Pool abuts a dog beach, while the Long Meadow is adjacent to the Lower Pool. The water then passes under the Esdale Bridge, a footbridge over Ambergill Pond. The pond, and the Ambergill Falls just past it, was named by Olmsted and refers to the Old Norse word for "creek" . After passing through Ambergill Falls,

5842-665: The Flatbush Avenue fence repairs in 2018, and the new entrances were slated to start construction in early 2019. Construction of a dog run in the Parade Ground also started in August 2019, and the dog run opened in July 2020. 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. The Concert Grove Pavilion reopened in April 2021 after

5969-571: The Grand Army Plaza entrance, the statue was sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies and presented to Stranahan in June 1891. 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, and up to 100 groups would convene on the Long Meadow to play croquet on weekend afternoons. During winters, people practiced "ice baseball" on

6096-642: The Lake, reopened in 2017 as a composting restroom, and the Dog Beach along the watercourse's Upper Pool was renovated. The same year, the Alliance received funds to renovate the Parade Ground, the Tennis House, and ball fields. The Alliance also announced an upcoming renovation of the Rose Garden. Ball fields 6 and 7 were renovated and reopened in 2017, while ball fields 4 and 5 reopened in late 2020. Construction started on

6223-435: 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. In 1959, the southern third of the Long Meadow was graded and fenced off for ballfields. Plans for the Kate Wollman Memorial Rink were approved in 1960, and the rink opened in December 1961. The rink was built on a filled-in portion of Prospect Lake, necessitating

6350-420: The Lullwater of the Lake in Prospect Park at Wikimedia Commons Prospect Park (Brooklyn) Prospect Park is a 526-acre (2.13 km ) 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

6477-408: The Lullwater, with a canopy supported by columns of the Tuscan order . The entablature at the top of the columns contains triglyphs , and a balustrade runs atop the canopy, surrounding it and forming a second-floor terrace. The interior of the Boathouse had double staircases that ascended to a second floor, merging at a landing in the middle. There was a boat-renting office at ground level, between

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6604-422: The Ocean Parkway and Willink Plaza entrances. 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. 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. The reservoir

6731-428: The Ocean and Parkside Avenue entrance would be converted into a welcome center named for Shirley Chisholm , which was expected to open in two years. A cafe opened in the Prospect Park Boathouse that July. During the November 2024 wildfire outbreak in the northeast U.S. , a fire broke out in the park, damaging 2 acres (0.81 ha) of woodland. Prospect Park occupies 526 acres (213 ha) in central Brooklyn. It

6858-422: The Parks Department was within forty-eight hours of demolishing the Boathouse. The resulting historic preservation movement generated public pressure to save the Boathouse, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Restorations were deferred for several years. The interior renovations began in 1971, under Commissioner August Heckscher. The Boathouse reopened to the public in 1974, but

6985-452: The Pennsylvania Union Railroad Depot was to be moved to the west side of the city and replaced with a new modern depot. The West Side Property Owner’s Association was among those that objected. As reported by the Chicago Tribune , the association’s attorney Sidney Adler of Loeb & Adler said, "As I saw the beautiful picture of the city beautiful we will have fountains in West Madison Street, with poets and poetesses walking along Clinton, and

7112-430: 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 ,

7239-467: The Riverside Drive project was dedicated. Costing nearly $ 1,000,000 (largely WPA funds) the City Beautiful Commission landscaped the bluffs with crape myrtle, redbuds, magnolias, dogwoods and Paul Scarlet roses. White roses were planted at each guardrail post. In 1936, Mrs. William B. Fowler became chairman of the City Beautiful Commission and served for many years. City Beautiful grew under her leadership and soon had to relocate to larger headquarters. Through

7366-404: The United States. In May 2024, Oberon Group agreed to operate a cafe at the boathouse, which opened that July. Each September since 2019, the Brooklyn Public Library sponsors an Open Air University with free non-accredited courses on the Boathouse grounds, hosting immigrant professors, academics, and teachers who were trained outside of the U.S. [REDACTED] Media related to Boathouse on

7493-457: The United States. Shortly after the fair opened in 1904, Masqueray resigned, having accepted an invitation from Archbishop John Ireland in St. Paul, Minnesota to design a cathedral there in the Beaux-Arts style. Other celebrated architects of the fair's buildings—notably Cass Gilbert who designed the Palace of the Fine Arts, now the Saint Louis Art Museum , applied City Beautiful ideas from the exposition throughout their careers. An early use of

7620-399: The annual St. James Court Art Show every October. South of St. James Court is the University of Louisville's Belknap Campus which is home to Grawemeyer Hall and the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. Each of these areas of Louisville display the features of beautification and monumental grandeur that typified the City Beautiful movement of the 1890s. In Memphis, Tennessee ,

7747-512: The axis along State Street from the Ohio State Capitol building east to the Metropolitan Library and west to the Scioto River), Des Moines , Denver , Detroit (the Cultural Center , Belle Isle and Outer Drive ), Madison (with the axis from the capitol building through State Street and to the University of Wisconsin campus), Montreal , New York City (notably the Manhattan Municipal Building ), Philadelphia (the Benjamin Franklin Parkway museum district between Philadelphia City Hall and

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7874-476: The building became the site of the nation's first urban Audubon society. The restoration of the Harmony Playground and Bandshell was completed the same year. 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. By 2000, the Wollman Rink was deteriorating, and there was a need to replace it. The Alliance soon formed plans to restore Music Island and

8001-466: The city. Today, Coral Gables is one of Miami's most expensive suburban communities, long known for its strict zoning regulations which preserve the City Beautiful elements along with its Mediterranean Revival architecture style, which is prevalent throughout the city. Coral Gables has many parks and a heavy tree canopy with an urban forest planted largely in the 1920s. In Denver, Colorado , Mayor Robert W. Speer endorsed City Beautiful planning, with

8128-415: The contemporary planning of some newer suburbs of London , and there was cross-influence between the two aesthetics, one based in formal garden plans and urbanization schemes and the other, with its " semi-detached villas " evoking a more rural atmosphere. The particular architectural style of the movement borrowed mainly from the contemporary Beaux-Arts and neoclassical architectures, which emphasized

8255-415: The country from 1860 to 1880, behind New York City (which then included Manhattan and parts of the Bronx ) and Philadelphia . 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. James S. T. Stranahan , then President of

8382-529: The creation of Rodney Square and the surrounding civic buildings. In New Haven, Connecticut , John Russell Pope developed a plan for Yale University that eliminated substandard housing and relocated the urban poor to the peripheries. Kansas City, Missouri , and Dallas undertook the installation of parkways and parks under the influence of the movement. The City Beautiful philosophy was also heavily incorporated into Florida cities, such as in Coral Gables and Orlando . Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago

8509-508: The efforts of City Beautiful, Memphis gained the title of cleanest city in Tennessee in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945 and 1946. Memphis also received the Ernest T. Trigg "Nation’s Cleanest City" award in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1951. During this time, volunteers were organized into Wards and Block Clubs with Ward Chairmen and Block Captains. The City Beautiful staff grew to include 30 inspectors by 1954 who worked through these organizations to identify and improve eyesores. Memphis participated with

8636-439: The exterior terracotta was not renovated until 1979. Further restorations were required in the 1980s under Commissioner Gordon Davis to repair damage from a leaking roof. After twenty years as a visitors center and park ranger headquarters, the Boathouse was restored for a third time in the late 1990s because of deterioration in the terracotta. It now houses the Audubon Center, the Audubon Society 's only urban interpretive center in

8763-417: The grass rather than travel on designated routes. 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. Olmsted and Vaux had also planned for

8890-416: The great cities of Europe . They hoped to make Washington, D.C., monumental and green like the European capitals of the era; they believed that state-organized beautification could lend legitimacy to government during a time of social disturbance in the United States. The essence of the plan surrounded the United States Capitol with monumental government buildings to replace "notorious slum communities". At

9017-519: The heart of the design was the creation of the National Mall and eventually included Burnham's Washington Union Station . The implementation of the plan was interrupted by World War I , but resumed after the war, culminating in the construction of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922. The success of the City Beautiful philosophy in Washington, D.C. , is credited with influencing subsequent plans for beautification of many other cities, including Chicago , Baltimore , Cleveland ( The Mall ), Columbus (with

9144-612: The horrific conditions in Harrisburg, and she set out to gain public sentiment in support of changing them. Dock’s speech was titled "The City Beautiful" or "Improvement Work at Home and Abroad", and this was the starting point for Harrisburg’s city improvements. Dock’s contemporary and closest ally in her drive for urban beautification was J. Horace McFarland , who was the president of the American Civic Association. With McFarland and Dock working together, they were able to push

9271-415: The intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway , is one of the tallest hills in Brooklyn, rising 200 feet (61 m) above sea level. 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

9398-448: The island, were restored using a $ 10 million grant, and were officially rededicated in October 2012. The Prospect Park Alliance subsequently completed or proposed more restoration projects for the park. Long Meadow ball field 1 was rebuilt between 2013 and 2014. 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

9525-568: The lack of good filtration systems that could filter the sewage dumped by populations further up the Susquehanna River. A disastrous fire that consumed the state capitol in 1897 had spawned new conversation about the suitability of Harrisburg as a state capital. The improvement campaign was sparked by a riveting speech of conservationist Mira Lloyd Dock to the Harrisburg Board of Trade on December 20, 1900. Dock wanted to publicly challenge

9652-476: The lake's northern shore. It is the outlet for the Lullwater, a meandering stream. The Lullwater contains the classical-style Boathouse , a city- and federally-designated landmark, on the Lullwater's eastern shore. To the south, along the lake's eastern shore, are the White Levy Esplanade, as well as the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, a multipurpose recreation center. The LeFrak Center at Lakeside consists of

9779-582: The lake. Ice skating was also a common sport, and was frequently practiced on the lake during the winter. Because picnicking was banned in Central Park, and generally disapproved-of in many other parks in Manhattan, Prospect Park became a popular picnic spot. However, this also resulted in litter, and by 1881, The New York Times was receiving complaints about a lack of cleanliness in the park. No new structures were constructed in Prospect Park until 1882, when

9906-526: The land. 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. 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

10033-505: The largest remnants of this proposed landscape are Prospect Park and the 538-acre (218 ha) Forest Park in Queens. 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. The largest of these proposed parks was a 320-acre (1.3 km ) plot centered on Mount Prospect and bounded by Warren Street to

10160-529: 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. Neoclassical structures appeared elsewhere within the park. McKim, Mead and White designed the Ocean Parkway and Willink entrances, which opened in 1890. The same firm transformed

10287-522: The necessity of order, dignity, and harmony. The first large-scale elaboration of the City Beautiful occurred in Chicago at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition . The planning of the exposition was directed by architect Daniel Burnham , who hired architects from the eastern United States, as well as the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens , to build large-scale Beaux-Arts monuments that were vaguely classical with uniform cornice height. The exposition displayed

10414-503: The neoclassical style. Two now-demolished structures were also constructed on the peninsula, the Model Yacht Club House (1900–1956) and a shelter (1915 – c.  1940s ). Olmsted was said to have been "distressed" by these modifications to the park's original plan. 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

10541-612: The new LeFrak Center, a year-round recreational facility. Work on the LeFrak Center began in 2009, and the Wollman Rink had been demolished by 2011. The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside was completed in December 2013 at a cost of $ 74 million. As part of the Wollman Rink's replacement, plans for the restored Music Island were announced in 2009. The Chaim Baier Music Island, and the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade overlooking

10668-425: 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. In its 1870 annual report, the Brooklyn park commissioners reported that the lake was nearly completed, and that widening of nearby streets

10795-402: The next seven years, the city invested $ 17 million in cleaning up the park, including $ 10 million in federal funds from a Community Development Block Grant . Annual visitor numbers had nearly tripled to 5 million between 1980 and 1987. During this period, Prospect Park also received two historic designations: it was made a New York City scenic landmark on November 25, 1975, and was listed on

10922-400: 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. The Prospect Park Zoo opened in 1935 on the east side of the park, replacing the former Menagerie. The Bandshell and five playgrounds were also constructed toward the end of

11049-466: The north side of the Lake originally provided the water for the watercourse, and was connected to an underground aquifer . The Well House became outdated when Prospect Park was connected to the New York City water supply system in the early 20th century. By the 21st century, Fallkill Falls was fed by a pipe from the city's water system. The water from Fallkill Falls runs into Fallkill Pool, past

11176-589: The north; Vanderbilt, Ninth, and Tenth Avenues to the west; Third and Ninth Streets to the south; and Washington Avenue to the east. 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 . By late 1860, land had been purchased for Viele's plan. However,

11303-521: The onset of the Civil War stopped further activity, and the boulevards and smaller parks were pushed back. The delay prompted some reflection; Stranahan invited Calvert Vaux to review Viele's plans early in 1865. 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 . Vaux's February 1865 proposal reflected

11430-461: The original shoreline, both obliterated by the construction of the original rink in 1960. 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. As part of the restoration plans, the Wollman Rink was to be replaced by two rinks in

11557-460: The outflow of water from the lake using a valve. By the mid-20th century, these artificial waterways and the steep slopes around them had lost their original design character. In 1994, the Prospect Park Alliance launched a 25-year $ 43-million restoration project for the watercourse. The water in Prospect Park originates at the top of Fallkill Falls in the center of the park, just north of Quaker Hill and east of Long Meadow. The Well House on

11684-492: The park under any circumstances. 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. 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 . Over

11811-713: The park. 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. 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. The entrances into Prospect Park that were constructed during this time were also in

11938-482: 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. Despite the repercussions of Vaux's revisions, Stranahan championed the revised proposal. Vaux recruited Olmsted and formally presented the plan in February 1866. The revised plan was accepted by May. Construction started the following month, and initial work focused on draining

12065-407: The park. Public pressure induced Park Commissioner Newbold Morris to rescind the decision to demolish the Boathouse in December 1964. 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. Another $ 225,000

12192-431: 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

12319-672: The pastoral, picturesque, and aesthetic ideals expressed in contemporary paintings. The overall design was inspired partially by Birkenhead Park in the United Kingdom. Prospect Park had recent precedents in the pastoral style, notably Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston and Green-Wood Cemetery a few blocks away. 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 James Stranahan's patronage and support of their plan. The two designers wanted visitors to be able to traverse Prospect Park with

12446-414: The philosophy believed that such beautification could promote a harmonious social order that would increase the quality of life , while critics would complain that the movement was overly concerned with aesthetics at the expense of social reform; Jane Jacobs referred to the movement as an "architectural design cult." The movement began in the United States in response to crowding in tenement districts,

12573-553: 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. In 1866, the New York state legislature passed a bill approving the acquisition of additional land on the southwest side of the park. The park was built around the preexisting Quaker cemetery, which was accommodated by an agreement under which the Society of Friends deeded their unused acreage to

12700-622: 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 . 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

12827-469: The process of municipal improvement in Harrisburg by convincing prominent community leaders to donate money, and by gathering the support of the majority of citizens. In April 1901, the Harrisburg Telegraph, a city newspaper, published a front-page article on the city’s problems, which stressed Dock’s message of beautification and recreation, paved streets, clean water, a city hall, land for parks, and

12954-551: The project. 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. 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

13081-469: The removal of Music Island and the panoramic view of the lake created by Olmsted and Vaux. 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. 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

13208-572: The simple minded residents of the west side, after work is done, will take their gondolas and row on the limpid bosom of the Chicago River idlely strumming guitars." Planned out as a suburb of Miami in the early 1920s by George Edgar Merrick during the Florida land boom of the 1920s , Coral Gables was developed entirely upon the City Beautiful movement, with obelisks, fountains, and monuments seen in street roundabouts, parks, city buildings and around

13335-452: The south end of the park. In designing the watercourse, Olmsted and Vaux also took advantage of the preexisting glacier-formed kettle ponds and lowland outwash plains to create a drainage basin centered around the waterway. They crafted the watercourse to include a steep, forested Ravine with significant river edge flora and fauna habitats. As a result, the watercourse is able to accommodate significant bird and fish populations. Much of

13462-521: The southwest boundary of Prospect Park. Lookout Hill, as well as a large open space called the Nethermead, are located to the south and east of Quaker Hill, respectively. The Ravine also contains the Midwood, an old-growth forest incorporated into Prospect Park during its construction. The third zone is along the park's south side and consists of Prospect Lake, as well as a peninsula jutting eastward from

13589-477: The staircases. The second floor was composed of a dining room with doors opening outward onto the terrace. The terrace received a shed in 1915. The Boathouse on the Lullwater was built in 1905–07. By the 1960s, the structure was underutilized. The boat concession only operated on weekends and the Boathouse was visited by fewer than ten people an hour, even on the busiest summer weekends. At one point in September 1964,

13716-442: The surrounding communities allocated funds for other projects such as new drinking fountains, a dog run, community barbecue sites, and an aquatic weed harvester. 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, then re-landscaped the sites at a cost of $ 727,000. The Well House, located on

13843-573: 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. 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

13970-499: The then-independent city of Brooklyn. 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

14097-428: 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, 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. A statue of James S. T. Stranahan was proposed in 1890. Located inside

14224-560: The virtues of Florida and its climate, highlighting from the Orlando area. Five years later, the city sponsored a contest to replace Orlando’s nickname which was previously “Phenomenal City”, in response to the city's beautifications efforts. Out of the many suggestions, the proposed nickname “The City Beautiful” was chosen and adopted. The city has since continued in their preservation and revitalization of its natural habitat in its city design, notably at Lake Eola Park and at Leu Gardens . In

14351-621: The water flows under Rock Arch Bridge and past the Ravine, entering the Binnenwater, which is named after a Dutch word for "within". The waters then cascade beneath the Binnen Bridge to the Lullwater, a small pond that contains the Boathouse on its eastern bank. The water then flows under the Lullwater and Terrace bridges to the Peninsula, which is managed both as bird sanctuary and recreational field. City Beautiful movement Advocates of

14478-534: The water-damaged Oriental Pavilion for $ 2 million and replace fencing on Flatbush Avenue for $ 2.4 million. 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, as well as rebuild the Willink entrance. During the city's 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2016, politicians also contributed funds toward various restoration projects in

14605-404: The watercourse is lined with vegetation that is designed to absorb precipitation and additional water flow. Olmsted also included an expansive drainage system, which is still in use and extends under the Long Meadow, Ravine, and Nethermead. About two-thirds of Prospect Park Lake's water typically evaporates. However, to prevent flooding after heavy precipitation, Prospect Park employees can control

14732-554: Was Australia's "leading proponent" of the City Beautiful movement and, in 1921, wrote the book An Introduction to Australian City Planning . Both the City Beautiful and the Garden City philosophies were represented by Sulman’s "geometric or contour controlled" designs of the circulatory road systems in Canberra. The widths of pavements were also reduced and vegetated areas were increased, such as planted road verges. Melbourne’s grid plan

14859-531: Was allocated to renovate the boathouse, and $ 249,000 was allotted to overall renovations. 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. By 1971, the city had spent $ 4 million to renovate Prospect Park, including renovating

14986-413: Was considered a way to increase the city’s popularity as a tourist destination. Walter Burley Griffin incorporated City Beautiful principles for his design for Canberra . Griffin was influenced by Washington, D.C., "with grand axes and vistas and a strong central focal point: with specialised centres and, being a landscape architect, used the landscape to complement this layout. John Sulman, however,

15113-571: Was considered dull and monotonous by some people, and so the architect William Campbell designed a blueprint for the city. The main principle behind this were diagonal streets, providing sites for new and comprehensive architecture and for special buildings. The designs of Paris and Washington were major inspirations for this plan. World War I prolonged the City Beautiful movement in Australia , where more memorials were erected than in any other country. Although City Beautiful, or artistic planning, became

15240-404: Was excluded from the system of zones. The first zone consisted of the Long Meadow, a wide open space along the west side of the park. It contains two entrances through tunnels: Meadowport Arch and Endale Arch. The Third Street Playground, Harmony Playground, bandshell, and the picnic and tennis houses are also located here. West Drive traverses this section of Prospect Park. The second zone

15367-498: Was filled in, and along with Mount Prospect Hill, became the separate Mount Prospect Park in 1940. The park and its surroundings were subsequently restored in the 1890s during the City Beautiful movement . 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

15494-428: Was influenced by communications among professionals and bureaucrats, in particular architect-planners and local government reformers. In the early Federation era some influential Australians were determined that their cities be progressive and competitive. Adelaide was used as an Australian example of the "benefits of comprehensive civic design" with its ring of parklands. Beautification of the city of Hobart, for example,

15621-545: Was one of the early and more successful urban reform movements in the U.S. It began when local minded residents became convinced that their city was unattractive, unhealthy, and filthy, and lacked the appearance and facilities appropriate to its status as Pennsylvania's state capital. The causes of the city's defects were well known: industrialization in the previous half century had left the city poorly planned with unpaved streets and undeveloped water management systems. Residents of Harrisburg suffered disease and illnesses caused by

15748-518: Was opened in the Menagerie in 1916, housing monkeys, some small mammals, and several birds. After the end of World War I, a memorial commemorating fallen soldiers was proposed; it was dedicated in 1921. 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. A golf course

15875-448: 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. In 1932, a faux Mount Vernon was built in Prospect Park to commemorate the bicentennial of George Washington 's birthday. 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

16002-860: 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; Concert Grove House, demolished 1949; Music Island, razed 1960; the Flower Garden; the Thatched Shelter, destroyed in the 1940s; the Model Yacht Club, burned down in 1956; and the Greenhouse Conservatories, taken apart in 1955. The demolition of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan during 1963–1968 spawned

16129-461: Was underway. By 1871, the monthly visitor count had increased to 250,000. 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." However, the high patronage also had downsides: an 1875 editorial in the Times observed that many people would take shortcuts along

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