10 don't-miss parks in the Big Apple.Some small, green reasons why there's more to New York than just Central Park: A special guide for conference-goers. 1. WEEPING BEECH PARK: 37th Avenue and 144th Street, west of Parsons Boulevard, Flushing, Queens. This 2.1-acre park boasts one of the city's two officially designated historic landmark trees. The 60-foot weeping beech, with a crown spread of 85 feet, was planted in 1847 by Samuel Bowne Parsons - the nurseryman who provided many of the trees for Central Park - from the parent tree in Bearsal, Belgium. 2. WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK: Fifth Avenue and Waverly Place at Wooster, Fourth, and McDougal streets, Manhattan. Now favored by street entertainers, this 8.6-acre park was apparently a popular spot for Revolutionary War executioners. Legend has it the park's 70-foot-tall, 300-year-old English elm, famed as the "Hangman's Tree," was used to execute traitors during the Revolutionary War. Locals and tourists still gather here, but for more benign pursuits - concerts, round-the-clock street entertainment, and Fourth of July Fourth of July, Independence Day, or July Fourth, U.S. holiday, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Celebration of it began during the American Revolution. fireworks. 3. SARA ROOSEVELT PARK: Lower East side between Houston, Canal, Forsyth, and Chrystie streets, Manhattan. Located at the crossroads of Chinatown, Little Italy, SoHo, and the Jewish and Hispanic neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, this 7.9-acre park is a cultural "melting pot." Amid trees and gardens maintained by neighborhood volunteers, Chinese men carry out an ancient and dying tradition - bringing their caged Hua Mei songbirds to the park to sing. 4. 6BC BOTANICAL GARDEN: Lower East Side on Fifth Street between avenues B and C, Manhattan. Neighborhood residents maintain this .02-acre oasis of trees, shrubs, flowers, and herbs, complete with a cactus garden and butterfly meadow. Don't miss the small fish and frog pond with its trickling cascade powered by solar photovoltaic cells. 5. PALEY PARK: East 53rd Street between Madison and Fifth Avenues, Manhattan. Slip away from the noise of the city in its first vestpocket park. Grab a seat beneath the canopy of honey locust trees and enjoy the soothing sounds of a 20-foot waterfall. Built by CBS President William S. Paley
William S. Paley (September 28, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois – October 26, 1990 in New York, New York) was the chief executive who built CBS from a small and named for his father, this .9-acre gem was designed by Harold Breen Jr. and Robert Lewis Zion. 6. SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK Socrates Sculpture Park is located in the neighborhood Long Island City, Queens (New York City, USA) at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Boulevard. It was created in 1986 by American sculptor Mark di Suvero on former landfill. : Broadway and Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens Long Island City (often abbreviated L.I.C.) is the western-most neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is bounded on the north and west by the East River; on the east by Hazen Street, 49th Street . If you like art, visit this living work-in-progress as artists and residents transform an abandoned industrial site into a three-acre waterfront sculpture park. Local artists exhibit and create among trees, flowers, and vegetable gardens, with background views of the East River and the east side of Manhattan. The site was reclaimed by the City Department of Parks & Recreation, the Athena Foundation, and neighborhood residents. 7. EL SITIO FELIZ (THE HAPPY PLACE): East 104th Street between Second and Third avenues, East Harlem, Manhattan. In the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of a community garden and lots of linden, arborvitae arborvitae (är'bərvī`tē) [Lat.,=tree of life], aromatic evergreen tree of the genus Thuja of the family Cupressaceae (cypress family), with scalelike leaves borne on flattened branchlets of a fanlike appearance and with very , dogwood, chrinanthus, spirea spirea Any of nearly 100 species of flowering shrubs in the genus Spirea (rose family), native to the northern temperate zone and commonly cultivated for their pleasing growth habit and attractive flower clusters. , and bayberry bayberry, common name for the Myricaceae, a family of trees and shrubs with aromatic foliage, found chiefly in temperate and subtropical regions. The waxy gray "berries" of the North American wild or cultivated bayberry shrubs (chiefly Myrica cerifera , you'll find this cheerfully named park. Adults and kids alike can find something to smile about in this one-acre park/playground with its colorful play equipment, mural, and performance amphitheatre. 8. WASHINGTON MARKET PARK: Greenwich and Chambers streets, Manhattan. Deemed "perhaps the best" of the city's small parks by the American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Organized in 1857, the Institute conducts various activities and programs to support the profession and enhance its public image, including periodically awarding the AIA in 1988, this was once the site of the Big Apple's wholesale fruit and vegetable stands. Designed by the landscape architectural firm Weintraub and di Dominico for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the one-acre park's gently rolling lawn is ringed by a footpath and thickly planted trees and shrubs. 9. MADISON SQUARE PARK: Madison and Fifth avenues between 23rd and 26th streets, Manhattan. Check out how the business crowd lunches among jugglers, musicians, and historic elms at this nearly 300-year-old park. A favorite with city dogs, this 6.2-acre park features a fenced-in dog run that makes it a must-stop for neighborhood canines out walking their owners. 10. FORT GREENE PARK Fort Greene Park is a municipal park in Brooklyn, New York, comprising 30.2 acres (122,000 m²). The park includes the high ground where the Continental Army built Fort Putnam during the American Revolutionary War. : Cumberland Street and Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn. Walk beneath the cool green of ginkgo ginkgo (gĭng`kō) or maidenhair tree, tall, slender, picturesque deciduous tree (Ginkgo biloba) with fan-shaped leaves. , chestnut, hawthorn, oak, pine, maple, and sycamore, and visit the on-site nature center for information about the park's trees. This 30-acre park is dedicated to patriots of the Revolutionary War - the remains of 11,000 prisoners lie in a crypt under the steps leading to the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument The Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument is erected in Fort Greene Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, consisting of a 100-foot-wide granite staircase and a central Doric column 149 feet in height. It was designed by renowned architect Stanford White (1853–1906). . Our thanks to the following New Yorkers, who nominated parks and provided information for this article: Joe Bernardo, Peter Frank, Robert Galigan, John Graham, Gordon Helman, Lenny Librizzi, Gerard Lordahl, Rob Messenger, Greg Owens, Bob Redmond, and Naomi Zurcher. KATHRYN TENUSAK - is an assistant editor for American Forests. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion