Prospect Park

I have never fully appreciated Prospect Park. I have lived in 5 apartments within bike distance of the park and one less than a half a block away, and yet i never had that personal connection with the park that i have with Central Park. I do know the park very well. I used to play volleyball every Sunday with regulars from my favorite local bar Mooney's, i have biked the bike path (including the hardest hill in the city) many, many times, and I believe i know the park inside an out. I guess its like most things though...you like the first one you know a little better.

Today i sent out to spend all day in the park checking out all corners of this Brooklyn landmark. Unlike Central park, Prospect park hides the surrounding city very well. You rarely see much of the Brooklyn cityscape and you can rarely hear the cars on the bordering streets. It is as meticulously designed as Central park, but for many reasons, it feels a little less developed that anywhere in the city.

It was designed in 1866 by the same pair as CP, Fredrick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux. They developed the most unique park in the world and finished in just under 10 years. They were so absolutely meticulous about their creation that when the ravine renovation took place in 2003, it was made easier because all the rocks were numbered in case they were ever displaced by erosion. That's right...they numbered the rocks!!!

Here are a few other facts about Prospect Park:

1. The park's crowning feature, "The Long Meadow" at ninety acres is the largest meadow in any U.S Park.
2. The entire waterway inside the park is all man-made.
3. Before it was a park, the land was called "Battle Pass" in mark of the Revolutionary War "Battle of Long Island."
4. The Ravine and the surrounding forest was created to feel like areas in the Adirondacks.
5. The Audubon Center is the only such center in an Urban setting.
6. The prospect park lake is the only lake in Brooklyn.

I highly recommend spending time in the park and the other surrounding sites like the Brooklyn Museum, Library and the Botanical Gardens.

On my travels today, I did find a section of the park that i hadn't seen before. The "Concert Grove." Biking from the Audubon Center at the boathouse towards Woleman Rink you pass through a shady carved out area filled with benches and a healthy overhang of trees. It looks like a great place to read and avoid any kind of crowd. Marking the edges of the grove are large pedestals with Busts of famous composers. Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Grieg, etc. None of them are American composers which is curious, seeing as Olmstead got serious critique for breaking with European tradition when his design was released.

The best place for volleyball or frisbee is from the Prospect Park West and 3rd street entrance. The best place for a nice barbecue is a few hundred feet in from the southwest corner. The best sunset from the park is from the Gazebo on the lake near the ice-rink.

check out some of today's pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/82369865@N00/