Seward Park (Manhattan)

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Seward Park
Playground at Seward Park
Map
LocationBounded by Cooperative Village, East Broadway, and Essex Street, New York, NY 10002
Nearest cityNew York City
Coordinates40°42′53″N 73°59′22″W / 40.71472°N 73.98944°W / 40.71472; -73.98944
Area3.046 acres (12,330 m2)
Created1897
DesignerThe Outdoor Recreation League
EtymologyNamed after William Henry Seward
Operated byNYC Parks
Open1903
StatusOpen
WebsiteNYC Parks website

Seward Park is a public park and playground in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Located north of East Broadway and east of Essex Street, it is 3.046 acres (12,330 m2) in size and is the first municipally built playground in the United States.[1][2]

History[edit]

The Seward Park Branch of the New York Public Library

The park is named for William Henry Seward, a U.S. Senator from New York who served from 1849 to 1861 and later went on to be Secretary of State in the Lincoln administration. The park was built on a condemned piece of property purchased in 1897. New York City lacked the funds to do anything with it, so the Outdoor Recreation League (ORL),[3] a playground and recreation advocacy group that built playgrounds in the undeveloped parks using temporary facilities and equipment, built it[4] as the first permanent, municipally built playground in the country.[5]

Opened on October 17, 1903, it was built with cinder surfacing, fences, a recreation pavilion, and children's play and gymnastic equipment. A large running track encircled the play area and children's garden.

The Seward Park Branch of the New York Public Library was built in the southeastern part of the park, opening on November 11, 1909.[6]

In the 1930s and 1940s, the park was reconstructed, and a piece of land was returned to the city.[7] The Schiff Fountain, donated by Jacob H. Schiff, was moved from a nearby park and placed in the park.[8] In 1999, Seward Park was renovated again, and some of the original 1903 plans were restored.

Seward Park also holds one of the few statues in the U.S. dedicated to Togo,[9] the sled dog who led the most treacherous route of the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Notes

  1. ^ "Seward Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  2. ^ "Happy Birthday! Seward Park celebrates 100 years". The Villager. October 22–28, 2003. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  3. ^ "Outdoor Recreation League".
  4. ^ "Playground movement".
  5. ^ "Playgrounds and Public Recreation (1898–1929)". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  6. ^ "New York Public Library, Seward Park Branch" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. June 25, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  7. ^ Flickr Photo and History
  8. ^ Riis, Jacob A. (1902). "Chapter 11: Letting in the Light". The Battle with the Slum. New York: MacMillan Company. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  9. ^ Perler, Elie (November 8, 2019). "Togo to go: Bronze Dog Statue in Seward Park is Relocated". Bowery Boogie. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2020.

External links[edit]

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This article about a location in Manhattan, New York is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Manhattan is the most popular city in New York City. This diverse city is made up of 64 Neighborhoods and 4 primary sections. Manhattan, originality named ‘Mannahatta’ was inhabited by the Lenape people. Later in 1664 the British took control of the colony and named it New York. The city is made ups of 4 primary sectors Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, and Harlem and The Heights. The areas south of 14th Street are considered part of Downtown. Midtown extends from 14th Street to the southern border of Central Park at 59th Street. Uptown is 60th to 116th Streets and north of 116th is considered Harlem.[1] In these 4 primary sections are 64 neighborhoods including; Alphabet City, Battery Park City, Bloomingdale District, Bowery, Carnegie Hill, Central Park, Chelsea, Chinatown, Civic Center, East Harlem, East Village, Financial District, Fort George, Garment District, Governors Island, Gramercy, Greenwich Village, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen (Clinton), The Highline, Hudson Heights, Hudson Square, Hudson Yards, Inwood, Kips Bay, Lenox Hill, Lincoln Square, Little Italy/Nolita, Lower East Side, Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville, Marble Hill, Meatpacking District, Metropolitan Hill, Midtown, Midtown East, Midtown South, Morningside heights, Murray Hill, Noho, Nomad, Randall’s Island, Roosevelt Island, Rose Hill, Soho, South Street Seaport, Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), Stuyvesant Town, Sugar Hill, Sutton Place, Theater District (Times Square), Tribeca, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Two Bridges, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, West Village, World Trade Center, and Yorkville.[2]

Downtown Manhattan are known as the areas below 14th Street and commonly well known as the business hub of New York. This includes some well known areas like Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bride entrance, Financial District, World Trade Center cite, and historic Seaport District. This was the original start of the city back in 1624 and is the southern part of the island. This is the oldest part of the city with arrays of architecture, soaring skyscrapers, and historical areas.[3] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-LM.html

Midtown Manhattan, the tourist hub of the city, is filled with everything that makes the city what it is. This section is known as the areas between 14th street and the south boarder of Central Park on 59th street. In 1807 the city planners of the city began to create a grid system and was finalized 4 years later for the plans to create Midtown Manhattan. Some famous landmarks/areas in Midtown include; Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Empire State Building, Bryant Park, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall.[4] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-MID.html?scp=1&sq=Magnificent%2520Tree&st=cse

Uptown Manhattan is located from the south end of Central Park to to not most point of it spanning across 60th street to 116th street. This specific area of Manhattan is one of the most sought after places to reside in with neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. Along the east side of the island is also a small island, Roosevelt Island, commonly used in the 19th century for prisons, institutions, and rehabilitation.[5] The NYTimes has a walking tour of the Upper West Side that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-WS.html?ref=untapped-new-york.ghost.io

Harlem and The Heights are all of the neighborhoods in Manhattan above 116th street. Harlem is known internationally as the Black Mecca of the world, but has been home to the Dutch, Irish, German, Italian, and Jewish. This was originally farmland when it was first settled back in 1658 and undeveloped for about 200 years. The IRT subway line was finished in 1904 and people assumed this would make Harlem desirable to relocate to. With such easy access to the city, many developers built apartments and home anticipating the move from lower to upper Manhattan. Unfortunately, this was an over speculations and most places were left unsold. A real estate agent, Philip A. Payton, approach many of the landlords with proposition to have black families move into these home, eventually creating ‘Black Harlem’ in the early 1900’s. During this time the Harlem boomed with culture and artistic expression also known as the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ in the 1920’s.[6] Here is a short walk through of Harlem from the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/arts/design/harlem-virtual-tour.html

Overall, Manhattan is a very large city spanning over 13 miles long[7] of city, history, and opportunity. Spanning through 4 primary sections, this city offers thousands of places to visit and discover.

  1. ^ https://www.gobeyondthesquare.com/post/manhattan-uptown-downtown-and-the-places-in-between-2
  2. ^ https://www.cityneighborhoods.nyc/manhattan-neighborhoods
  3. ^ https://infographicworld.com/downtown-manhattan-the-little-known-history-of-downtown-manhattan/
  4. ^ https://thedisabilityguys.com/the-history-of-midtown-manhattan/
  5. ^ https://rioc.ny.gov/161/Island-History
  6. ^ https://www.vagelos.columbia.edu/education/residencies-fellowships-and-training/harlem-hospital-center/about-harlem-hospital-center/our-history/harlem-and-new-york-city#:~:text=Harlem%20is%20known%20internationally%20as,territory%20for%20approximately%20200%20years.
  7. ^ https://www.nyctourism.com/visitor-info/#:~:text=Manhattan%20Island%20is%20roughly%2013.4,across%20at%20its%20widest%20point.
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