Fort Greene Park

08/03/04

One of the city's oldest parks came about through the efforts of poet Walt Whitman.

by Contributor at Citysearch

Overview
Fort Greene Park is the heart of its predominantly African-American neighborhood. The 30-acre expanse was created in 1850 on the site of a Revolutionary War fort; Walt Whitman, then editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, was one of the leaders who fought to create it. Other advocates, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (the designers behind Central and Prospect parks), then went on to rebuild this park with elegant lawns and walks in 1867. About 40 years later in 1908, architect Stanford White designed its most prominent fixture: the Prison Ship Martyr's Monument, which commemorates Revolutionary War POWs who died imprisoned on British ships.

Features
Horse chestnut trees rim the perimeter; gingkoes surround the Martyr's Monument. Indeed the bounty of trees (including oaks, elms and lindens) is one of this park's great attractions--that and two playgrounds, some courts for tennis and basketball and the can-you-believe-it marble bathrooms.