Prospect Park Recognized As Premiere Urban Oasis
July 12th, 2008 by Ethan
Monarch Butterfly, Prospect Park
Every once in a while it’s good to get out of the NYC bubble and see what other people think of our beloved Brooklyn. The Boston Globe Travel Section has an interesting article about the evolution of urban parks from a place to graze livestock and hold public hangings into a green space where people can “get outside and have fun.” The article notes nine of the country’s best, and leads off with Brooklyn’s Prospect Park:
Located in the heart of Brooklyn, the Olmsted-designed 585-acre Prospect Park has everything Central Park has, and more. A free trolley connects visitors to the park’s zoo, stunning Botanic Garden, and Brooklyn Children’s Museum. Take a pedal boat ride on Brooklyn’s only lake, ride the antique carousel, shop the weekend green market at Grand Army Plaza, or spy one of the 270 species of birds that stop here along the migratory Atlantic flyway. An easy subway ride from Manhattan. prospectpark.org
It’s a nice quick read, and nice to learn about other urban green spaces in places you don’t always associate with “green” such as Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Houston, San Diego, and others.
There’s so much to do in Prospect Park that one intrepid Brooklyn blogger blogs about her daily explorations and events in the park to cover the full 365 days of the year. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go take a look at — and bookmark — Brenda’s A Year In The Park, “Daily discoveries in the mystical green heart of Brooklyn.”
For example, this coming week, the 51st annual Macy’s Fishing Contest!
The R.H. Macy’s Fishing Contest has been an annual event in Prospect Park since 1947. A rite of passage for tens of thousands of Brooklyn kids over the years, the contest runs for a week each July and is held lakeside near the Prospect Park Audubon Center at the Boathouse. The event is open to kids 15 years old or under. Equipment is provided free of charge or participants can bring their own. All fishing is done on a catch-and-release basis; fish must be returned to the Lake alive.
July 16 - 20
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
at the Audubon Center
Stay on top of the news by subscribing to the RSS feed
3 Responses to “Prospect Park Recognized As Premiere Urban Oasis”
Leave a Reply
| « Previous Post | Next Post » |
Public Assembly Hosts Birthright Earth Fundraiser After McCarren Park Pool Party (Sun July 13, 9pm) |
Brooklyn Pols Ask Feds: Where’s The Love For Newtown Creek? |
July 14th, 2008 at 8:47 am
That fishing contest is pretty cool. I never would have thought New York had a park quite like this!
July 21st, 2008 at 6:06 am
I agree that Prospect Park is an under appreciated urba oasis. There is so much to do there and for me as a long time resident of Prospect Heights, it has been so much to me at different phases in my life. At this current juncture, I rarely jog, I do not visit the zoo, but I fish alot in the lake, and it’s easier than most people think. Who knows, maybe I’ll take up bird watching soon.
August 8th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Thanks for the appreciative words!! I’ll check out the article–doing the blog has made me a ‘wonk’ for parks in other cities as well.