National Register of Historic Places

Prospect Park

New York, Kings County, New York
Listed
September 16, 1980
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
80002637

About this property

Prospect Park is a 526-acre (2.13 km2) urban park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The park is situated between the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, and Windsor Terrace, and is adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum, Grand Army Plaza, and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Prospect Park is the second-largest public park in Brooklyn, behind Marine Park. Designated as a New York City scenic landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Prospect Park is operated by the Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks. First proposed in legislation passed in 1859, Prospect Park was laid out by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux for the then-independent city of Brooklyn. Prospect Park opened in 1867, though it was not substantially complete until 1873. The park subsequently underwent numerous modifications and expansions to its facilities. Several additions to the park were completed in the 1890s, in the City Beautiful architectural movement. In the early 20th century, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) commissioner Robert Moses started a program to clean up Prospect Park. A period of decline in the late 20th century spurred the creation of the Prospect Park Alliance, which refurbished many parts of the park from the 1980s through the 2020s. Main attractions of the park include the 90-acre (36 ha) Long Meadow; the Picnic House; Litchfield Villa; Prospect Park Zoo; the Boathouse; Concert Grove; Brooklyn's only lake, covering 60 acres (24 ha); and the Prospect Park Bandshell that hosts outdoor concerts in the summertime. The park also has sports facilities, including the Prospect Park Tennis Center, basketball courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, and the New York Pétanque Club in the Parade Ground. There is also a private Society of Friends (Quaker) cemetery on Quaker Hill near the ball fields. In addition, Prospect Park is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, a network of green spaces that stretch across western Long Island.

Location

New York, Kings County, New York
40.66350, -73.97051

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREARTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Prospect Park

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
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Spotlight
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Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
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Nearby Historic Sites

Boathouse on the Lullwater of the Lake in Prospect Park
Industrial
0.3 mi
Litchfield Villa
Industrial
0.4 mi
Eastern Parkway
Industrial
0.5 mi
15th Street-Prospect Park Subway Station (IND)
Industrial
0.5 mi
Congregation Tifereth Israel
Pre Contact
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Long Island
1776Revolutionary War
0.4 mi
Battle of Long Island — Jamaica Pass Flanking
1776Revolutionary War
0.9 mi
Battle of Long Island — Gowanus Heights
1776Revolutionary War
1.1 mi
Battle of Long Island/Brooklyn Heights Aug 27 1776
1776Revolutionary War
1.2 mi
Battle of Long Island (Brooklyn Heights)
1776Revolutionary War
1.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Prospect Park listed on the National Register?

Prospect Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Prospect Park?

Prospect Park is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Prospect Park?

The period of significance for Prospect Park is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Prospect Park?

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