The New York Times had a feature on Morningside Park this past weekend that basically summed up some of historic highlights of the South Harlem landmark: LINK. Frederick Law Olmsted famously designed Central Park but his work on Morningside Park was not recognized prestigiously until recent. While most of New York's great parks have been made official landmark decades ago, Morningside Park did not get that protection until a couple of years back. Crime apparently was the main reason it took so long to get things up and going again but much has changed in the revitalization of the area in the past decade with the hard efforts of community groups such as Friends of Morningside Park and local politicians. There's now a farmers market on Saturdays, an active dog run along with parents and children taking to the slopes after each snowfall for sledding excursions. Columbia University is mentioned a couple of times in the article since that institution has a huge presence in the area at the top of the park and infamously had planned to build a gymnasium over the park's pond many years ago: LINK
Don’t forget the little waterfall. I love that!
ReplyDeleteThe history of Morningside Park is, needless to say, really interesting. Actually, it was originally supposed to be connected to Central Park, but the Ninth Avenue elevated line would have run right over the corridor connecting the two. For more info see the amazing The Park and the People, by Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar.
ReplyDeleteAlso: The cover photo of The Kids Are Alright was shot at the top of the steps that lead to Morningside and West 116th, right by, if I'm not mistaken, the statue of Carl "My Country Right or Wrong" Schurz (I've never found an uptown connection for him).
Finally, it's my impression, which I gleaned from people who were there at the time, that Columbia planned to build the gym (the generally humorless student activists called it "Gym Crow") on what are now the softball fields--contrary to the Times article, it was one building with two entrances. So the waterfall and pond are pre-1968? Maybe Roger Kahn's The Battle of Morningside Heights or Dolkart's Morningside Heights, or Robert McCaughey's Stand Columbia clears this up?
Jonathan: Here is the answer to your question on the waterfall and pond, according to the history posted on the Friends of Morningside Park web site:
ReplyDelete"In 1968, student and community protesters halted construction of a gymnasium in the park intended for use by Columbia University and the public. The excavated foundation was converted into a pond and waterfall in 1989-90. The project also included installing new play equipment, creating a picnic area, planting new trees, and rebuilding the ballfields."
http://morningsidepark.org/park/history.php
So it would seem that those of us who now enjoy the pond and waterfall as one of Morningside Park's nicest features can thank CU for starting (and the student protesters for then stopping) the 1968 gym project.
Of course, there was apparently just a gaping hole in the ground for some 20 years -- but unfortunately that was probably the least of the problems in the area during that time...