Fort Tryon Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, October 18, 2005

PARKS CELEBRATES FORT TRYON’S 70TH BIRTHDAY

photo by Malcolm Pinckney

On Sunday, October 16, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined community members and supporters, capoiera dancers, jazz musicians, puppeteers, and local children to celebrate Fort Tryon Park’s 70^th birthday. The day-long community celebration included fitness walks through the park; Heather Garden tours; hawk watches from Linden Terrace; performances by Abada-Capoiera NYC and The Jamie Foxtet; a puppet-making workshop, and a rendition of "The Princess, The Emperor, and The Duck"—a musical re-telling of three Hans Christian Andersen tales performed by puppeteers from the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre. The event was a joint effort by North Manhattan Parks, Friends of Fort Tryon, and Artists Unite.

"Fort Tryon Park is one of New York City’s great natural treasures, and I am thrilled to be here today celebrating its 70^th anniversary," said Commissioner Benepe. "Today’s celebration is representative of the community support that has guided the renaissance of Fort Tryon in the past two decades."

After Commissioner Benepe’s welcoming remarks, Joseph Pierson, co-chair of the Heather Garden Trust and great-grandson of John D. Rockefeller Jr., read the speech Rockefeller gave when handing the picturesque piece of property over to New York City in 1935.

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the co-designer of Central and Prospect Parks, spent four years transforming the site’s rocky topography and thin soil into a manicured landscape. Olmsted designed Fort Tryon Park with promenades, terraces, wooded slopes, and eight miles of pedestrian paths, careful to preserve open areas and the spectacular views of the Hudson River and the Palisades. When Rockefeller donated it to the City, he saw it as one of the great natural wonders in the United States, and gave the land as an act of preservation for the public.

Containing one of the highest points in Manhattan, Fort Tryon Park towers above the Hudson River, offering magnificent views of the Palisades and the lower Hudson Valley that challenge the notion that Manhattan’s best vistas are experienced from its skyscrapers. Parks & Recreation has spent nearly $10 million to restore Fort Tryon Park over the past two decades—including preservation of the picturesque Heather Garden, and a recently completed renovation at Margaret Corbin Circle and Linden Terrace.

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Aristotle
(384-322 B.C.)