- Cadman Plaza
Cadman Plaza Park is located on the border between the Brooklyn Heights historic neighborhood and
Downtown Brooklyn . It is bounded by Cadman Plaza East and West,Brooklyn Bridge on the north, and Tillary Street on the south.South of this park, between Tillary and Johnson Streets, lies the small Korean War Veterans Plaza. South of Johnson, the Kings County Supreme Court Building and Columbus Park, featuring a statue of
Christopher Columbus , sit on land formerly used as a station for trolley cars. These parks, together with Whitman Park, form a mall fromBrooklyn Borough Hall to theBrooklyn Bridge .A statue of
William Jay Gaynor (1829-1913) is located in the northern end of Cadman Plaza Park. He wasMayor of New York City from 1910 to 1913. Beforehand, he was a journalist, a lawyer, and aNew York Supreme Court justice, known for his tough stance on corruption. During his tenure as mayor, he tried to diminish the influence ofTammany Hall on city government. Gaynor was assassinated by an irate former civil servant in 1913. Gaynor was also well known for his social life, and he walked over theBrooklyn Bridge toNew York City Hall and back to his home in Park Slope every day.A massive 24-foot tall memorial is located in the center of the park. It honors Brooklynites who served in
World War II . The memorial is designed byCharles Keck (1875-1951). It was one of the largest monuments in New York City, at its dedication in 1952.Namesake
The Reverend Doctor Samuel Parkes Cadman (1864-1936) was a Brooklyn
Congregational Church minister well known for his oratory, and first to have his own regularly scheduled coast-to -coast radio sermon. For 36 years of his life, he was pastor of the Central Congregational Church in Brooklyn and helped to found the Federated Council of Churches in America, which he headed from 1924-1928. Rev. Cadman was considered the Congregational faith’s leading minister both in the United States and worldwide.Photo gallery
External links
* [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=11811 Cadman Plaza Park]
* [http://www.dgmaestro.com/BrooklynPhotos/Dtwn/index.htm#cadmanPlaza Photos taken around Cadman Plaza]
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