St. Nicholas Park

Saint Nicholas Park is a New York City public park located in Harlem at the intersection of Manhattan neighborhoods Hamilton Heights and Manhattanville. The nearly 23 acre park is contained by 141st Street to the north, 128th Street to the south, St. Nicholas Terrace to the west, and St. Nicholas Avenue to the east. Much of City College's campus, including the famous Shepard Hall, is located just across St. Nicholas Terrace. The wooded park features basketball courts, playgrounds, handball courts, a dog park, and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation-designated barbecue areas. Other attractions include large schist formations and the monarch butterflies that cover the butterfly bushes.

The park can be reached with the subway by taking the A, B, or C trains to the 125th Street, 135th Street, or 145th Street stations. The D train can also be taken to the 125th Street and 145th Street stations.

History

The first parkland was acquired upon the condemnation of the Croton Aqueduct in 1895. After additional property was acquired, construction on the park began in 1906. Like the streets on its eastern and western borders, the park was named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint of Amsterdam whose likeness adorned one of the ships that brought the first Dutch settlers to New Amsterdam. Parks Commissioner Samuel Parsons designed the park himself. The park next expanded in 1909, when the park's southern boundary was extended to 128th Street. In 1931, a playground opened along 129th Street. A new playground was erected on this site in 1965. Alexander Hamilton's Historic farmhouse, the Hamilton Grange, is being moved to St. Nicholas Park on the north side, and will face 141st street.

External links

* [http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12728 Information about St. Nicholas Park] at the [http://www.nycgovparks.org/index.php New York City Department of Parks and Recreation website]
* [http://www.stnicholaspark.org/index.html Friends of St. Nicholas Park]