Jackie Robinson Park

Jackie Robinson Park is a public park in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, New York. The approximately 13-acre (5.3 ha) park is bounded by Bradhurst Avenue, 155th Street, Edgecombe Avenue, and 145th Street. The park has baseball fields, playgrounds, bathrooms, basketball courts, volleyball courts, a recreation center, bandshell, pool, and Wi-Fi hotspots.

History

The area that is now Jackie Robinson Park was part of the Samuel Bradhurst estate in the late 18th to early 19th centuries.[1] Brick buildings lined its southern edge and a few small residences were scattered throughout its interior in the early 1890s.[2] The act creating the park was passed February 26, 1894,[3] and the land was acquired by the City of New York between 1894 and 1899. The southern portion opened to the public on August 12, 1911.[4] In 1936, the pool and recreation center were added. The name of the park prior to 1978 was Colonial Park. The park was renamed Jackie Robinson Park in 1978, after the first black professional baseball player in the major leagues.[5] The Polo Grounds baseball stadium was once directly north of the park.

References

  1. Otto Sackersdorff (1815) "Page 21: Bounded by W. 156th Street, (Hamilton Heights) Ninth Avenue, W. 136th Street and North River." in Maps of Farms Commonly Called The Blue Book (1815). Accessed from the New York Public Library Digital Collection, May 20, 2017
  2. George W. and Walter S. Bromley (1891) "Plate 42 Map bounded by W. 147th St., Harlem River, W. 136th St., Avenue St." in Atlas of the City of New York Manhattan (1891). Accessed from the New York Public Library Digital Collection, May 20, 2017
  3. "Not True, Says Ex-Mayor Gilroy". New York Times. New York. 1895-01-16. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  4. "Part of a New Park Opened". New York Sun. New York. 1911-08-13. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  5. Staff "Jackie Robinson Park" New York City Department of Parks and Recreation website

Coordinates: 40°49′35″N 73°56′28″W / 40.8264°N 73.9411°W / 40.8264; -73.9411

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