Морнингсайд-Парк: История и Особенности Манхэттенского Парка

Public park in Manhattan, New York

Morningside Park is a public park in Upper Manhattan, New York City. The park is bounded by 110th Street to the south, 123rd Street to the north, Morningside Avenue to the east, and Morningside Drive to the west. A cliff made of Manhattan schist runs through the park and separates Morningside Heights, above the cliff to the west, from Harlem. The park includes other rock outcroppings; a human made ornamental pond and waterfall; three sculptures; several athletic fields; playgrounds; and an arboretum. Morningside Park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, although the group Friends of Morningside Park helps maintain it. The area near Morningside Park was originally known as Muscota by the Lenape Native Americans in the Delaware languages. A park in this location was first proposed by the Central Park commissioners in 1867, and the city commissioned Central Park's designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to produce a design for the park in 1873. Jacob Wrey Mould was hired to design new plans in 1880, but little progress occurred until Olmsted and Vaux were asked to modify the plans following Mould's death in 1886. The Lafayette and Washington, Carl Schurz Monument, and Seligman Fountain sculptures were installed after the park was completed in 1895. After a period of neglect in the early 20th century, the park received sporting fields and playgrounds between the 1930s and the 1950s. Columbia University proposed constructing a gym in the southern end of the park in the early 1960s; the plan was abandoned after students organized protests against the gym in 1968, citing concerns over racial segregation. In the late 20th century, Morningside Park gained a reputation for high crime rates, and several groups devised plans to renovate the park. The site of the unbuilt Columbia gym was turned into a waterfall and pond in 1990, and the park's arboretum was added in 1998. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated Morningside Park as a city landmark in 2008.

Morningside Park straddles the more than 100 feet (30 m) cliff between the high terrain of Morningside Heights to the west and the lowlands of Harlem to the east. The cliff was created through fault movement and smoothed during several glacial periods in the last several million years. The Lenape referred to the area near the park as Muscota or Muscoota, meaning 'place of rushes'. Dutch settlers occupied Manhattan in the early 17th century and called the area around Morningside Park Vredendal, meaning 'peaceful dale'. The land to the east was not settled initially because of its marshy topography. The western boundary of the area was the cliff, while the eastern boundary was a creek that emptied east into the East River. Montagne's Flat was subdivided into lots in 1662, and four years later a new charter for New Harlem was given to the English, who had seized New Netherland, renaming it New York. To the west of the line were the common lands of the Province of New York, which were sold to Jacob De Key in 1701. Following Harman Vandewater's acquisition of part of the De Key farm by 1735, it was called Vandewater Heights by 1738. In the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which laid out a grid system for Manhattan island, little regard was given to the topography of the area. Shortly afterward, during the War of 1812, several blockhouse fortifications were built in the area. The first such fort was built in what is now Central Park, and three other blockhouses numbered 2, 3, and 4 were erected within present day Morningside Park. The blockhouses at Morningside Park were along the cliff and were numbered from north to south: No. 2 at 113th–114th Streets, No. 3 at 121st Street, and No. 4 at 123rd Street. These would not be used in battle and were left to deteriorate. Morningside Heights would remain sparsely developed for the next half century except for the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum and the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum. The Central Park commissioners passed an act on March 26, 1868, allowing the acquisition of lands for parks. Under this act, the commissioners purchased , and seized another through eminent domain, at a total cost of US$1.33 million. In April 1870, the Central Park commission was dissolved and the City of New York obtained jurisdiction over the property. Over the next year, the city would spend $5,500 to conduct surveys of the proposed parkland. The New York Times said that the park's name was apt for it would "[possess] a sunny exposure in the early morning hours," and described the planned park as having "handsome walks, flower beds, jetting fountains, [and] a play ground" among other things. The Times predicted that the planned Morningside Park "will doubtless be a favorite resort for children and invalids." In a September 1872 article, the Times predicted that the construction of Morningside Park and its proximity to Broadway and Central Park would raise property values nearby. Talk of a preliminary study and map began circulating in March 1873. Because of the limitations of the terrain, the proposed design would emphasize scenery, with balconies, a planted lagoon, a lawn at the north end of the park, and a retaining wall with stairways. The design also took into consideration the site's proximity to Central Park, one block away from the southern end of the proposed Morningside Park. The work would cost about $816,000. Five days after the plan was presented, the DPP approved it "in principle". When work was halted in October 1874, the sewer, pond, walks, and embankments were under construction. A Times article in April 1875 noted that the city's Department of Public Works was laying roads and sidewalks west and east of the park. Little work was performed in the next five years, except for the construction of roads. That September, the Legislature appointed Jacob Wrey Mould, who had previously been involved in Central Park's design, as the new architect of Morningside Park. Mould submitted a plan for the streets in April 1881. The proposal, which was to cost $234,000, called for eleven entrances; granite stairs; a retaining wall at Morningside Drive, made of gneiss and ashlar; overlook balconies; and railings of granite and cast and wrought iron. Though Munckwitz quit the DPP in mid 1885, he continued working with the project as a consultant. The park was still in a rural state, as indicated in the Times that same year, which reported that police were capturing cows for illegally grazing in the park and fining local dairymen for pasturing their herds. Following this, the DPP ordered that all signs and other "defacements" be removed from the park site. By mid 1886, several local entities were expressing frustration at the lack of progress at Morningside Park. For instance, the Morningside Park Association twice requested that action be taken to complete the park. After Mould died in 1886, the DPP needed to hire a new architect for Morningside Park.

In June 1887, the DPP asked Olmsted to create informal plans for Central, Morningside, and Riverside Parks. In response, Olmsted said he would do so only if Vaux was also hired. and Kellogg and city parks superintendent Samuel Parsons were asked to report on Olmsted and Vaux's original plan instead. Though Parsons and Kellogg presented their proposed changes in August 1887, which they believed were feasible with the available $250,000 appropriation, local property owners asked that the original plan be used instead. Later that month, the board voted to let Olmsted and Vaux work on the plan. The plan was modified to accommodate changed conditions, like the construction of an elevated railway station at 116th Street and Eighth Avenue. Initially, Olmsted and Vaux had proposed a southeastern entrance plaza, a lagoon, and an exhibition hall; the modified design eliminated these, while adding a lawn and a "Restawhile" recreation structure. That September, the DPP voted to proceed with the completion of stairs and overlooks at Morningside Avenue north of 117th Street, in the same design as those built previously. Stairs and walls were finished that December. Further plans, approved in early 1890, called for the completion of the western entrances and overlooks, and the installation of railings and ornamentation. By December 1890, the Real Estate Record and Builders Guide reported that the work was almost done. The Guide said of the park, "It is not very wide, but it is some three quarters of a mile in length. It has hills and dales and green swards, which, with its imposing terraces, make it peculiarly attractive." Morningside Park was even considered briefly for the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, which ultimately occurred in Chicago. Plans for walls and railings at 110th Street (the southern border) and Morningside Drive (the western border) were approved in October 1890, followed by the awarding of a contract for them in February 1892. Because of delays in constructing the steps, two time extensions were awarded in August and October 1891. Meanwhile, pavings were completed in May 1891 and the parapets were finished the following December. By June 1894, parks superintendent Parsons had noted that parts of the park were nearly completed. The park's construction was completed in 1895. Vaux, who had remained with the project throughout that time as a consultant, drowned that year in Gravesend Bay. Parsons later wrote that " perhaps Morningside Park was the most consummate piece of art that [Vaux] had ever created." The completion of Morningside Park was concurrent with the development of nearby Morningside Heights; the park's construction had necessarily resulted in the creation of the neighborhood's street grid, and several institutions relocated to the area. The first of these included the Cathedral of St. John the Divine whose construction began in 1892 on the site of the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum. The Bloomingside Asylum moved out of the area in 1888 after protests over the asylum's presence, Other institutions that moved to Morningside Heights following the park's completion included: St. Luke's Hospital, the former Home for Old Men and Aged Couples; St. Luke's Home for Indigent Christian Females; the former Woman's Hospital; Union Theological Seminary; and the Church of Notre Dame (L'Eglise de Notre Dame). In 1900, the statue Lafayette and Washington by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi was installed at the park's eastern border, within the triangle bounded by Manhattan Avenue, Morningside Avenue and 114th Street. At the time, only one structure had been built in the park, a wooden shanty for tool storage. In 1901, a "women's cottage and refreshment room" was approved along with a $8,250 appropriation for it, and the following year Barney and Chapman proposed an ornate outhouse in the French Gothic style containing a tower with space for tool storage. Many residents and neighborhood organizations strongly opposed an oval stadium, proposed between 118th and 120th Streets in 1909, and the idea was eventually scrapped. The sidewalks around the park were paved in 1911. Further erosion and deterioration was caused by a large Independence Day celebration in 1912, the erosion of the cliff near Blockhouse No. 4 in 1913, and the destruction of part of the overhanging cliff rock in 1915. and by 1916, protests had resulted in the reported completion of the renovation. Further controversy developed in the mid 1910s because of the proposed construction of a Catskill Aqueduct pumping station within the park. While a temporary structure had existed in the park since at least the early 1910s, the New York Board of Water Supply began construction of a steel frame pumping station in January 1916. The plans were not public, and had not been authorized by either the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks), the New York City Board of Aldermen, or the Municipal Art Commission. Once the public learned of plans for the structure, several civil engineers and associations organized opposition to the project. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, filed a lawsuit to stop construction of the pump building that February. Shortly afterward, New York Supreme Court justice Edward R. Finch issued an injunction to stop the project temporarily, citing the project's status as an "illegal encroachment". Ultimately, the Board of Water Supply applied for a permanent pumping station, though in July 1916 the Board of Aldermen voted instead to build an underground pump structure. Improvements to Morningside Park were also conducted from the 1920s through the 1960s. In its annual report of 1929, NYC Parks reported that much of the vegetation had to be replanted because of neglect or vandalism. By the mid 20th century, Morningside Park was perceived as dangerous. Because of its proximity to Harlem, a largely Black neighborhood, crime in the park was perceived as signs of a racial conflict. The Times also reported residents were concerned that "unemployed destitute" individuals posed a danger to the park's safety. A playground at the northeastern corner of Morningside Park was also constructed in 1935; it was expanded with extra equipment in 1941, including athletic courts, a wading pool, exercise structure, swings, slides, and a children's play area. Also, by 1941, rock outcroppings on the south lawn were removed to make way for softball fields. The 1904 restroom structure was demolished in 1952, except for its western wall, at which point jagged topped stone barriers were erected next to paths in the park. Two years later, the bronze railings on the western and southern borders were replaced with iron picket fences. A playground on Morningside Avenue between 116th and 119th Streets was finished in 1956, while sandboxes were installed on the Morningside Drive overlook balconies the next year. The wrought iron fence on the eastern border was replaced, and the park's hillside restored, in 1962. At the time, parks commissioner Moses and Columbia president Grayson L. Kirk were discussing allowing Columbia to use part of Morningside Park. The plan was approved by the New York City Board of Estimate in December 1955, and soon after, Moses and Manhattan borough president Hulan Jack announced that Columbia would build a comfort station/field house, storage building, and athletic complex on a section of the park. The athletic complex contained two fields for softball, three for football, and one for soccer and was opened in May 1957. The arrangement between Columbia and the city stipulated that the university would be the sole user of the complex during weekdays between June and October, while it would be open to the public at other times. In 1961, new lighting was installed in the southern section of Morningside Park to deter crime. More controversial was Columbia's proposal in January 1960 to erect a building to the north of the athletic fields. The complex was supported by Moses, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr., and the New York City Council. A 50 year lease was approved in March 1960, signed in August, and accepted by the Board of Estimate. The project faced some opposition by 1964 because of Columbia's rapid expansion. Some residents denounced the proposed Morningside Park construction as a "land grab", while others protested the proposed gentrification that would accompany such expansion. Subsequently, in March 1964, neighborhood associations and officials toured the park to demonstrate its deteriorated conditions and need for funding, and to show that it was safe. Thomas Hoving, one of the parks commissioners who succeeded Moses, said in January 1966 that he was "pretty damned upset" about the deal because it would perpetuate segregation. The planned separate east and west entrances were seen as an attempt to circumvent the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racially segregated facilities, as Morningside Heights' population was largely white while Harlem's was largely Black. In March 1966, the University's student council passed a resolution asking the University to reconsider the gym plans, and two months later, bills to ban its construction were introduced in the State Senate and Assembly. That October, Columbia announced it would suspend groundbreaking for the gym until the following year, and by May 1967, university officials were considering changing the plans. Unsatisfied, protesters picketed outside Kirk's home that July, while Harlem officials decried a proposed compromise to build a community swimming pool instead. Undeterred, the Board of Estimate voted to approve the plans in October 1967, and despite further protests that November, construction began in February 1968. At the time, The New York Times architecture writer Ada Louise Huxtable said, "the real tragedy of the whole Columbia gym affair is that this dubious and even harmful project has been carried out in good faith." Columbia students and faculty amplified their opposition to the gym project in mid 1968, resulting in major student protests. That April, the faculty of the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation called on Kirk and the trustees to reconsider the gym. Student organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Afro American Society held "sit ins", and Mayor John Lindsay requested that work be suspended while the protests were ongoing. Students occupied administration and classroom buildings and shut down the university for several weeks. after a large 2,500 person protest on April 30, which involved a New York City Police Department raid at several buildings. Meanwhile, parks commissioner August Heckscher II said that if Columbia was to drop its plans, he would have a community recreation center built at the site. The same month, $500,000 was allocated for restorations to the park, and the new Morningside Park Preservation Committee filed a lawsuit alleging the misuse of parkland. Kirk resigned in August 1968 because of the protests and was replaced as Columbia president by Andrew W. Cordier. Under his leadership, Columbia's trustees studied possible new sites for the gym before voting in March 1969 to cancel the project altogether.

At the same time as the Columbia controversy, another dispute arose after the New York State Legislature designated the northwestern corner of Morningside Park as the site of a public elementary school in 1963. Both Mayor Wagner and borough president Edward R. Dudley supported this initiative; Dudley said the site was "rubbish strewn and a danger spot for children", even though the Municipal Art Commission argued it was atop the ruins of Blockhouse No. 4. After the City Planning Commission proposed another site several blocks to the east, neighborhood groups alleged the plan would further segregation since the mostly minority population of Harlem would be unable to reach the school. Other neighborhood groups opposed the use of Morningside Park for anything other than recreational use. The City Planning Commission's chairman recommended that the proposed school site at Morningside Park be disapproved, but in February 1964, the Board of Estimate approved the plan anyway and rezoned from parkland to educational use. Frederick G. Frost, Jr. & Associates designed the structure, known as PS (Public School) 36 Margaret Douglas Elementary School, as a concrete and brick educational complex atop a stone base and rock outcroppings. The school was built between 1965 and 1966 and was the first in the city designed solely for early elementary grades, serving kindergarten through second grade.

Even by the 1960s, Morningside Park had a reputation for being unsafe and unsanitary. So common were crimes there that Morningside Heights residents nicknamed it "Muggingside Park". In 1971, after the controversy over the now canceled Columbia site had subsided, NYC Parks published its "Proposed Rehabilitation of Columbia Gym Site", which called for a playground on the site's eastern edge and new paths on the western side. It was reported that Columbia had agreed to pay compensation for the demolition that had occurred in the park. This resulted in the formation of the West Harlem Coalition for Morningside Park. The West Harlem Coalition hired Lawrence Halprin Associates in 1973, but plans for renovating Morningside Park were postponed after the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis. More than a decade after the Columbia gym plan was canceled, the construction fencing remained on the site. The state's department of parks was in talks with Bond, Ryder and Associates for a "redevelopment design" of Morningside Park by 1978 with the West Harlem Community Organization and Morningside Park Coalition participating in the redesign process. the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held two shows that depicted Morningside Park, including a Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit. NYC Parks drew up plans for a $12 million restoration of the park between 1987 and 1989. At that point, Columbia had given $250,000 toward the renovation, half of what it had pledged toward the restoration of the site. A $5 million first phase began in early 1989 and was conducted by a partnership of Quennell Rothschild Associates and Bond Ryder James. which was the first part of the renovation to be completed in 1989. The pond, part of Olmsted and Vaux's original plan, cost $950,000, about three times as much as "standard landscaping". Contractors installed wells to feed the waterfall and the pond. There was little funding to perform further renovations at the northern part of Morningside Park then, and there was just one maintenance worker for the entire park. NYC Parks began a renovation of the 116th Street stairs in July 1996 and completed it two years later at a cost of $650,000. The same year, construction began on the Dr. Thomas Kiel Arboretum in the northern part of the park, named after a founder and former chairman of the Friends of Morningside Park who had died in 1996. In 1998 and 1999, the Morningside Area Alliance (MAA), a neighborhood community group, received $35,000 in grant funding from the Kaplan Foundation to work on the park. A portion was used to assess what the park needed done most urgently, while a second portion went to restructure the largely disorganized Friends volunteer group. The resulting "revitalization plan" suggested further maintenance and capital improvements and enhancements to its character and appearance. The study also found there was still a widespread perception of danger, and that the park needed additional security measures and better management.

By 2001, Morningside Park's condition had improved because of ongoing reconstruction projects, and it was no longer considered as dangerous an area as it had been in the 1970s. This playground was completed in late 2008. The next year, more trees were planted within the park, including a sequoia tree. NYC Parks presented a plan to restore the northern section, including the 123rd Street Playground there, in 2011. The playground was renovated in two phases: in 2013 and in 2019. The 118th Street Playground was rebuilt between December 2019 and March 2021 for $3.3 million. In addition, the waterfall was fixed in 2018, although it shortly stopped working again. The area around Morningside Park, once a desolate area with a reputation for being crime ridden, had become gentrified by the 2010s. Columbia University student Davide Giri was fatally stabbed nearby in 2021 in what The New York Times called "an eerie reprise" of Majors's death. In 2023, the LPC approved plans for the construction of a food kiosk at the southern edge of the park, along West 110th Street. During the same year, neighborhood residents also began advocating for the waterfall to be repaired; at the time, the waterfall had not flowed for four years. Following these requests, Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science indicated that it would fix the waterfall. Columbia and NYC Parks also began researching the algae in the park's pond in mid 2023. In addition, New York Road Runners hosts a weekly 3 mile (5 km) Open Run along the park's paths. Morningside Dog Run is an enclosed space for dog owners to bring their dogs to play. Consisting primarily of wood chips over dirt, there are two fenced in areas. The larger section has multiple levels, separated by a step. The dog run is most easily accessible from the east at 114th Street and from the west at either 114th or 116th Streets. There is also a barbecue area at 121st Street. The first one, at the bottom of the stairs at 114th Street, was built in 1903–1904 and demolished in 1952. replacing part of the playground between 116th and 119th Streets. The geology is similar to that of Central Park and contains, from top to bottom: Manhattan schist, metamorphosed sedimentary rock; Lowerre quartzite, a metamorphosed rock; Inwood marble, metamorphosed limestone which overlays the gneiss; and Fordham gneiss, an older deeper layer. Rock outcroppings are prevalent in Morningside Park and nearby Central Park, Marcus Garvey Park, and Riverside Park. Besides the cliff, one large geological feature that remains is a glacial groove at 121st Street, which had been noted as early as 1916. The western border of the park between 122nd and 123rd Streets is taken up by PS (Public School) 36, on a rock drop off; this occupies the former site of the ruins of Blockhouse No. 4, which was used as a source of stone until the park's creation. A tablet was placed on the site by the Women's Auxiliary of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society in 1904. Furthermore, part of the cliff was destroyed in 1915. The waterfall is artificial and uses water pumped using motors from the city's water system. The pond has been frequented by several species of birds, including great blue herons, night herons, red winged blackbirds, painted turtles, and mallard ducks. Samuel Parsons described the site as having "a considerable amount of native growth", albeit limited mainly to vines, herbs, and shrubs. Parsons also stated that because of the poor soil in the original plan of the park, "fine trees" could not grow there. By the 1910s, vandalism, erosion, and crowds had caused damage to many of the plantings. Major landscaping projects took place in 1929, 1941, 1962, and 2006. The first is the Lafayette and Washington statue (1900) by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, at the triangle between Manhattan Avenue, Morningside Avenue and 114th Street. Though dedicated in 1890, it was not brought to the triangle until 1900. The statue commemorates the alliance between the U. S. and France during the American Revolutionary War and consists of a bronze sculptural group depicting General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette, both in uniform and shaking hands. The pair is atop a white marble pedestal and contains an associated bronze plaque on a gray granite base. It is an exact replica of a statue in the Place des États Unis, Paris. The statue consists of a bronze depiction of politician Carl Schurz, standing in the middle of an exedra (or semicircular recess) made of granite. The "arms" of the exedra contain reliefs depicting Schurz's stature as a person who fought against slavery and for better treatment of Native Americans. Plans for the fountain's dedication in Morningside Park were revealed in 1911, predating Seligman's death in a traffic accident in 1912. Since its founding, the group has rehabilitated the park through volunteer work, as well as donations for staffing and equipment. The Central Park Conservancy, which maintains nearby Central Park, also provides maintenance support and staff training programs for other public parks in New York City, including Morningside Park. In 2005, the Conservancy created the Historic Harlem Parks initiative, providing horticultural and maintenance support and mentoring in Morningside Park, St. Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, and Marcus Garvey Park.