Carl Schurz Park is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in the Yorkville neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, named for German-born Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz in 1910, at the edge of what was then the solidly German-American community of Yorkville. The park contains

Gracie Mansion Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. ...

, the official residence of the

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Description

Carl Schurz Park overlooks the waters of

Hell Gate Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands. Etymology The name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase ''Hellegat'' (it first appeared on ...

and Wards Island in the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

, and is the site of

(built for

Archibald Gracie Archibald Gracie (June 25, 1755 – April 11, 1829) was a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early American businessman and merchant in New York City and Virginia whose spacious home, Gracie Mansion, now serves as the residence of the Mayor of N ...

, 1799, enlarged c. 1811), the official residence of the

since 1942. There are tours of the restored building every Wednesday. The park's waterfront promenade is a deck built over the

Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park ...

, enclosing the roadway except on the side facing the

. The park is bordered on the west by

East End Avenue Avenue B is a north–south avenue located in the Alphabet City area of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, east of Avenue A and west of Avenue C. It runs from Houston Street to 14th Street, where it continues into a ...

and on the south by Gracie Square, the extension of East 84th Street to the river. The

East River Greenway The East River Greenway (also called the East River Esplanade) is an approximately foreshoreway for walking or cycling on the east side of the island of Manhattan on the East River. It is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The largest po ...

, part of the

Manhattan Waterfront Greenway The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is a waterfront greenway for walking or cycling, long, around the island of Manhattan, in New York City. The largest portions are operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. It is separate ...

, passes along the promenade platform. The park contains winding, shady paths, green lawns, waterfront views, basketball courts, a large playground for children, and two dog runs: one designated for larger dogs and one for smaller dogs. The park is maintained by Carl Schurz Park Conservancy, the oldest park conservancy in New York City, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

History

The bluff overlooking a curve in the

at this point was named by an early owner, Siebert Classen, "Hoorn's Hook", for his native Hoorn on the

Zuider Zee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an ov ...

.The account of the site's history is from ''The WPA Guide to New York City'', (1939, 1982; p. 250f). The first house on the site was built for Jacob Walton, a few years before the Revolution, when the picturesque location suddenly gained tactical importance in the control of the East River. In February 1776, the house and grounds were commandeered for an American battery of nine guns on the site.This was one of a series of unconnected small batteries along the East River. This drew British fire on September 15, 1776, in a mopping-up operation to secure all of Manhattan Island following the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yor ...

; the bombardment demolished Walton's house and forced an American withdrawal. The British kept an encampment on the site until Evacuation Day, 1783.

leveled the remains of the star fort and constructed his timber-framed villa

in 1799. The section of the park lying south of 86th Street (set aside as "East River Park" in 1876), where

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

once had a villa, was used as a picnic ground when the northern section was acquired by the City of New York in 1891.So called in Frank Bergen Kelley and Edward Hagaman Hall ''Historical Guide to the City of New York'' (City History Club of New York) 190, p.135, where Astor's villa is mentioned. The easternmost block of 86th Street was acquired subsequently, and the street de-mapped. A new landscape design by

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

and

Samuel Parsons Samuel Bowne Parsons Jr. (8 February 1844 – 3 February 1923), was an American landscape architect. He is remembered as being a founder of the American Society of Landscape Architects, helping to establish the profession. Early years Parsons w ...

was completed in 1902, several years after Vaux's death. The Park was reconstructed in 1935 by Robert Moses, due to the creation of the FDR Drive, with revised landscaping by Maud Sargent. The Park's restoration from a neglected state in the early 1970s was due to the energies of a neighborhood group, the not-for-profit Carl Schurz Park Conservancy (incorporated 1974), formed originally to clean up the Park's single playground.Carl Schurz Park Association: history
Carl Schurz Park served as the location for the climactic fight scene in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's 2002 film ''

25th Hour ''25th Hour'' is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and starring Edward Norton. Adapted by David Benioff from his own 2001 debut novel '' The 25th Hour'', it tells the story of a man's last 24 hours of freedom as he prepares to go ...

'', starring

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

and

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character roles—typically lowlifes, eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical produ ...

. Comedian, Colin Quinn, is known to cruise in this park at midnight.

Notes

References

*''The WPA Guide to New York City'', (1939, 1982; p. 250f) *Frank Bergen Kelley and Edward Hagaman Hall ''Historical Guide to the City of New York'' (City History Club of New York) 190, p. 135 *http://www.carlschurzparknyc.org/the-history-of-the-conservancy

External links

Carl Schurz Park Conservancy Official Website

Carl Schurz Park: Brief History

Carl Schurz Park: Photos
{{Protected areas of New York City Parks in Manhattan Robert Moses projects Yorkville, Manhattan East River