Prospect Park

Prospect Park turned 150 years old this year!

This Brooklyn park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted & Calvert Vaux after their completion of Central Park, in Manhattan. At the time, Brooklyn was still an independent city (the 3rd largest city in America). Olmsted was on the record of stating his preferred work was Prospect Park. He felt that the grid-system-mandated borders of Central Park were too creatively restrictive, that Manhattan politicians wanted too much say in his work there, and also felt his work on that park helped prepare him to better create his Brooklyn masterpiece. Wandering through Prospect Park today, you can see many similarities (in Vaux's beautiful arches & bridges, in Olmsted's layouts), but many differences. Prospect Park has more of a lived-in feel today, with weekend barbecues, picnics, music, and other activities not allowed in its Manhattan counterpart. One other difference... while tens of millions of NYC visitors each year visit Central Park, only a small fraction of that find their way to this area of Brooklyn. The Prospect Park Alliance is working to change that.

The park is also bordered by numerous historic, gorgeous neighborhoods such as Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Windsor Terrace, and Flatbush. Each worth a visit in their own right.

Interested in discovering more? Contact me for a custom tour!