Morningside Park (New York City)
in New York, United StatesCategory: Attraction
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25 Morningside Ave, New York, NY 10026, USA Print route »
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Morningside Park is a New York City public park primarily located in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The 30-acre (12 ha) area occupies 110th to 123rd Streets from Morningside Avenue to Morningside Drive at the border between Harlem and Morningside Heights. Much of the park is adjacent to Columbia University. Morningside Park's natural geography contains a cliff of Manhattan schist rock, with manmade features in the park such as an ornamental pond and waterfall. It is operated by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The park was first proposed by the Central Park Commissioners in 1867, and the city commissioned Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux to produce a design for the park in 1873. After delays, Jacob Wrey Mould was hired in 1880 to rework the plans, although he died in 1886 before the work could be completed. In 1887 Olmsted and Vaux were asked to modify the plans again, and construction was completed in 1895.
Monuments were installed between 1900 and 1914, followed by softball diamonds, basketball courts, and playgrounds between the 1930s and 1950s. In 1960, Columbia proposed building a gym in the park at 113th Street, resulting in major student protests in 1968. Protestors argued that the gym's planned separate entrances would result in racially segregated facilities, which the university denied. After further protests in 1969, the plan was abandoned, and the excavation site was turned into a waterfall and pond in 1990. An arboretum was added to the park in 1998.
