Hello everyone!

As you may have noticed, I have not posted here in forever. That's because I moved to my own website which was recently revamped. Some of the posts on this blog may be reposted there in the future, but I want to invite you to visit Pocket Parks Publishing to continue following my journey and learning about the parks included in my guide, BEST Pocket Parks of NYC. You will also find me at RosemaryOBrien.net, my author site.

Please contact me if you have any suggestions for the revision or see any parks that you think are interesting. Chances are they will be included in the revised book, but it's better to be safe than sorry. 

We have close to 5K unique visitors on our site. Please consider advertising your business or funding future guides by making a donation. Consider it direct crowdfunding. 

As always, thank you for your support!

Rosemary

Pocket Parks of NYC now has its own website. If you enjoy this blog, please follow it at:

http://www.PocketParksNYC.com.

Keep up with me as I research the parks, find new ones and write the book on pocket parks in New York City. As always, if you know of a great park, tell me where it is, but you have to go to the new site to do that.

Thanks for reading!

Rosemary O'Brien
Author of 'Pocket Parks of NYC'

The Arsenal

One of the first places I visited when I began researching this book was the Arsenal in Central Park. It resembles a medieval castle and fits in perfectly nestled up against 5th Ave. and the edge of Central Park. Built between 1847 and 1851, the Arsenal is the second oldest building in Central Park, the first is Block House built in 1812. The Arsenal has been a munitions depot, a museum, a police precinct and even a makeshift zoo at one point! The building was taken over by Robert Moses in 1934 and currently houses the office of the Parks Commissioner and a exhibition gallery on the third floor.

The day I went, I was taken back by the beauty of the entrance hall not to mention the little carousel horse I discovered in a back stairwell while making copies. It sat by a window overlooking the Central Park Zoo. This is not the best photo, but it gives you idea of the charm of this piece and its location. 

Visit the Parks Department website http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/the-arsenal for a more detailed history of this beautiful building.

New York Palace Hotel Plaza

This is part of the New York Palace Hotel. Due to its opulent decor, it is a popular place for movie shoots. When I discovered it, there were two guys in kilts next to a stunning lady in a satin dress by the entrance. They were part of a wedding party waiting for the photographer. I thought I was intruding until I noticed the sign by the tables and chairs saying it was an area open to the public unless otherwise noted.

During the Christmas season, they decorate the plaza with a tall Christmas tree and beautifully ornate Christmas decorations to match the lobby of the hotel.

*Thank you to Oyster.com for the use of this photo.

 

This is the Atrium at Citigroup Center located on Lexington Ave. by 53rd St. It comes upon you suddenly and is a nice respite. Inside there are three stories of restaurants and shops making it a comfortable place to duck in on a rainy or cold day.

There is a lot of information about the Citigroup Center itself, but not about this beautiful outdoor space. I will keep looking and post anything I learn about it here, so check back another time.

Citigroup Center at 53rd and Lexington Ave.

WNYC's POPS Podcast

Last fall, the New York World asked New Yorkers about their favorite POPS (privately owned public spaces), otherwise known as pocket parks, plazas, etc. Brian Lehrer of WNYC radio has two great podcasts about this program. You can listen to them here:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/blogs/scrapbook/2011/oct/19/pops-report-tell-us-about-new-york-citys-privately-owned-public-spaces/

While you are listening, you may want to explore the interactive map provided by The New York World http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/.

A piece of the Berlin Wall on 53rd St.

Photo courtesy Ephemeral New York

One of the reasons I began this project was my sense of wonder, as I’ve said before. I am always interested when people create something for the use of other people ‘just because.’ This sense of wonder hit me when I came upon the pocket park on 53rd Street between 5th and Madison Avenue. This is exactly what a pocket park should be, in my humble opinion. It’s stuffed between two buildings where a building should be, contains moveable chairs and tables, a ledge on which to sit, and it is open to the public. The thing that makes it cool to me, other than the waterfall sliding down the side of one of its bordering buildings, is that it contains a piece of the Berlin Wall.

According to Ephemeral New York, Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer (owner of the plaza) purchased the piece from the East German government and had it installed in 1990. The point is it is there for the public to enjoy. You can grab a coffee, sit down and enjoy a bit of world history, and a bit of peace, courtesy of Tishman Speyer.


I absolutely love that.