Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY

Prospect Park is a 585-acre urban oasis located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough. It is a masterpiece of design by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park, in Manhattan. Constructed over a thirty-year period (1865-1895) it contains Brooklyn’s only forest, along with a complex natural water system, rolling meadows, shaded hillsides and many attractions.

There are many interesting statues in the park, this one of Abraham Lincoln, scuplted by Henry Kirke Brown (1814 - 1886), is my favorite. It watches over the Prospect Park Concert Grove area, which contains an impressive array of sculpture busts, including composers Mozart, Beethoven, Grieg, and Von Weber, as well as the poet Thomas Moore.

This bust of the great composer Beethoven was sculpted by Henry Baerer in 1894

A poignant World War I monument, sculpted by Augustus Lukeman. It was dedicated in 1921 in memory of soldiers from Brooklyn killed during that war.

This 1905 Beaux Arts structure was inspired by the architecture of a 16th century Venetian library. It was originally used as the park's boathouse but now is the park's Welcome Center and also the first urban-area Audubon Center in the nation!

Part of the beautiful tiled interior of the Audubon Center and some of the exhibits which allow visitors to explore the world of nature.

Pedal boats may be rented, and there are also electric boat rides that can be taken that float along the area called the Lullwater; a placid waterway that meanders through shady woodlands and under historic bridges in the park.

After gliding gently along, you’ll emerge into the wide open vista of the park’s beautiful 60-acre lake.

It is wonderful to sit by the lake in rustic benches such as these and look out to peaceful vistas such as this.........

..........and this!

It will be especially lovely when the trees take on autumn color in another few weeks.

A man was playing a hauntingly beautiful melody on his saxophone in a walkway under an overpass bridge. The acoustics were of concert hall quality!

There are many shady paths to walk along in the park.

A beautifully ornate Victorian flower planter in the park.

This is the Oriental Pavilion, which features a stained-glass cupola and medieval, Hindu-inspired columns. It was damaged in a fire and extensively restored in 1987. Visitors now relax under the shade of its canopy.

The Prospect Park Zoo is within the park and
is operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society, known throughout the world for its innovative ways of caring for animals while increasing visitor interaction. It is home to nearly 400 animals of more than 80 species!

The park's carousel was carved in 1912 by Charles Carmel, one of the foremost carousel designers of the time, and restored by the Prospect Park Alliance in 1990.

The carousel features 51 magnificently carved horses, a lion, a giraffe, a deer, and two dragon-pulled chariots. I remember riding it when I was a child, and my children rode it when they were young. I look forward to introducing it to my grandson someday!

Prospect Park is home to over 30,000 trees. Among them are several of New York's oldest and most magnificent specimens. The tree above is a Japanese Red Pine.

Can you spot what was sitting in this tree adjacent to a road that passes through the park?

It was a majestic red tailed hawk! He sat on this limb very steadily for a long time, watching the people who were gathering around to watch him!

He created quite a commotion as children on bicycles, jogger, walkers, the police, and even a firetruck on their way back to their station stopped to see him!

Prospect Park is a wonderful green oasis of beauty in Brooklyn, and truly as worthy of a visit as Central Park! It us surrounded by diverse neighborhoods and enjoyed equally by all. It was also the location of a large portion of the American Revolutionary War's "Battle Of Brooklyn," and I showed many of the significant sites of that battle that are in the park in this series of blog posts.

I am happy to link this post to Susan's blog A Southern Daydreamer weekly "Outdoor Wednesday" event. Please visit Susan's blog today to see links to other blogs participating today with wonderful outdoor pleasures.