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The Department of Parks announces the plan for the reconstruction of Joyce Kilmer Park, north of the Bronx County Court House between Walton Avenue and the Grand Concourse and extending from 161st Street to 164th Street. The plan was prepared with the cooperation of the Borough President of the Bronx and the work will be done jointly by the Park Department and the Borough President.Joyce Kilmer Park now consists of an area roughly rectangular in shape between 162nd Street and 164th Street and three smaller triangles separated from the large rectangular area by streets. The Grand Concourse is narrowed down at about 162nd Street by these triangles and the existence of the streets through the Park constitutes a disorderly arrangement of traffic.
The new plan calls for the continuation of the Grand Concourse through these small triangles. The panels planted with Linden trees will be also carried through to 161st Street, The diagonal street through the south end of the Park will be closed and the open well on 161st Street in front of the Court House will be covered over.
All of the area remaining between 161st Street and 164th Street and between Walton Avenue and the widened Grand Boulevard and Concourse is included in the new Park layout. This new layout will afford a dignified setting to the County Court House.
It will be built around a grass panel 900' long centering on the Court House. The panel will be surrounded by tree shaded promenades. The memorial fountain to Heinrich Heine, which is now located in one of the small triangles to be eliminated, will be located at the north end of this grass panel. An informal walk will be carried along the west edge of the Park under shaded trees. The statue of Louis J. Heintz, which is in another of the small triangles, will be relocated on the west side of the Park overlooking a grass panel opposite 162nd Street.
Although the press release does not explicitly mention any New Deal agency, all NYC Parks Department projects in the 1930s were carried out with New Deal funding and labor, as explained and documented here.
The New Deal in
NYC 1932-1943 |
Frank da Cruz |
fdc@columbia.edu
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