The
Van Cortlandt Park Parade Ground. This 43-acre field was built
in 1901 as a training area for the New York National Guard. In the 1930s,
Robert Moses, New York City's first citywide parks commissioner, redesigned
the Parade Ground as athletic fields[2,3]. Today it is a large flat area
where every conceivable kind of game is played, from Irish football to bocce
ball to cricket, not to mention (American) football and soccer (fútbol).
References:
- Van
Cortlandt Park History, New York Parks Department website.
- NYC Parks Dept press release
of May 4, 1936: “Three reconstructed big league baseball diamonds
will be opened on the Parade Grounds in Van Cortlandt Park. This entire area
has had a new system of drainage installed and construction is proceeding on
seven similar baseball fields, three cricket fields, two soccer fields and
one lacrosse field.”
- Ultan, Lloyd, and Shelley Olson, The Bronx: The Ultimate Guide to New York City's Beautiful Borough, Rutgers
University Press (2015), p.34.
- New Deal Assistance in
NYC Parks Department Projects, 1934-43.