Pratt Playground

Willoughby Ave. between Stuben St. and Emerson Pl.

Brooklyn, 11205

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This park is named for Charles Pratt (1830-1891), philanthropist, businessman, and founder of the Pratt Institute. After working for a Boston company that specialized in whale oil products, Pratt moved to New York to establish the Astral Oil Company. The business grew quickly and eventually merged with John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. Although Pratt’s fortune helped him become a leading figure in Brooklyn, he regretted his meager education and hoped to establish a school where students could learn manual trades. He fulfilled this dream in 1887 when he founded the Pratt Institute, which offered the first manual training high school in New York City. The school inspired programs at other institutions, including the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the Drexel Institute. Though only twelve students attended Pratt in its opening year, it now has more than 3,700 students. The Institute’s famous alumni include Robert Redford (actor and director), Ellsworth Kell…