Hamilton Fish Park
4.3 acres
In 1900 the park, featuring the gymnasium and playground,
was completed. The Hamilton Fish Park Gymnasium is among the most
notable small civic buildings in New York City. Designed in 1898
by Carrère & Hastings, architects of the New York Public Library
on Fifth Avenue, this exuberant Beaux-Arts style structure is the
only survivor of the original park plan. The building was designed
in the manner of a small garden pavilion inspired by Charles Girault's
Petit Palais in Paris. Behind the gymnasium was a pair of small
sculpted water fountains and grass parterres, benches and trees,
all arranged in straight rows to emphasize the formality of the
park. Only three years after its opening, the park was redesigned
to accommodate more active outdoor recreation such as track and
tennis. In 1936 it was overhauled once again, this time featuring
swimming as the main attraction. Constructed by the Works Progress
Administration, the pool at Hamilton Fish Park was one of eleven
that opened throughout New York City in a single summer during the
Great Depression. The influence of the pools extended through entire
communities, attracting neighborhood children and aspiring athletes
and changing the way millions of New Yorkers spent their leisure
time. Among the most remarkable public recreational facilities in
the country, the pools represented the forefront of design and technology.
Hamilton Fish Pool was so highly regarded that the U.S. Olympic
Team used it for practice sessions on their way to the 1952 Helsinki
Games. An extensive $14 million restoration of Hamilton Fish
Park was completed in 1992 by John Ciardullo Associates. The gymnasium
was designated a New York City historic landmark in 1982, and it
was converted into a community center containing classroom and meeting
rooms for neighborhood groups by 1990. The restored pool reinvigorated
a favorite New York summer tradition of outdoor swimming. Basketball
courts, handball courts, and the children's playground were also
refurbished. The distinctly modern landscaping, such as paved terraces
and cylindrical planters, was integrated with trees that survive
from the early 20th century.