The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra ( BSO ) is a symphony orchestra in the New York City metropolitan area.
168-607: Founded in 1973, the orchestra plays concerts throughout the year at the Brooklyn Museum and other venues in Brooklyn and New York City. The BSO's interim artistic director is Felipe Tristan. Starting with the 2015–2016 season, BSO's assistant conductor was Felipe Tristan, who then was promoted to associate conductor starting on the 2018–2019 season. The BSO's repertoire spans from the early classics to modern and contemporary works. The Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra rehearses at
336-490: A 12-year renovation of the Asian galleries. To make way for additional exhibition space, in early 2024 the museum sold off 200 objects and the contents of four period rooms. In January 2024, the museum opened its Toby Devan Lewis Education Center, which contains three studios and a gallery. The museum started using a new logo that September. The Brooklyn Museum building is a steel frame structure clad in masonry, designed in
504-484: A Persian art gallery opened two months later. The remodeled entrance was officially dedicated on October 5, 1935. That December, the museum's medieval art gallery opened. A gallery for industrial art was also proposed behind the western wing but was not built. The museum's remodeling was completed in October 1937. Several collections, including Egyptian and Assyrian art, Renaissance art, and textiles were displayed to
672-482: A coalition of Brooklyn-based arts organizations. The gallery occupied a narrow corridor at ground level. Henri Ghent, the director of the Community Gallery, estimated in 1970 that "perhaps 100,000" additional patrons had been attracted to the museum after the gallery opened, including black patrons who had never before visited a museum. The Brooklyn Museum continued to experience financial shortfalls in
840-419: A complementary, neoclassical way. By 1896, Grand Army Plaza sported four towering granite columns adorned with carved fasces and eagles at the base, though the bronze eagles atop the columns would not be installed until 1902. Granite fencing with decorative bronze urns replaced simple wooden fencing, and polygonal granite pavilions on the east and west corners of the park supplanted earlier rustic shelters. All
1008-459: A croquet lawn, a sailboat pond, a maze, and a summer house. By 1868, the open portions of Prospect Park were patronized by 100,000 people per month, and several miles of roads, paths, and walkways had been completed. The land for Prospect Park's Parade Ground was acquired that year. A series of pedestrian arches to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the park were also built during this time. Over 200 benches were installed to accommodate
1176-407: A dedicated space adjoining the museum; the gallery was popular among guests but did not have enough funding from the museum itself. By late 1973, twenty percent of the museum's staff professionals had resigned amid a dispute involving director Duncan F. Cameron 's firing of another employee, eventually prompting Cameron's own resignation that year. Further staff disputes complicated the search for
1344-438: A favorite resort for all classes of our community, enabling thousands to enjoy pure air, with healthful exercise, at all seasons of the year..." He also thought a public park would attract wealthy residents. Stranahan originally envisioned one large park extending eastward to Jamaica, Queens . However, the city's rapid development made this impossible, and today, the largest remnants of this proposed landscape are Prospect Park and
1512-566: A large park nearby. The original impetus to build Prospect Park stemmed from an April 18, 1859, act of the New York State Legislature, empowering a twelve-member commission to recommend sites for parks in the City of Brooklyn . At the time, Brooklyn was the world's first commuter suburb , and it became the third largest city in the country from 1860 to 1880, behind New York City (which then included Manhattan and parts of
1680-502: A low saucer dome . The modern main entrance, dating to Polshek's 2004 renovation, consists of a glass pavilion with four metal pylons, as well as a semicircular plaza just outside. A set of brick piers , which had supported the original entrance staircase, was repurposed into a brick arch in 2004. The pavilions at either end of the Eastern Parkway facade protrude only slightly from the facade and contain engaged columns in
1848-496: A master plan in March 1986. The plan involved doubling the amount of exhibition space in the building from 450,000 to 830,000 square feet (42,000 to 77,000 m ). At the time, the museum could only exhibit about five percent of its collection simultaneously, as its building was one-sixth as large as originally planned. The museum was to expand its storage, classroom, and conservation facilities and add an auditorium. Buck met with
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#17327718696992016-463: A myriad of perspectives so that the features could be enjoyed in any order. Olmsted was more involved with the general design of Prospect Park, while Vaux was more involved with specific details. They created the large Long Meadow out of hilly upland pasture interspersed with peat bogs. They also moved and planted trees, hauled topsoil and created a vast unfolding turf with trees placed both separately and in groups. The designers wanted Lookout Hill to be
2184-868: A nascent historic preservation movement. In September 1964, the Parks Department was within forty-eight hours of demolishing the Boathouse on the Lullwater . At the time the structure was underutilized; the boat concession only operated on weekends and its peak traffic was fewer than ten people per hour. However, the Boathouse shared many architectural design features with the famous station. A preservation group, The Friends of Prospect Park, including in its membership, poet and longtime Brooklyn resident Marianne Moore , built public awareness over disappearing historical structures and threatened flora within
2352-778: A new "Community Gallery", supported at first by the New York State Council on the Arts ; he worked at the museum till 1972. Ghent's first exhibition, Contemporary Afro-American Arts (1968), included artists Joe Overstreet , Kay Brown , Frank Smith, and Otto Neals . In 1999–2000, the Sensation exhibition of Charles Saatchi 's collection provoked controversy for its inclusion of works such as Chris Ofili 's The Holy Virgin Mary . The exhibition prompted then-mayor Rudolph Giuliani to threaten to withhold city funding from
2520-802: A one-year renovation. That December, a $ 40 million renovation of the Vale of Cashmere was announced. The last two ball fields on Long Meadow reopened in early 2023 after several years of renovations. During mid-2023, the New York City government considered erecting tents in Prospect Park to temporarily house asylum seekers. The Prospect Park Alliance reopened Fallkill Falls to the public in October 2023; prior to Fallkill Falls' reopening, trespassers regularly accessed it. The organization announced in January 2024 that an abandoned comfort station at
2688-494: A pair of one-story structures, which share a planted roof. The rink's ceiling contains abstract light-colored streaks on a blue background, which are intended to represent skaters' movements. Also part of the LeFrak Center is a building with a cafe, offices, and event space. Parkside Avenue, a roughly west–east street, divides the southwestern part of Prospect Park from the rest of the park. This detached sliver of parkland
2856-424: A place of broad views out over Prospect Lake, the farmland beyond, and the bay and ocean in the distance. To create an illusion of an expansive space, Olmsted and Vaux designed the paths in Prospect Park to be meandering. In Olmsted and Vaux's final plan for the park, it was divided into three distinct zones: an open section, a wooded section, and a waterside section. The Parade Ground at the far southwestern corner
3024-622: A replacement director, and many employees went on strike in 1974 because they wanted to form a labor union. By the mid-1970s, there were plans to split the Brooklyn Children's Museum and the Brooklyn Museum Art School from the Brooklyn Museum. At the time, the museum received $ 1.5 million per year from the city. Four galleries for Korean and Japanese art opened at the museum in October 1974, and
3192-517: A roadway or path that was being built. The first section of the park opened to the public on October 19, 1867, while it was still under construction. The segment that was open to the public included part of the East Drive between the north end of the park, at modern-day Grand Army Plaza, and Coney Island Avenue at the southeast corner. The park initially contained the Playground, which had
3360-581: A series of special exhibits and events in 2024. The Brooklyn Museum has been building a collection of Egyptian artifacts since the beginning of the twentieth century, incorporating both collections purchased from others, such as that of American Egyptologist Charles Edwin Wilbour , whose heirs also donated his library to become the museum's Wilbour Library of Egyptology, and objects obtained during museum-sponsored archeological excavations. The Egyptian collection includes objects ranging from statuary, such as
3528-407: A system of parkways to connect to Prospect Park, though only two were built: Ocean Parkway , running to Coney Island in the south, and Eastern Parkway , running to Crown Heights in the east. Overall, the city of Brooklyn spent more than $ 4 million to acquire the parkland, while the actual cost of construction amounted to more than $ 5 million. Stranahan was regarded by his 19th-century peers as
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#17327718696993696-462: A utilitarian brick stable was constructed on the park's western side. The same year, Brooklyn mayor Seth Low did not reappoint Stranahan or the other commissioners, a change that neither Stranahan nor the other commissioners actively opposed. Stranahan, for his part, was becoming more engaged in other Brooklyn concerns. The action, however, did signal a change in the style of park management, which grew to embrace neoclassicism. Simultaneously during
3864-551: Is an art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn . At 560,000 square feet (52,000 m ), the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heights , Crown Heights , Flatbush , and Park Slope neighborhoods of Brooklyn, the museum's Beaux-Arts building was designed by McKim, Mead & White . The Brooklyn Museum
4032-527: Is bound by Prospect Park West and the neighborhood of Park Slope to the northwest; Prospect Park Southwest and the Windsor Terrace neighborhood to the southwest and west; Parkside Avenue, Ocean Avenue , Flatbush Avenue , and the neighborhood of Flatbush to the south and southeast; and Grand Army Plaza and the neighborhood of Prospect Heights to the north. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux engineered Prospect Park to recreate in real space
4200-470: Is bounded by Parkside Avenue to the north, Coney Island Avenue to the west, Caton Avenue to the south, and Parade Place to the east. It contains the Parade Ground, which has fifteen numbered courts and fields for various sports. All of the waterways in Prospect Park are part of a single man-made watercourse. A winding naturalistic stream channel with several ponds feeds a 60-acre (24 ha) lake at
4368-466: Is the highest among a string of hills that extends into the park, including Sullivan, Breeze, and Lookout hills. The area was originally forested, but became open pasture after two centuries of European colonization. Significant stands of trees remained only in the peat bogs centered south of Ninth and Flatbush Avenues, as well as in a large bog north of Ninth Street, and contained chestnut , white poplar , and oak . Some of these stands were preserved in
4536-668: Is the second-largest public park in Brooklyn, behind Marine Park . Designated as a New York City scenic landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places , Prospect Park is operated by the Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks. First proposed in legislation passed in 1859, Prospect Park was laid out by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux for the then-independent city of Brooklyn. Prospect Park opened in 1867, though it
4704-556: Is the site of the annual Brooklyn Artists Ball which has included celebrity hosts such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Liv Tyler . Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic , the Brooklyn Museum had an endowment of $ 108 million, but the museum applied for federal funding through the Paycheck Protection Program after its endowment declined by one-fifth in 2020. Amid the pandemic and its negative impact on museum revenue,
4872-830: Is the wooded area in the middle of the park and contains the headwaters of the park's watercourse. In this zone, on the northeast side of the park, there are several points of interest: the Ravine, the Vale of Cashmere, the Rose Garden, the Zucker Natural Exploration Area, and the Prospect Park Zoo . The area contains the Nethermead Arch, an elaborate triple-span bridge. Quaker Hill and the Friends Cemetery are located near
5040-663: The Brooklyn Academy of Music , the Brooklyn Botanic Garden , and the Brooklyn Children's Museum , until these organizations all became independent in the 1970s. Brooklyn mayor Charles A. Schieren agreed in January 1895 to issue $ 300,000 per year in bonds for the Brooklyn Institute museum's construction. Initially, only a single wing and pavilion on the western portion of the museum's site, measuring 210 by 50 feet (64 by 15 m) across,
5208-697: The Brooklyn Apprentices' Library in Brooklyn Heights . The library was formally incorporated November 24, 1824, and the cornerstone of the library's first building was laid in 1825 on Henry and Cranberry Street. The Library moved into the Brooklyn Lyceum building on Washington Street in 1841. The two institutions merged into the Brooklyn Institute in 1843; the institute offered exhibitions of painting and sculpture and lectures on diverse subjects. The Washington Street building
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5376-551: The Hagop Kevorkian Gallery. Prospect Park (Brooklyn) Prospect Park is a 526-acre (2.13 km ) urban park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn . The park is situated between the neighborhoods of Park Slope , Prospect Heights , Prospect Lefferts Gardens , Flatbush , and Windsor Terrace , and is adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum , Grand Army Plaza , and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden . With an area of 526 acres (213 ha), Prospect Park
5544-708: The Mark Morris Dance Center in downtown Brooklyn . For 37 years, the BSO performed at Saint Ann's Church in downtown Brooklyn, but in 2014 moved to their current performance space at the Brooklyn Museum. The change was intended to bring classical music to broader audience. In 2020, the BSO embarked on its first ever tour of Mexico, performing concerts at the Castillo de Chapultepec and at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música de México. During
5712-544: The National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1980. The Prospect Park Alliance, a non-profit organization, was created in April 1987 based on the model of the Central Park Conservancy , which had helped restore Central Park in the 1980s. Shortly afterward, NYC Parks began entering into restoration projects with the organization. The Alliance's first major project was the $ 550,000 restoration of
5880-537: The neoclassical style by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White and built by the Carlin Construction Company. The original museum building is a New York City designated landmark and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in June 1978. The museum shares a large city block with Brooklyn's Central Library , Mount Prospect Park , and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to
6048-574: The terminal moraine of the receding Wisconsin Glacier that formed Long Island , known as the Harbor Hill Moraine , established a string of hills and kettles in the northern part of the park and a lower lying outwash plain in the southern part. Mount Prospect (or Prospect Hill), near the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Eastern Parkway , is one of the tallest hills in Brooklyn, rising 200 feet (61 m) above sea level. It
6216-521: The 1880s, the quality of Prospect Park had declined through overuse and a corresponding lack of maintenance. After Brooklyn Mayor Alfred C. Chapin walked through the park in 1888, he requested that $ 100,000 be allocated for improvements. Subsequently, the Brooklyn Parks Commission embarked on a $ 200,000 program to restore the park. It repaved many of the walkways and drives, as well as replanted flora. Ornate gateways were added to
6384-521: The 1930s, "generations of Parks Department officials had lived well and got rich by diverting maintenance funds, and the park showed the result of a half century of abuse and neglect." In January 1934, newly elected Mayor Fiorello La Guardia appointed Robert Moses as the commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks (NYC Parks), a new organization that eliminated borough park commissioners. Moses would remain commissioner for
6552-582: The 1930s. In addition, the Carousel was opened in 1949 as a gift from the foundation of the late philanthropist Michael Friedsam . Moses also enacted new policies at the park, including a ban on sheep grazing at the Long Meadow. During World War II , Prospect Park hosted a portion of the city's antiaircraft defense. Three hundred soldiers manned batteries, underground ammunition dumps, observation towers, repair shops and barracks around Swan Lake in
6720-430: The 20 classical sculptures (10 Greek and 10 Roman) on the northern elevation, as well as five Persian and five Chinese sculptures on the side elevations. The eastern elevation of the facade faces Washington Avenue, where only the pavilion at the northern end was built. The rest of the eastern elevation is similar to that on Eastern Parkway, with pilasters dividing it vertically into seven bays . Unlike on Eastern Parkway,
6888-512: The 2023-2024 season, the BSO will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a series of special performances and presentations in Brooklyn as well as a trip to Mexico in February 2024. [1] . This New York City –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a United States classical music orchestra is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum
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7056-490: The 538-acre (218 ha) Forest Park in Queens. In February 1860, a group of fifteen commissioners submitted suggestions for locations of four large parks and three small parks in Brooklyn, as well as a series of boulevards to connect said parks. The largest of these proposed parks was a 320-acre (1.3 km ) plot centered on Mount Prospect and bounded by Warren Street to the north; Vanderbilt, Ninth, and Tenth Avenues to
7224-538: The African art galleries reopened in December 1976 following an expansion and renovation. The Brooklyn Museum also began renovating 21 American period rooms in 1976. Following a 1978 investigation into some of the museum's acquisitions, state attorney general Louis J. Lefkowitz recommended that the museum implement "a comprehensive code of ethics". The same year, the Brooklyn Museum partnered with Designgroup and
7392-602: The Board of Estimate appropriated $ 1.05 million for the new wings. McKim, Mead & White drew up new plans for wings F and G; by that September, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) was about to award contracts for the wings. A picture gallery opened at the museum in November 1925. The next month, museum officials dedicated the Ethnological Gallery, which was nicknamed "Rainbow House";
7560-475: The Boathouse and dredging the lake. The Rose Garden and the Vale of Cashmere had also been re-landscaped. Also part of the renovation was a restoration of the Prospect Park Carousel from 1971 to 1974, and the exterior of the Boathouse was restored in 1979. By the 1970s, Prospect Park was beset by crime; a 1974 report found that 44 percent of city residents would warn people to stay away from
7728-641: The Bronx ) and Philadelphia . During this time, concepts concerning public parks gained popularity. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux had created the design for Central Park in Manhattan, which became the first landscaped park in the United States. James S. T. Stranahan , then President of the Brooklyn Board of Park Commissioners, believed that a park in Brooklyn "would become
7896-534: The Brooklyn Museum as part of the institute's long-term plan to convert the museum into a cultural center. The museum's Egyptian galleries began undergoing renovations the same year. The renovation of the Egyptian galleries, the first phase of the museum's $ 3.5 million overhaul, was finished in November 1953. Brown, Lawford & Forbes designed a rear annex for the museum in 1955. The museum's furniture, sculpture, and watercolor galleries reopened in 1957 following
8064-553: The Brooklyn Museum's collection in the 1950s, as did the interior of a room in John D. Rockefeller Jr. 's Midtown Manhattan home. In 1967 the Federated Institutes of Cultural Enrichment (FICE), a coalition of Brooklyn-based arts organizations, demanded that the Brooklyn Museum exhibit more works by artists from the borough, especially African American artists. The museum then hired black curator Henri Ghent to direct
8232-508: The Brooklyn Museum. Brooklyn officials hosted an architectural design competition for the building, eventually awarding the contract to McKim, Mead & White . The competition was characterized in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as "one of the most important in the history of architecture", as the museum was to contain numerous divisions. The museum remained a subdivision of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, along with
8400-408: The Carousel in 1987–1989. The carousel had not operated since 1983, and its original horse-shaped seats were removed during the restoration. Nine years later, in 1996, it started a $ 4.5 million restoration of the Ravine. The Boathouse was also restored again in the late 1990s due to deterioration of the exterior terracotta. The National Audubon Society signed a lease for the Boathouse in 2000, and
8568-676: The Children's Playground and Pools in the park's northeast quadrant into the Rose Garden and the Vale of Cashmere, each a formally arranged space, in 1893–1894. Stanford White 's Maryland Monument was installed near the Terrace Bridge in 1895 in recognition of the Maryland 400 , who fought in the Battle of Long Island on the slopes of Lookout Hill. The city of Brooklyn merged with Manhattan and other outlying boroughs in 1898, creating
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#17327718696998736-506: The City of Greater New York. By the end of the century, Prospect Park saw about 15 million visitors per year. Though people were officially banned from hosting picnics and other large eating events in Prospect Park, the rule was not enforced for several years until 1903, when a surge of visitors from Manhattan led to an increase in luncheons being hosted. In 1907, lights were installed to deter couples from kissing or other intimate activity within
8904-542: The Crown" in November 2020. From June through September 2023, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of Pablo Picasso 's death, the museum hosted It's Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby , curated by Hannah Gadsby ; though the exhibition was popular, it was also highly controversial. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library's incorporation, the museum launched
9072-485: The Egyptian government to restore the Cairo Museum 's collection. Due to budget cuts, the Brooklyn Museum eliminated its Middle Eastern art division in 1979, despite the fact that the museum had frequently applied for federal grants in the preceding years, most of which had been approved from 1976 to 1978. Two of the museum's period rooms reopened in 1980 following a renovation. By then, director Michael Botwinick
9240-827: The Fallkill Bridge, through the Upper Pool and Lower Pool, where migratory birds rest and marsh and other water plants can be found. The Upper Pool abuts a dog beach, while the Long Meadow is adjacent to the Lower Pool. The water then passes under the Esdale Bridge, a footbridge over Ambergill Pond. The pond, and the Ambergill Falls just past it, was named by Olmsted and refers to the Old Norse word for "creek" . After passing through Ambergill Falls,
9408-684: The Flatbush Avenue fence repairs in 2018, and the new entrances were slated to start construction in early 2019. Construction of a dog run in the Parade Ground also started in August 2019, and the dog run opened in July 2020. In addition, Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous were selected in 2019 to design Our Destiny, Our Democracy , a monument near the Ocean and Parkside Avenue entrance. The Concert Grove Pavilion reopened in April 2021 after
9576-532: The Grand Army Plaza entrance, the statue was sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies and presented to Stranahan in June 1891. Prospect Park became widely used after its opening, and many sports were hosted there. By the late 19th century, archery was among the most popular sports being practiced on the Long Meadow, and up to 100 groups would convene on the Long Meadow to play croquet on weekend afternoons. During winters, people practiced "ice baseball" on
9744-455: The Ionic order. The west and east wings are divided vertically by pilasters ; between each set of pilasters are windows with architraves . The entablature above the pilasters contains a frieze with inscribed names of figures who represent knowledge. The Eastern Parkway facade is topped by 20 monolithic figures on the cornice: one above each pilaster on the west and east wings, and four above
9912-437: The Lake, reopened in 2017 as a composting restroom, and the Dog Beach along the watercourse's Upper Pool was renovated. The same year, the Alliance received funds to renovate the Parade Ground, the Tennis House, and ball fields. The Alliance also announced an upcoming renovation of the Rose Garden. Ball fields 6 and 7 were renovated and reopened in 2017, while ball fields 4 and 5 reopened in late 2020. Construction started on
10080-435: The Long Meadow. Though the defenses were disbanded in 1944, traces of slit trenches and sandbagged gun emplacements could still be found several years afterward. In 1959, the southern third of the Long Meadow was graded and fenced off for ballfields. Plans for the Kate Wollman Memorial Rink were approved in 1960, and the rink opened in December 1961. The rink was built on a filled-in portion of Prospect Lake, necessitating
10248-401: The Maryland Monument at Lookout Hill's foot, honor this event. The then-independent city of Brooklyn built a reservoir on Prospect Hill in 1856 to serve the western half of the city with water pumped from the Ridgewood Reservoir . The need to keep the lots around the reservoir free of development, as well as the preservation of the Battle Pass area, were cited as two reasons for establishing
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#173277186969910416-478: The New York City government and derive part of their yearly funding from the city. It was also part of the Brooklyn Educational Cultural Alliance during the late 20th century. During the late 1980s, the museum was part of a group called Destination Brooklyn, which sought to attract visitors to Brooklyn; this initiative had stalled by the early 1990s. Franklin Hooper was the Brooklyn Institute's first director, serving for 25 years until his death in 1914. Hooper
10584-422: The Ocean Parkway and Willink Plaza entrances. The commission also proposed purchasing the land around the Mount Prospect Reservoir, northeast of modern-day Prospect Park, which had been excluded from the final plan for the park. Instead, this space was developed as the Brooklyn Museum in the 1890s, followed by the Brooklyn Central Library and Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the early 20th century. The reservoir
10752-428: The Ocean and Parkside Avenue entrance would be converted into a welcome center named for Shirley Chisholm , which was expected to open in two years. A cafe opened in the Prospect Park Boathouse that July. During the November 2024 wildfire outbreak in the northeast U.S. , a fire broke out in the park, damaging 2 acres (0.81 ha) of woodland. Prospect Park occupies 526 acres (213 ha) in central Brooklyn. It
10920-517: The association allowed such sales to proceed for a two-year window through 2022 in response to the effects of the pandemic. The Brooklyn Museum's collection contains around 500,000 objects. In the twentieth century, Brooklyn Museum exhibitions sought to present an encyclopedic view of art and culture, with a focus on educating a broad public. By the 21st century, the Brooklyn Museum frequently hosted shows that promoted cultural diversity and, in particular, underrepresented demographic groups. In 1923,
11088-476: The building became the site of the nation's first urban Audubon society. The restoration of the Harmony Playground and Bandshell was completed the same year. However, other parts of Prospect Park remained neglected, such as the eastern side of the park, where the surrounding community was generally poorer than the western side. By 2000, the Wollman Rink was deteriorating, and there was a need to replace it. The Alliance soon formed plans to restore Music Island and
11256-452: The city's capital budget. Museum officials held an architectural design competition to redesign the west wing, attracting 103 competitors; they hired Arata Isozaki of James Stewart Polshek Partners that October. Isozaki's design retained much of McKim, Mead & White's original plan but included a "great hall" and trapezoidal courtyards, as well as an angled rear wall and an obelisk. Buck expressed optimism that media coverage of
11424-440: The creation of the observatory in 1907. The Brooklyn Institute awarded a construction contract for wings F and G, extending south of the central pavilion, to Benedetto & Egan in May 1911. Extending 120 feet (37 m) south and measuring 200 feet (61 m) wide, this addition was to contain a central court with a glass roof. That July, McKim, Mead & White filed plans for wings F and G. The Brooklyn Institute converted
11592-414: The design competition would attract additional visitors, even if the master plan was never completely carried out. The scope of the renovation grew quickly, with estimated costs reaching $ 200 million by early 1988. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor donated $ 3.5 million for the museum's auditorium in 1989, and the city gave another $ 2 million for other work. The Brooklyn Museum announced in 1990 that it would begin
11760-555: The directorship's endowment. According to the museum's website, it receives funding from the city government , Brooklyn borough president 's office, mayor's office, New York City Council , state government , federal government , and other agencies. In 2005, the museum was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $ 20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation , in turn funded by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg . Major benefactors have historically included Frank Lusk Babbott . The museum
11928-420: The early 1970s. Due to a shortage of security guards, in mid-1971, museum officials announced that they would close the museum two days per week, allowing all galleries to remain open even with limited security. The museum also reopened its 23 period rooms that October after a yearlong closure, and they also opened a new period room, themed to a private study. Officials planned to move the Community Gallery to
12096-532: The elaborate decoration which so often clutters up the entrances of public building." Following a 2011 renovation, the lobby was redesigned as a double-height central gallery surrounded by 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) columns. The Brooklyn Museum is operated by a nonprofit of the same name, which was established in 1935. The museum is part of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a group of institutions that occupy land or buildings owned by
12264-403: The first phase of renovation, which was to cost $ 31 million. This involved converting the offices in the west wing to about 64,000 square feet (5,900 m ) of gallery space for its Egyptian collection, as well as building storage space and an auditorium. The same year, budget cuts prompted museum officials to lay off employees and close its doors on Mondays. The auditorium opened in 1991; at
12432-477: The formal opening of the museum. The Brooklyn Institute's museum formally opened on October 2, 1897, and was one of the last major structures built in the city of Brooklyn before the formation of the City of Greater New York in 1898. The Brooklyn Institute approved the construction of the central entrance pavilion in May 1899, and Hooper requested $ 600,000 for this addition the next month. The four-story structure
12600-417: The gallery was designed by curator Stewart Culin . A Japanese art gallery opened at the museum in April 1927, and the museum's Swiss Gothic, German, and Venetian galleries opened that May. Construction of the Brooklyn Museum stalled in 1928 after years of attempts to complete it. At the time, only 28 of the 80 proposed statues atop the building's facade had been installed, and the main north–south corridor
12768-417: The grass rather than travel on designated routes. Prospect Park was substantially complete in 1873, but with the financial panic of that year , Olmsted and Vaux stopped collaborating on the park's construction. Some of the originally envisioned facets of the park, such as an observation tower, a terraced restaurant, and a top -shaped Carriage Concourse, were not built. Olmsted and Vaux had also planned for
12936-441: The ground-level auditorium, was built during the mid-20th century as a modern-style space. Although then-director Philip Newell Youtz was the architect of record , the lobby's design may have been influenced by William Lescaze , who was Youtz's friend. The lobby, containing black-glass panels and indirect lighting, was described in the 1939 WPA Guide to New York City as "an example of the best in modern architecture... devoid of
13104-545: The heads of all of the museum's departments to determine how much exhibit and storage space they needed. The museum also planned a new entrance from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which had twice as many annual visitors; the Botanic Garden entrance had been planned by McKim, Mead & White but never executed. The project was expected to cost $ 50 million to $ 100 million, which was to be funded by
13272-504: The island, were restored using a $ 10 million grant, and were officially rededicated in October 2012. The Prospect Park Alliance subsequently completed or proposed more restoration projects for the park. Long Meadow ball field 1 was rebuilt between 2013 and 2014. The following year, the Alliance announced some projects on Prospect Park's eastern side, including the $ 200,000 restoration of Battle Pass. The Alliance also intended to restore
13440-514: The lack of space in the building, the lobby and auditorium were being used to exhibit artwork. The Brooklyn Institute had been forced to decline some donations of artwork, as the works could not be displayed, while other works of art had to be placed in storage. By 1920, the New York City Subway 's Institute Park station had opened outside the Brooklyn Museum, greatly improving access to the once-isolated museum from Manhattan and
13608-485: The lake's northern shore. It is the outlet for the Lullwater, a meandering stream. The Lullwater contains the classical-style Boathouse , a city- and federally-designated landmark, on the Lullwater's eastern shore. To the south, along the lake's eastern shore, are the White Levy Esplanade, as well as the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, a multipurpose recreation center. The LeFrak Center at Lakeside consists of
13776-536: The lake. Ice skating was also a common sport, and was frequently practiced on the lake during the winter. Because picnicking was banned in Central Park, and generally disapproved-of in many other parks in Manhattan, Prospect Park became a popular picnic spot. However, this also resulted in litter, and by 1881, The New York Times was receiving complaints about a lack of cleanliness in the park. No new structures were constructed in Prospect Park until 1882, when
13944-530: The land. Then, the roads, bridle paths, and walks within Prospect Park were graded and individual features were landscaped. Three scenic roads, the West, Center, and East Drives, were built within the perimeters of the park. Depending on the time of year, between 250 and 2,000 workers were employed. Much of the landscaping focused on removing obstructions such as pits and swamps, and enhancing other natural features such as hills. Trees were only removed if they blocked
14112-418: The last remaining storage rooms in the eastern wing into galleries in October 1911. The next month, a temporary access road was built from Flatbush Avenue to the rear of the building. Wills & Martin, one of the firms that had been hired to erect the new wings, declared bankruptcy in November 1913. Work stopped completely in November 1914, and the incomplete structures started to deteriorate. Because of
14280-690: The late 20th century following major renovations. Significant areas of the collection include antiquities, specifically their collection of Egyptian antiquities spanning over 3,000 years. European , African , Oceanic , and Japanese art make for notable antiquities collections as well. American art is heavily represented, starting at the Colonial period. Artists represented in the collection include Mark Rothko , Edward Hopper , Norman Rockwell , Judy Chicago , Winslow Homer , Edgar Degas , Georgia O'Keeffe , and Max Weber . The Brooklyn Museum's origins date to August 1823, when Augustus Graham founded
14448-572: The late 20th century spurred the creation of the Prospect Park Alliance, which refurbished many parts of the park from the 1980s through the 2020s. Main attractions of the park include the 90-acre (36 ha) Long Meadow; the Picnic House; Litchfield Villa ; Prospect Park Zoo ; the Boathouse ; Concert Grove ; Brooklyn's only lake, covering 60 acres (24 ha); and the Prospect Park Bandshell that hosts outdoor concerts in
14616-540: The major entrances of the park gained similar neoclassical treatments. By the turn of the twentieth century, sculptures by Frederick MacMonnies graced the Arch and works by MacMonnies and Alexander Proctor adorned many of the entrances. Neoclassical structures appeared elsewhere within the park. McKim, Mead and White designed the Ocean Parkway and Willink entrances, which opened in 1890. The same firm transformed
14784-480: The mid-2010s, the museum was facing financial difficulties, and half of the 465,000 annual patrons did not pay admission because of the museum's suggested admission policy. The Brooklyn Museum's Chinese-art gallery reopened in 2019. The museum was temporarily closed from March to October 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City . During the George Floyd protests in New York City in June 2020,
14952-537: The modern-day Prospect Park Ravine and nicknamed "The Last Forest of Brooklyn". During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the park was a site of the Battle of Long Island (aka Battle of Brooklyn). American forces attempted to hold Battle Pass , an opening in the terminal moraine where the old Flatbush Road passed from the villages of Brooklyn to Flatbush , where a large white oak tree
15120-524: The museum began providing a larger variety of programs and adding interactive exhibits and programming. The Brooklyn Museum announced in 1964 that it would build a special-exhibit gallery on the first floor and an open study/storage gallery on the fifth floor. The Hall of the Americas opened on the museum's first floor the following May. A sculpture garden, consisting of architectural details salvaged from demolished buildings across New York City, opened at
15288-419: The museum building to a movie set. The primary elevation of the facade, facing north along Eastern Parkway, is 510 feet (160 m) wide and consists of the west and east wings, which flank a projecting pavilion with a portico . Additional pavilions project from the facade at either end. The center portico contains six Ionic columns that support a pediment with sculptures in its tympanum . The portico
15456-578: The museum building. The Henry Luce Foundation gave the museum a $ 10 million grant in 2001, which funded the construction of the Luce Center for American Art on the fifth floor. The museum's renovation was completed in April 2004. At the same time, the museum announced that it would revert to its previous name, Brooklyn Museum. By then, the Brooklyn Museum was focusing on attracting Brooklyn residents, rather than visitors from other boroughs. The Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art opened on
15624-560: The museum had natural-history exhibits, which had not been the case since 1934. Brooklyn Museum officials hired architect James Polshek in 2000 to design a new glass-clad entrance for the building at a cost of $ 55 million. Polshek described the front entrance as a "wasteland" at the time, and he said he wanted to build "Brooklyn's new front stoop". The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved Polshek's design, despite opposition from preservationists. The renovation cost $ 63 million and also added air conditioning throughout
15792-705: The museum in April 1966. The Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art began coordinating joint programs and exhibitions in 1967. By the late 1960s, the museum was again facing a funding shortage; several galleries had been temporarily closed due to a lack of money, and its director Thomas Buechner was considering closing the museum two days a week. Brooklyn Museum officials also wanted to hire additional security guards to deter crime. The Brooklyn Museum's Community Gallery, exhibiting black New Yorkers' art, opened in October 1968 following advocacy from Federated Institutes of Cultural Enrichment (FICE),
15960-557: The museum participated in the Open Your Lobby initiative, being one of two major art institutions in New York City (along with MoMA PS1 ) to provide protesters with shelter or resources. The Brooklyn Museum received $ 50 million from the New York City government in 2021, the largest such gift in the museum's history. The money was to be used to renovate 40,000 square feet (3,700 m ) into gallery space. The museum's South Asian and Islamic galleries reopened in 2022, completing
16128-512: The museum raised funds for an endowment to pay for collections care by selling or deaccessioning works of art. The October 2020 sale consisted of 12 works by artists including Lucas Cranach the Elder , Gustave Courbet , and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot , while other sales throughout that month included Modernist artists. Though usually prohibited by the Association of Art Museum Directors ,
16296-417: The museum was forced to close some galleries part-time. Another Egyptian gallery opened in April 1959, and a "pattern library" for teaching opened that July. A continued shortage of security guards forced the Brooklyn Museum to close two days a week at the beginning of 1961; the museum went back to seven-day operations in June 1961 after the city provided money for additional guards. To attract visitors,
16464-414: The museum was hosted on December 14 of the same year. Two of the museum's three stories had been completed by April 1896. The Brooklyn Institute museum's building was completed in March 1897 after a sidewalk was built between the museum's entrance and Eastern Parkway. The museum's first exhibit was a collection of almost 600 paintings, which had opened to the public on June 1, 1897, several months before
16632-568: The museum was one of the first U.S. institutions to exhibit African cast-metal and other objects as art, rather than as ethnological artifacts. The museum's acquisitions during this time also included such varied objects as the interior of a Swiss house, a stained glass window, and a pipe organ. The museum's first period room opened in 1929; these period rooms represented middle-class and non-elite citizens' homes, in contrast to other museums. which tended to focus on upper-class period rooms. The 17th-century Jans Martense Schenck house became part of
16800-404: The museum's Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art . In 2004, the Brooklyn Museum featured Manifest Destiny , an 8-by-24-foot (2.4 m × 7.3 m) oil-on-wood mural by Alexis Rockman that was commissioned by the museum as a centerpiece for the second-floor Mezzanine Gallery and marked the opening of the museum's renovated Grand Lobby and plaza. Other exhibitions have showcased
16968-590: The museum's collection—second-largest in North America are fake. The artworks were exhibited starting in 2009. In early to mid-2018, the museum hosted what was the final stop of the touring exhibit David Bowie Is , which had begun in 2013 in London and visited nearly a dozen countries before reaching the Brooklyn Museum. Costumes from The Crown and The Queen's Gambit television series were put on display as part of its virtual exhibition "The Queen and
17136-602: The museum's director in April 1997, and Lehman announced in September 2014 that he would retire the next year. In May 2015, Creative Time president and artistic director Anne Pasternak was named the museum's next director; she assumed the position on September 1, 2015. Since 2014, the director's position has formally been known as the Shelby White and Leon Levy Director of the Brooklyn Museum , after Leon Levy Foundation cofounder Shelby White donated $ 5 million to
17304-475: The museum's fourth floor in March 2007. The museum extensively renovated its Great Hall, which reopened in early 2011, and it relocated and reopened its African art gallery on the first floor the same year. A 4,150-square-foot (386 m ) museum shop opened at the Brooklyn Museum in early 2012, followed later that year by a new cafe. The upscale restaurant Saul opened within the Brooklyn Museum in October 2013, changing its name to The Norm in 2016. By
17472-431: The museum's permanent collections, and the light courts would have exhibited large objects. The second floor would have housed more collections and lecture rooms, while the third floor would have had the library, music room, and galleries for images, domestic art, and science. An additional story, above the central part of the building, would have housed more departments of the museum. The main lobby, originally occupied by
17640-461: The museum's sixth floor the same year. The department store chain Abraham & Straus donated $ 50,000 in 1948 for the establishment of a "laboratory of industrial design" at the Brooklyn Museum. By the following year, Brooklyn Institute officials sought to expand the museum as part of a "vast cultural program". The plans involved an annex with a 2,500-seat auditorium behind the west wing, which
17808-560: The museum, which struggled to compete with more famous institutions in Manhattan. In 1984, the museum completed the renovations of its last period rooms and opened a gallery for "early-19th-century decorative arts". The unprofitable Brooklyn Museum Art School was closed the same year, and the museum obtained $ 14 million in city funding to upgrade the climate-control systems. The museum resumed Monday operations in late 1984 after receiving additional city funding, and it started running TV advertisements in 1985. The Brooklyn Museum announced
17976-403: The museum. In the resulting lawsuit, a U.S. district court judge ruled that the New York City government could not withhold city funds from the Brooklyn Museum on First Amendment grounds. In 2002, the museum received the work The Dinner Party , by feminist artist Judy Chicago , as a gift from The Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation. Its permanent exhibition began in 2007, as a centerpiece for
18144-513: The neoclassical style. Two now-demolished structures were also constructed on the peninsula, the Model Yacht Club House (1900–1956) and a shelter (1915 – c. 1940s ). Olmsted was said to have been "distressed" by these modifications to the park's original plan. From World War I to the mayoral administration of Fiorello La Guardia in the 1930s, investment in park infrastructure declined. A two-story brick building
18312-573: The new LeFrak Center, a year-round recreational facility. Work on the LeFrak Center began in 2009, and the Wollman Rink had been demolished by 2011. The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside was completed in December 2013 at a cost of $ 74 million. As part of the Wollman Rink's replacement, plans for the restored Music Island were announced in 2009. The Chaim Baier Music Island, and the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade overlooking
18480-425: The new visitors. Rustic wooden shelters with "various oblong and polygonal shapes" were placed along the shore of Prospect Park's lake and were designed to be used as scenic overlooks. Several bridges and eight hundred bird houses were installed to enhance the park's rustic quality. In its 1870 annual report, the Brooklyn park commissioners reported that the lake was nearly completed, and that widening of nearby streets
18648-402: The next seven years, the city invested $ 17 million in cleaning up the park, including $ 10 million in federal funds from a Community Development Block Grant . Annual visitor numbers had nearly tripled to 5 million between 1980 and 1987. During this period, Prospect Park also received two historic designations: it was made a New York City scenic landmark on November 25, 1975, and was listed on
18816-400: The next twenty-six years, leaving significant impacts on the city's parks. Moses used federal monies made available to relieve Depression -era unemployment, and this resulted in a boom in construction at Prospect Park. The Prospect Park Zoo opened in 1935 on the east side of the park, replacing the former Menagerie. The Bandshell and five playgrounds were also constructed toward the end of
18984-462: The north side of the Lake originally provided the water for the watercourse, and was connected to an underground aquifer . The Well House became outdated when Prospect Park was connected to the New York City water supply system in the early 20th century. By the 21st century, Fallkill Falls was fed by a pipe from the city's water system. The water from Fallkill Falls runs into Fallkill Pool, past
19152-526: The onset of the Civil War stopped further activity, and the boulevards and smaller parks were pushed back. The delay prompted some reflection; Stranahan invited Calvert Vaux to review Viele's plans early in 1865. Vaux took issue with Flatbush Avenue's division of the park, thought that the park should have a lake, and urged for southward expansion beyond the city limits and into the then-independent town of Flatbush . Vaux's February 1865 proposal reflected
19320-445: The opening of the eastern wing, the museum building had reached one-eighth of its total planned size. Although the museum's collections continued to grow, the New York City government was only willing to give the museum as little funding as necessary for essential maintenance. Several of the institute's donors proposed in 1905 to give $ 25,000 for the upkeep of an "astronomical observatory" at the Brooklyn Museum. City officials endorsed
19488-466: The original shoreline, both obliterated by the construction of the original rink in 1960. Several Moses-era playgrounds and the Bandshell were retained because their venues were popular. Original rustic summer houses were restored or recreated on the shores of Prospect Park Lake, along the Lullwater and in the Ravine. As part of the restoration plans, the Wollman Rink was to be replaced by two rinks in
19656-410: The other boroughs. In April 1922, governor Nathan L. Miller signed legislation authorizing the New York City government to issue bonds to fund wings F and G of the Brooklyn Museum. The New York City Board of Estimate refused to approve the Brooklyn Institute trustees' request for $ 875,000, and mayor John Francis Hylan also blocked the funding. Hylan changed his mind after visiting the museum, and
19824-460: The outflow of water from the lake using a valve. By the mid-20th century, these artificial waterways and the steep slopes around them had lost their original design character. In 1994, the Prospect Park Alliance launched a 25-year $ 43-million restoration project for the watercourse. The water in Prospect Park originates at the top of Fallkill Falls in the center of the park, just north of Quaker Hill and east of Long Meadow. The Well House on
19992-504: The park under any circumstances. Much of Prospect Park suffered soil erosion and lack of maintenance caused the landscape to deteriorate. By 1979, park attendance dropped to two million, the lowest recorded level in the history of the park. The mayoral administration of Ed Koch formed plans in 1980 to turn over the administration of the troubled Prospect Park Zoo to the Wildlife Conservation Society . Over
20160-723: The park. At the same time, the city embarked on an improvement program at Prospect Park by cleaning out the landscape, constructing the Bartel-Pritchard Square entrance, and removing an old boathouse that had been supplanted by the Boathouse on the Lullwater. The construction of structures continued in the first decade of the 20th century. The neoclassical Peristyle (1904), Boathouse (1905), Tennis House (1910), and Willink Comfort Station (1912) were all designed by Helmle, Hudswell and Huberty, alumni and proteges of McKim, Mead, and White. The entrances into Prospect Park that were constructed during this time were also in
20328-431: The park. In exchange, they retained the remaining 10 acres for their private cemetery in perpetuity, as well as the rights to access the cemetery. Despite the repercussions of Vaux's revisions, Stranahan championed the revised proposal. Vaux recruited Olmsted and formally presented the plan in February 1866. The revised plan was accepted by May. Construction started the following month, and initial work focused on draining
20496-407: The park. Public pressure induced Park Commissioner Newbold Morris to rescind the decision to demolish the Boathouse in December 1964. Projects to restore Prospect Park were taken up by the late 1960s. In 1965, the city allocated $ 450,000 to renovate the Vale of Cashmere and the Rose Garden ahead of Brooklyn's 300th anniversary, and the park's 100th anniversary, the following year. Another $ 225,000
20664-431: The park. These included $ 2.5 million for renovating Lefferts Historic House, $ 2 million to rebuild pathways, $ 1.75 million for replacing fencing on Ocean Avenue, $ 750,000 for renovating the ballfields on Long Meadow, and $ 500,000 for the Carousel's restoration. In addition, $ 100,000 was earmarked for the installation of an experimental running surface on Park Drive, and through a participatory budgeting program, residents of
20832-679: The pastoral, picturesque, and aesthetic ideals expressed in contemporary paintings. The overall design was inspired partially by Birkenhead Park in the United Kingdom. Prospect Park had recent precedents in the pastoral style, notably Mount Auburn Cemetery near Boston and Green-Wood Cemetery a few blocks away. Olmsted and Vaux felt they had greater success in Brooklyn because of the lack of obstacles there, but they were also assisted in part by park commissioner James Stranahan's patronage and support of their plan. The two designers wanted visitors to be able to traverse Prospect Park with
21000-485: The pavilion, but they had not done so by the end of 1899. Work on the central wing started in June 1900. The museum's central section was nearly completed by January 1903, but work proceeded slowly due to labor disputes. New York City mayor Seth Low signed a bill in August 1902, approving $ 150,000 for the construction of the Brooklyn Institute's eastern wing and pavilion. The eastern wing cost $ 344,000 to construct, and it officially opened on December 14, 1907. With
21168-682: The pavilions. An additional ten figures, five each on the western and eastern elevations of the outermost pavilions, were sculpted. The sculptures were carved by the Piccirilli Brothers , who sculpted a total of 30 figures on the museum's facade. Fourteen sculptors were hired to design the sculptures, which each measure 12 feet (3.7 m) high. Had the full building been completed, there would have been 80 sculptures in total, with 20 each depicting classical subjects, medieval and Renaissance subjects, modern European and American subjects, and Asian subjects. The 30 extant sculptures consist of
21336-423: The pilasters are topped by shorter pilasters rather than sculptures. The southern elevation faces a parking lot and contains a masonry facade and some windows. There is also an annex to the south, designed by Brown, Lawford & Forbes, which contains a secondary entrance and a stairway. The oldest portion of the building measured 193 by 71 feet (59 by 22 m) and comprised only about three percent of what
21504-563: The plot constituted just over five percent of the park's acreage. Much of this acreage houses the maintenance yards and is rarely seen by the public. In 1866, the New York state legislature passed a bill approving the acquisition of additional land on the southwest side of the park. The park was built around the preexisting Quaker cemetery, which was accommodated by an agreement under which the Society of Friends deeded their unused acreage to
21672-622: The present layout of the park: three distinctive regions, meadow in the north and west, a wooded ravine in the east, and a lake in the south, without being divided by Flatbush Avenue. Vaux included an oval plaza at the northern end of the park, which would later become Grand Army Plaza . The revised plan called for the purchase of additional parcels to the south and west to accommodate Prospect Lake, but it excluded parcels already purchased east of Flatbush Avenue, including Prospect Hill itself. In addition, engineer-in-charge Joseph P. Davis and assistants John Bogart and John Y. Culyer were named to work on
21840-570: The project diminished. Only the wings on the northern end, as well as the northeastern light court (known as the Auditorium Court), were built; the resulting L-shaped building covers a site of about 4.5 acres (1.8 ha). Although additional wings were built behind the original east wing over the years (creating the current light court), nothing was built behind the west wing. This led the New York Daily News to liken
22008-565: The project. By then, land speculation was underway. The plot bounded by Ninth and Tenth Avenues between Third and Fifteenth Streets was held by real estate developer Edwin Clarke Litchfield, who had erected his home, Litchfield Manor , on the east side of Ninth Avenue in 1857. The Parks Commission ultimately acquired the Litchfield plot in 1868 for $ 1.7 million, forty-two percent of the overall expenditure for land, even though
22176-514: The public for the first time. By early 1938, museum officials sought more than $ 300,000 for repairs to the museum building, and then-director Philip Newell Youtz said that parts of the building were crumbling. The Brooklyn Museum Art School , formerly a part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music , was moved to the Brooklyn Museum in 1941. An art distribution center sponsored by the Works Progress Administration opened on
22344-473: The removal of Music Island and the panoramic view of the lake created by Olmsted and Vaux. To make the park more visually appealing, NYC Parks also began to clear the area of weeds and invasive species, though this had the unintended effect of hastening erosion. It was not unusual in the Moses years, and especially the decade after his departure, to quietly remove underutilized or redundant structures. To do so
22512-466: The second stage of the renovation. The rear annex contained a new stairway, which led to new galleries on the fourth through sixth stories of the center section. By the late 1950s, the museum was running low on funds, with director Edgar C. Schenck blaming the museum's fiscal woes on Manhattan residents' unwillingness to cross the East River to visit Brooklyn. Due to a shortage of security guards,
22680-452: The south end of the park. In designing the watercourse, Olmsted and Vaux also took advantage of the preexisting glacier-formed kettle ponds and lowland outwash plains to create a drainage basin centered around the waterway. They crafted the watercourse to include a steep, forested Ravine with significant river edge flora and fauna habitats. As a result, the watercourse is able to accommodate significant bird and fish populations. Much of
22848-532: The southwest boundary of Prospect Park. Lookout Hill, as well as a large open space called the Nethermead, are located to the south and east of Quaker Hill, respectively. The Ravine also contains the Midwood, an old-growth forest incorporated into Prospect Park during its construction. The third zone is along the park's south side and consists of Prospect Lake, as well as a peninsula jutting eastward from
23016-706: The summertime. The park also has sports facilities, including the Prospect Park Tennis Center, basketball courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, and the New York Pétanque Club in the Parade Ground. There is also a private Society of Friends (Quaker) cemetery on Quaker Hill near the ball fields. In addition, Prospect Park is part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway , a network of green spaces that stretch across western Long Island . Approximately 17,000 years ago,
23184-442: The surrounding communities allocated funds for other projects such as new drinking fountains, a dog run, community barbecue sites, and an aquatic weed harvester. Also in 2016, as part of a project to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the Prospect Park Alliance used goats to clean up the shrubbery in woodlands around the Vale of Cashmere, then re-landscaped the sites at a cost of $ 727,000. The Well House, located on
23352-488: The time, there had not been an auditorium at the museum for over half a century. About 33,000 square feet (3,100 m ) in the museum's west wing reopened as gallery space in November 1993. The renovation retained the original layout of the west-wing spaces. The New York Times described Isozaki and Polshek's renovation as aiming for "clean, serene spaces"; the rooms had rooms with maple floors, white walls, horizontal lighting strips, and granite baseboards . The west wing
23520-428: The true "Father of Prospect Park", a reputation established through his 22-year reign as Park Commission president (1860–1882), engagement of Olmsted and Vaux, overseeing complex land acquisitions, securing funding to build the park, and after the park's completion, defending the park against changes that were not compatible with the overall design. A statue of James S. T. Stranahan was proposed in 1890. Located inside
23688-539: The water-damaged Oriental Pavilion for $ 2 million and replace fencing on Flatbush Avenue for $ 2.4 million. In 2016, the Alliance also received $ 3.2 million from NYC Parks' Parks Without Borders program to construct two new entrances on Flatbush Avenue, the park's first new entrances in over 70 years, as well as rebuild the Willink entrance. During the city's 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2016, politicians also contributed funds toward various restoration projects in
23856-404: The watercourse is lined with vegetation that is designed to absorb precipitation and additional water flow. Olmsted also included an expansive drainage system, which is still in use and extends under the Long Meadow, Ravine, and Nethermead. About two-thirds of Prospect Park Lake's water typically evaporates. However, to prevent flooding after heavy precipitation, Prospect Park employees can control
24024-633: The well-known "Bird Lady" terra cotta figure, to papyrus documents (among others the Brooklyn Papyrus ). The museum has nine mummified Egyptians. The Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern collections are housed in a series of galleries in the museum. Egyptian artifacts can be found in the long-term exhibit, Egypt Reborn: Art for Eternity , as well as in the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Galleries. Near Eastern artifacts are located in
24192-405: The west and south. The original design for the Brooklyn Museum proposed a structure four times as large as what was built from 1893 through 1927, when construction ended. As designed, the three-story museum building was supposed to have several wings, centered around a memorial hall and clustered around four light courts . After Brooklyn became part of greater New York City in 1898, support for
24360-548: The west; Third and Ninth Streets to the south; and Washington Avenue to the east. Egbert Viele began drawing plans for "Mount Prospect Park", as the space was initially called, and published his proposal in 1861. The park was to straddle Flatbush Avenue and include Prospect Hill, as well as the land now occupied by the Brooklyn Public Library , Brooklyn Botanic Garden , and Brooklyn Museum . By late 1860, land had been purchased for Viele's plan. However,
24528-543: The works of various contemporary artists including Patrick Kelly , Chuck Close , Denis Peterson , Ron Mueck , Takashi Murakami , Mat Benote , Kiki Smith , Jim Dine , Robert Rauschenberg , Ching Ho Cheng , Sylvia Sleigh William Wegman , Jimmy de Sana , Oscar yi Hou , Baseera Khan , Loraine O'Grady , John Edmonds , Cecilia Vicuña , and a 2004 survey show of work by Brooklyn artists, Open House: Working in Brooklyn . In 2008, curator Edna Russman announced that she believes 10 out of 30 works of Coptic art held in
24696-537: Was allocated to renovate the boathouse, and $ 249,000 was allotted to overall renovations. The city renovated part of the Long Meadow on the northwest side of the park, as well as the children's farm. However, some of the contracts were delayed, including renovations to the Boathouse and the tennis courts, as well as a reconstruction of the Music Pagoda, which had burned down in 1968. By 1971, the city had spent $ 4 million to renovate Prospect Park, including renovating
24864-399: Was appointed as acting director in early 1974, serving for a few months. He was succeeded by Michael Botwinick, who was appointed in 1974 and stepped down in 1982. Robert T. Buck became director in 1983 and served until he resigned in 1996, upon which Linda S. Ferber became acting director. From 1992 to 1995, Stephanie Stebich was Buck's assistant director. Arnold L. Lehman was named as
25032-445: Was appointed director shortly afterward, served until his death in 1959. Thomas S. Buechner became the museum's director in 1960, making him one of the youngest directors in the country. During Buechner's tenure, Donelson Hoopes was hired as Curator of Paintings and Sculptures from 1965 to 1969. Duncan F. Cameron assumed the directorship in 1971, following Buechner's resignation; Cameron himself resigned in 1973. Michael Kan
25200-496: Was considering several measures to reduce the museum's budgetary shortfalls, including halving the number of art classes, closing the museum during the workweek, and hosting fewer exhibits per year. At the time, the museum received 31 percent of its funds from the city, a higher percentage than other New York City museums; the city still owned the building itself. After Robert Buck became director in 1983, he began hosting additional art classes, attracting members, and raising money for
25368-581: Was cut down to block the progress of the British forces. It fell after some of the heaviest fighting in the engagement, and its loss contributed to George Washington 's decision to retreat. Even though the Continental Army lost the battle, they were able to hold the British back long enough for Washington's army to escape across the East River to Manhattan. Plaques north of the zoo, as well as
25536-499: Was destroyed in a fire in 1891. In February 1889, several prominent Brooklyn citizens announced that they would begin fundraising for a new museum for the Brooklyn Institute. The museum's proponents quickly identified a site just east of Prospect Park , on the south side of Eastern Parkway . The next year, under director Franklin Hooper , Institute leaders reorganized as the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and began planning
25704-404: Was excluded from the system of zones. The first zone consisted of the Long Meadow, a wide open space along the west side of the park. It contains two entrances through tunnels: Meadowport Arch and Endale Arch. The Third Street Playground, Harmony Playground, bandshell, and the picnic and tennis houses are also located here. West Drive traverses this section of Prospect Park. The second zone
25872-570: Was filled in, and along with Mount Prospect Hill, became the separate Mount Prospect Park in 1940. The park and its surroundings were subsequently restored in the 1890s during the City Beautiful movement . After the Soldier's and Sailor's Arch at Grand Army Plaza was built in 1892, the park commissioners engaged the McKim, Mead, and White architectural firm to redesign Grand Army Plaza in
26040-467: Was founded in 1823 as the Brooklyn Apprentices' Library and merged with the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences in 1843. The museum was conceived as an institution focused on a broad public. The Brooklyn Museum's current building dates to 1897 and has been expanded several times since then. The museum initially struggled to maintain its building and collection, but it was revitalized in
26208-491: Was not complete. Nineteen American period rooms opened at the museum at the end of 1929. In May 1934, NYC Parks approved plans for the removal of the main entrance steps, which were replaced by ground-level doors. The project also included the construction of two galleries next to the lobby, as well as new landscaping and parking lots. This work was carried out by Public Works Administration laborers. A gallery dedicated to living artists' work opened in February 1935, and
26376-424: Was not substantially complete until 1873. The park subsequently underwent numerous modifications and expansions to its facilities. Several additions to the park were completed in the 1890s, in the City Beautiful architectural movement. In the early 20th century, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) commissioner Robert Moses started a program to clean up Prospect Park. A period of decline in
26544-529: Was opened in the Menagerie in 1916, housing monkeys, some small mammals, and several birds. After the end of World War I, a memorial commemorating fallen soldiers was proposed; it was dedicated in 1921. The only other structures to be built during this period were the Picnic House (1927) and a small comfort station at the Ocean Avenue entrance (1930), both designed by J. Sarsfield Kennedy. A golf course
26712-501: Was originally accessed by a staircase that was removed in 1936–1937. Daniel Chester French was responsible for the pediment sculptures. French also designed the two allegorical figures Brooklyn and Manhattan flanking the museum's entrance; they were created in 1916 for the Brooklyn approach to the Manhattan Bridge and relocated to the museum in 1963. Above the pediment is a copper cresting with anthemia , as well as
26880-428: Was originally planned. The center of the first floor would have contained a memorial hall, while a "great hall of sculpture" would have extended to the north and south of the memorial hall. To the west of the memorial hall would have been gallery space for artwork on loan, while to the east would have been a multi-story auditorium. The remaining corners of the first floor would have included several additional galleries for
27048-401: Was planned to cost $ 500,000, as well as a general renovation of existing facilities, which was to cost $ 1.5 million. A new 400-seat lecture hall opened at the museum that September, within space formerly occupied by two Egyptian galleries. To attract visitors, the museum expanded its educational programs greatly in the late 1940s. Brooklyn Institute officials announced plans in 1951 to repair
27216-505: Was proposed for the Long Meadow in the 1920s, but eventually, it was built on the Peninsula, abutting the Lake at the park's southern end. In 1932, a faux Mount Vernon was built in Prospect Park to commemorate the bicentennial of George Washington 's birthday. However, Prospect Park was in stasis for the most part, and like many of the city's parks, it was run year-after-year with declining budgets. The New York Times observed that by
27384-852: Was regarded as economical and prudent management. Several structures had been destroyed by the time Moses left his position as NYC Parks commissioner in May 1960. These included the Dairy, destroyed 1935; Concert Grove House, demolished 1949; Music Island, razed 1960; the Flower Garden; the Thatched Shelter, destroyed in the 1940s; the Model Yacht Club, burned down in 1956; and the Greenhouse Conservatories, taken apart in 1955. The demolition of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan during 1963–1968 spawned
27552-426: Was renamed for investor Morris A. Schapiro and his brother, art historian Meyer Schapiro , in early 1994 after Morris Schapiro donated $ 5 million. The Brooklyn Museum changed its name to Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1997. According to acting director Linda S. Ferber, the renaming was necessary because "there was more confusion about the museum's identity than we supposed"; for instance, many visitors still believed
27720-441: Was succeeded by William Henry Fox, who served from 1914 to his retirement in 1934. Fox was followed by Philip Newell Youtz from 1934 to 1938. Laurance Page Roberts was director from 1938 to 1942, when his wife Isabel Spaulding Roberts became interim director on his behalf; L. P. Roberts formally resigned in 1946. His immediate successor, Charles Nagel Jr., served for nine years until he resigned in 1955. Edgar Craig Schenck, who
27888-464: Was to be built. Engineers began surveying the site that May and found that the bedrock under the site was several hundred feet deep, making it impossible to build the foundations on solid rock. Nonetheless, the engineers had determined that the gravel fill under the site was strong enough to support a building. Construction on the Brooklyn Museum of Arts and Sciences' west wing officially began on September 14, 1895. A groundbreaking ceremony for
28056-440: Was to measure 140 by 122 feet (43 by 37 m). The central pavilion was to include a 1,250-seat lecture hall in the basement (actually at ground level), as well as a hall of sculpture on the first floor, which would serve as the museum's main lobby. The second story was to contain natural-history exhibits, while the third story was to include paintings. The New York State Legislature needed to authorize $ 300,000 in bonds for
28224-465: Was underway. By 1871, the monthly visitor count had increased to 250,000. The park's patronage continued to increase, and in an 1873 article, The New York Times described Prospect Park as having become an "indispensable Sunday resort for the toiling thousands of Brooklyn." However, the high patronage also had downsides: an 1875 editorial in the Times observed that many people would take shortcuts along
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