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130-790: Pelham Bay Park is a municipal park located in the northeast corner of the New York City borough of the Bronx . It is, at 2,772 acres (1,122 ha), the largest public park in New York City. The park is more than three times the size of Manhattan 's Central Park . The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks). Pelham Bay Park contains many geographical features, both natural and man-made. The park includes several peninsulas, including Rodman's Neck , Tallapoosa Point, and

260-451: A 10-minute walk , provides multiple benefits. A park is an area of open space provided for recreational use, usually owned and maintained by a local government. Grass is typically kept short to discourage insect pests and to allow for the enjoyment of picnics and sporting activities. Trees are chosen for their beauty and to provide shade , with an increasing emphasis on reducing an urban heat island effect. Some early parks include

390-505: A shooting center at Rodman's Neck; a 350-meter (1,150 ft) horseback riding track; and a fencing , swimming , and water polo facility in the Orchard Beach pavilion. The bid ultimately was awarded to London instead. In 2010, construction began on extending the jetty at Orchard Beach at a cost of $ 13 million. Soon after, work started on a $ 2.9 million project to restore Pelham Bay Park's shoreline, which entailed renovating

520-525: A "temporary" wooden bridge and remove the causeway to allow the bay's tides to flow freely. Most of the lagoon was filled in during the mid-1930s reconstruction of Orchard Beach, and the bay became known as the "Orchard Beach Lagoon", or the Lagoon for short. The lagoon between Orchard Beach and the Westchester border had been popular for regattas , or boat races, for decades, but it was neglected through

650-553: A $ 6.3 million gift for improvements to Pelham Bay Park and twenty other parks around the city. NYC Parks used the money to renovate trails and clean up weeds. A renovation of Orchard Beach started in 1995. A water park for the beach was proposed, but ultimately canceled in 1999. A few years later, as part of the city's ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics , several facilities in Pelham Bay Park were proposed for upgrades. The new facilities would have included

780-706: A Bronx historian and head of the Bronx Historical Society , lobbied the city to create a wildlife preserve in Hunter Island, one of the sites where the landfill was proposed to be expanded. The preservation effort suffered setbacks in August 1967 when the New York City Board of Estimate voted against an initial effort to create the protected area in the proposed landfill expansion site. On October 11, 1967, Mayor John Lindsay signed

910-721: A giant granite glacial erratic, has a bronze plaque commemorating the Battle of Pell's Point. However, contrary to popular belief, the rock had nothing to do with the battle. In their respective books, Henry B. Dawson (1886) and William Abbatt (1901) both wrote that Colonel John Glover reputedly stood on the rock and watched the British forces land during the battle. This claim is erroneous, as these distances were computed based on an inaccurate map using estimates recorded by Glover in his "Letter from Mile Square" on October 24, 1776. The actual location where Glover watched British forces land

1040-614: A grid system similar to the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 in Manhattan. That grid had given rise to Central Park , a park with mostly artificial features within the bounds of the grid. However, in 1877, the city declined to act upon his plan. Around the same time, New York Herald editor John Mullaly pushed for the creation of parks in New York City, particularly lauding the Van Cortlandt and Pell families' properties in

1170-561: A lagoon located to the west of the island. The deteriorated Hunter Mansion was demolished in 1937 with the construction of the beach. The expanded Orchard Beach was opened on June 25, 1937. In the 1960s, there were plans to expand a landfill in Pelham Bay Park, which would have created the City's second-largest refuse disposal site next to Fresh Kills in Staten Island . A group of preservationists headed by Dr. Theodore Kazimiroff ,

1300-476: A lagoon nearby that separated Hunter Island from the mainland. The bay was traversed by a stone causeway to Hunter Island. Most of the lagoon was filled in during the mid-1930s reconstruction of Orchard Beach , and the bay became known as the "Orchard Beach Lagoon", or the Lagoon for short. To the north of Hunter Island is Glen Island Park , outside the city limits in Westchester County . It

1430-509: A landfill until May 1968, when the landfill permit was revoked. In November of that year, Tallapoosa West was made a part of the Pell refuge. The dump was still operating as late as 1975, when the garbage there was described as being ten stories high. The landfill closed in 1978. However, a report published in 1983 claimed that the Tallapoosa landfill, as well as five others throughout the city,

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1560-827: A law authorizing in the creation of two wildlife refuges in Pelham Bay Park: the Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary on the western side of the park, and the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary on the former Hunter Island. This was followed by the Kazimiroff Nature Trail and the Pelham Bay Park Environmental Center in 1986. The trail was named after the historian Kazimiroff, who had since died. In 1811,

1690-433: A mansion on the island and his family resided on the island until 1865, when it was sold to former mayor Ambrose Kingsland . Several other people owned Hunter Island before being incorporated into Pelham Bay Park in 1888. Subsequently, the island became a vacation destination. In the 1930s, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses extended nearby Orchard Beach , to the south of the island, by connecting Hunter Island to

1820-402: A million seasonal visitors. Orchard Beach also became popular, with an average of 2,000 visitors on summer weekdays and 5,000 visitors on summer weekends in 1912. However, the park's condition started to decline in the 1920s as the surrounding areas were developed. The park facilities were dirty and deteriorating due to overuse, and there was a lot of vandalism. Hunter Island was closed and camping

1950-470: A mostly hunter-gatherer existence. The Siwanoy used the modern-day park site as a ceremonial and burial site, as evidenced by the wampum belts found in the area, which were used for diplomatic purposes among local Native American tribes. Two glacial erratics in the park, deposited during the end of the last ice age, were used ceremonially by the Siwanoy: the "Gray Mare" on Hunter Island , and Mishow near

2080-550: A nature trail that would wind through the park's terrain. It would be named out of respect to the late historian, who had died in 1980. The Kazimiroff Nature Trail and the Pelham Bay Park Environmental Center opened in June 1986. A $ 1 million renovation of the Orchard Beach pavilions (equivalent to $ 2,780,000 in 2023) was completed by 1986. By the end of the decade, large numbers of human and animal remains were being dumped in Pelham Bay Park, including 65 human bodies that were dumped in

2210-496: A new Orchard Beach recreation area after he saw the popularity of the Hunter Island campsite. At the time, the beach was a narrow sand bar connecting Hunter Island and Rodman's Neck. Moses canceled 625 leases for the project, and after campers unsuccessfully sued the city, the site was cleared of campers in June. Moses decided to connect Hunter Island and the Twin Islands to Rodman's Neck by filling in most of LeRoy's Bay ,

2340-507: A park in 1888. Pelham Bay Park became a recreation area under the auspices of the Bronx Parks Department, which bought the land for $ 2,746,688, equivalent to $ 93,143,242 in 2023. The park used land from multiple estates spread out over an excess of 1,700 acres (690 ha). Some of the old estates' mansions were still standing twenty years later. To alleviate the concerns of Westchester property owners who lost land during

2470-402: A popular summer vacation destination. Due to overcrowding on Hunter Island, NYC Parks opened a campsite two years later at Rodman's Neck on the south tip of the island, with 100 bathhouses. Orchard Beach, at the time a tiny recreational area on the northeast tip of Rodman's Neck, was expanded that year. In 1904, an athletic field was opened within Pelham Bay Park. By 1917, Hunter Island saw half

2600-545: A privately funded Golf driving range was also added that year. The beach was renovated starting in 1964. In 1959, after the Rodman's Neck section of the park had been used for various purposes, the New York City Police Department used land from the park to create the Rodman's Neck Firing Range at the southern tip of the peninsula. Previously, the parkland at Rodman's Neck had been underused, with

2730-559: A restoration project for the cove, removing the old culvert and digging a canal to flood the north end of the cove with salt water. NYC Parks then placed a foot bridge across the canal. Some 11 acres (4.5 ha) of forest were also restored, with 10,000 trees being replaced. The cove also contains a batting cage and a golf center with miniature golf , PGA simulators, and grass tees . Glover's Rock ( 40°51′54″N 73°48′19″W  /  40.86507°N 73.805244°W  / 40.86507; -73.805244  ( Glover's Rock ) ),

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2860-460: A rocky plateau upon which one can see Orchard Beach and the environmental center. West Twin Island was at one time connected to neighboring Hunter Island via a man-made stone bridge, which now lies in ruins in one of the city's last remaining salt marshes . The two islands that are now combined as Twin Island have been owned by NYC Parks since the 1888 acquisition of Pelham Bay Park. A tennis court

2990-404: A way to alleviate the city's accumulations of waste, and Tallapoosa was seen as the only suitable location to put the landfill. The preservation effort was headed by Dr. Theodore Kazimiroff , a Bronx historian and head of The Bronx County Historical Society . It suffered setbacks in August 1967 when the New York City Board of Estimate voted against an initial effort to create to protected area in

3120-546: Is a 166-acre (67 ha) peninsula and former island in the Bronx , New York City , United States. It is situated on the western end of Long Island Sound , along the sound's northwestern shore, and is part of Pelham Bay Park in the northeastern part of the Bronx. Hunter Island initially covered 215 acres (87 ha) and was one of the Pelham Islands , the historical name for a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that once belonged to Thomas Pell . The island

3250-438: Is a canal for mosquito control as well as an intersection with the old Hunter Island causeway's cobblestone approach path. Going counterclockwise from the intersection with the two "loops", the trail passes through a grove of 100 Norway spruces planted in 1918; a black locust forest from the 1970s; and a thicket of shrubs and vines . At this point, the longer blue trail diverges to the northwest and then northeast, passing

3380-526: Is a small cove along the north side of City Island Road west of Orchard Beach Road. Around the early 1900s, a land berm was created across Turtle Cove for rails for horsecars . This berm caused the north end of Turtle Cove to become mostly freshwater , which attracted freshwater drinking rare birds in the meadow. A 3-foot (0.91 m) diameter concrete culvert was placed across the berm to allow salt water from Eastchester Bay, but leaves and vegetation blocked this culvert. Starting in June 2009, NYC Parks started

3510-471: Is closer to the second tee of the current Split Rock Golf Course. The rock is only known as such today because Abbatt includes a labeled photograph of it in his book. Split Rock ( 40°53′11″N 73°48′54″W  /  40.88648°N 73.81492°W  / 40.88648; -73.81492  ( Split Rock ) ), a large dome-shaped granite boulder measuring approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) from north to south and 15 feet (4.6 m) from east to west,

3640-580: Is connected to another former island, Twin Island , on the northeast. The area around Hunter Island was originally settled by the Siwanoy Native Americans. One of Pell's descendants, Joshua Pell, moved onto the island in 1743. It was subsequently owned by the Hunter and Henderson families, and the island was briefly named Henderson's Island after the latter. Henderson's Island was purchased by politician John Hunter in 1804. Hunter built

3770-477: Is located at the intersection of the New England Thruway and Hutchinson River Parkway, on a triangular parcel of land formed by these roads and a ramp that leads from the northbound Parkway to the northbound Thruway. The only public access to the rock is by a pedestrian trail that begins on Eastchester Place, outside the park. The Bridle Trail passes close to the rock, but is separated from the rock by

3900-495: Is located within the northeastern part of Pelham Bay Park, which is itself located in the northeast Bronx, near New York City's northern border. The island's flora largely consists of tracts of old-growth forest that existed prior to the settlement of the New York City area, as well as plants introduced by John Hunter in the 19th century. A 2005 survey by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) found 49 native species as well as four invasive species. Some of

4030-400: Is not a bay, but rather a sound since it is open to larger bodies of water at both ends. It connects to Eastchester Bay at the south, and opens onto Long Island Sound and City Island Harbor at the east. Approximately one third of the original bay was filled in to create Orchard Beach from 1934 to 1938. Eastchester Bay is a body of water that separates City Island and most of the park from

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4160-563: Is separated from Hunter Island via LeRoy's Bay. Glen Island Park is operated by Westchester County, and parking and beach access are open only to Westchester residents. The eastern part of Hunter Island is adjacent to Hog Island and Cat Briar Island, two tiny islands in Pelham Bay. Hunter Island is also physically attached to Twin Island on the southeast corner. Twin Island was itself formerly two islands called East and West Twin Islands;

4290-474: Is the 782-acre (316 ha) forests, followed by the 195-acre (79 ha) salt marshes, the 161-acre (65 ha) salt flats, the 83-acre (34 ha) meadows, the 751-acre (304 ha) mixed scrub, and the 3-acre (1.2 ha) fresh water marsh. In total, about 67% of the park is estimated to be in its natural state, while 33% of the park is estimated to be developed. In the latter half of the 20th century, Pelham Bay Park's biodiversity decreased: in that time,

4420-401: Is used as a firing range by the New York City Police Department (NYPD); the remaining wooded section is part of Pelham Bay Park. The north side, which is joined to the rest of Pelham Bay Park near Orchard Beach, contains several baseball fields . Two small land berms between Rodman's Neck and City Island consist of the island's only connecting road to the mainland. Rodman's Neck was part of

4550-462: Is wooded with exposed bedrock with glacial grooves . The East and West Twin Islands (or the "Twins") were once true islands in Pelham Bay but are now connected to each other and to Orchard Beach and nearby Rodman's Neck by a landfill created in 1937. East Twin Island, a rocky formation with "ribbons of color" caused by sedimentary erosion, is connected to neighboring Two Trees Island via a thin mudflat land bridge. Two Trees Island itself consists of

4680-758: The Bartow-Pell Mansion , a city landmark, as well as the Bronx Victory Column & Memorial Grove. Before its creation, the land comprising the current Pelham Bay Park was part of Anne Hutchinson 's short-lived dissident colony. Part of New Netherland , it was destroyed in 1643 by a Siwanoy attack in reprisal for the unrelated massacres carried out under Willem Kieft 's direction of the Dutch West India Company 's New Amsterdam colony. In 1654 an Englishman named Thomas Pell purchased 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) from

4810-693: The Cold War . and the NYPD built the current firing range at the peninsula's southern tip in 1959. Tallapoosa Point is located in the southwest of Pelham Bay Park, near the Pelham Bridge. It used to be a separate island south of Eastchester Bay , having been private property, but was connected to the mainland during the colonial period. The point then became a popular fishing spot. In 1879, the Tallapoosa Club political group started leasing part of

4940-647: The Hutchinson River Parkway and New England Thruway . A central section contains a Central Woodland, where the Siwanoy Trail and Turtle Cove Driving Range is present. It also includes Rodman's Neck as well as a portion of the park known as "The Meadow". The Pelham Bridge carries traffic across the Eastchester Bay between the southwest section and the rest of the park. The park contains many different habitats. The largest habitat

5070-562: The La Alameda de Hércules , in Seville , a promenaded public mall, urban garden and park built in 1574, within the historic center of Seville. The Városliget ( City Park ) in the City of Pest , what is today Budapest, Hungary , was a city property when afforestation started in the middle of the 18th century, from the 1790s with the clear aim to create a public park. Between 1799 and 1805 it

5200-555: The New Parks Act into law, authorizing the creation of the park system. Legal disputes carried on for years. Opponents argued that building a park system would divert funds from more important infrastructure, and that everyone in the city would need to pay taxes to pay for the parks' construction, regardless of whether they lived near the parks. In particular, Pelham Bay Park was located within Westchester County at

5330-495: The Theodore Kazimiroff Nature Trail . The Dutch West India Company purchased the land in 1639. They called it Vreedelandt , which translates to "land of peace", and alternatively Oostdorp , meaning "east village". Oostdorp became the area known as Westchester Square , to the southwest of the current park. In 1642, Anne Hutchinson and her family moved from Rhode Island to Split Rock, along

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5460-623: The Village of Yorkville Park in Toronto , which won an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Parks are sometimes made out of oddly shaped areas of land, much like the vacant lots that often become city neighborhood parks. Linked parks may form a greenbelt . There is a form of an urban park in the UK (officially called a "recreation ground", but commonly called a "rec" by

5590-467: The 17th century, Pelham Bay Park comprised an archipelago of islands separated by salt marshes and peninsular beaches. Geologically, most of the park's land first formed during the end of the last ice age , the Wisconsin glaciation , which occurred 10,000 to 15,000 years before the first colonists arrived. The melting of the glaciers caused the formation of the current marshes. Sea level rise from

5720-419: The 1920s as the surrounding areas were developed. Hunter Island became popular with European immigrants who built shelters and established summer colonies. This led to the island being closed and camping banned, but was unsuccessful at preventing the beachgoers from returning. Upon taking office in 1934, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses surveyed every park in the city. Moses devised plans for

5850-410: The 1930s. A former island, it was part of the Pelham Islands , the historical name for a group of islands in western Long Island Sound that once belonged to Thomas Pell. The Siwanoy referred to the island as "Laap-Ha-Wach King", or "place of stringing beads". The island was then renamed after John Hunter , a successful businessman and politician, who purchased the property in 1804 and moved his family to

5980-432: The 1940s and 1950s. Rocks, weeds, and unwanted cars were tossed into the lagoon regularly. The lagoon was chosen as the site of the 1964 Summer Olympics rowing trials, at which point it was widened and dredged, becoming a four-lane, 2,000-meter (6,600 ft) rowing track. The track, which cost $ 630,000, was hosted jointly by the city and the organizers of the 1964 New York World's Fair . New York City hosted several of

6110-566: The 1964 Olympic trials at various locations as part of the World's Fair the same year. Afterward, the now-unnamed lagoon was used by New York-area colleges for boating regattas, since it had been determined to be one of the most suitable locations for boat racing in the United States. Multiple colleges, including Columbia , Manhattan , St. John's , Fordham , Iona , and Yale , utilized the lagoon for collegiate rowing practice. Turtle Cove

6240-737: The Hunter Island Wildlife Sanctuary on Twin and Hunter Islands. The Kazimiroff Nature Trail winds through this section. The northwestern section, divided from the eastern section via the Lagoon. It contains both golf courses , as well as the Thomas Pell Sanctuary; the Bartow-Pell Woods; Goose Creek Marsh; and the Siwanoy, Bridle, and Split Rock Trails . The park is crossed by Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor railroad at this location, as well as by

6370-633: The Hunter Mansion's garden. Member species of the islands' salt marsh ecosystem include egrets , cormorants , fiddler crabs , horseshoe crabs , marine worms , barnacles , and oysters . In 1983, the Theodore Kazimiroff Environmental Center was proposed for the park, alongside a nature trail that would wind through the park's terrain. It would be named out of respect to the late Kazimiroff, who had died in 1980. The Kazimiroff Nature Trail, as well as

6500-714: The Hunter family built a mansion in the English Georgian style . It was described as one of the finest mansions of the period, with three stories, a large veranda , and terraced gardens leading to the island's shore. The building had a rectangular shape. The main entrance faced west, toward the mainland, and contained a grand doorway flanked by columns. A portico at the back faced the Long Island Sound. The mansion held an art collection of over 400 works from artists such as Rembrandt , Peter Paul Rubens , Anthony van Dyck , and Leonardo da Vinci . The home

6630-546: The Hutchinson River in what is now Pelham Bay Park. Although the family was English, the land was part of New Netherland under Dutch authority. The exact location of the Hutchinson house is unknown, with one scholar saying that the house was in the modern-day park on the east side of the Hutchinson River, and another saying that the house was on the west side of the river in now Baychester . The Siwanoy destroyed

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6760-635: The Hutchinson settlement and killed the family in August 1643, in reprisal for the unrelated massacres carried out under Willem Kieft 's direction of the Dutch West India Company's New Amsterdam colony. In 1654 an Englishman named Thomas Pell purchased 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) from the Siwanoy, comprising the land of the current Pelham Bay Park as well as the nearby town of Pelham, New York , and made his estate on 9,188 acres (3,718 ha) of that land. The current park consists of

6890-407: The NYPD and United States Army using the land at various times. The City began landfill operations on Tallapoosa Point in Pelham Bay Park in 1963. Plans to expand the landfills in Pelham Bay Park in 1966, which would have created the City's second-largest refuse disposal site next to Fresh Kills in Staten Island , were met with widespread community opposition. The landfill expansion was seen as

7020-403: The Pelham Bay Park Environmental Center at Orchard Beach, opened in June 1986. The Kazimiroff Nature Trail traverses 189 acres (76 ha) of Hunter Island. Much of the island's natural features are found along the trail. The trail comprises two overlapping lasso-shaped paths, the "red" and "blue" trails. The blue trail is slightly longer than the red trail. Along the shared "lasso spur"

7150-549: The Siwanoy, land which would become known as Pelham Manor after Charles II 's 1666 charter. During the American Revolutionary War , the land was a buffer between British-held New York City and rebel-held Westchester, serving as the site of the Battle of Pell's Point , where Massachusetts militia hiding behind stone walls (still visible at one of the park's golf courses) stopped a British advance. The park

7280-602: The UK, with around 2.6 billion visits to parks each year. Many parks are of cultural and historical interest, with 300 registered by Historic England as of national importance. Most public parks have been provided and run by local authorities over the past hundred and seventy years, but these authorities have no statutory duty to fund or maintain these public parks. In 2016 the Heritage Lottery Fund 's State of UK Public Parks reported that "92 per cent of park managers report their maintenance budgets have reduced in

7410-459: The United States and the world, though cow grazing did not end until the 1830s. Around the country, the predecessors to urban parks in the United States were generally rural cemeteries . The cemeteries were intended as civic institutions designed for public use. Before the widespread development of public parks, the rural cemetery provided a place for the general public to enjoy outdoor recreation amidst art and sculpture previously available only for

7540-842: The United States are Central Park in New York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Mission Bay Park in San Diego. In the early 1900s, according to Cranz, U.S. cities built neighborhood parks with swimming pools, playgrounds and civic buildings, with the intention of Americanizing the immigrant residents. In the 1950s, when money became available after World War II , new parks continued to focus on both outdoor and indoor recreation with services, such as sports leagues using their ball fields and gymnasia. These smaller parks were built in residential neighborhoods, and tried to serve all residents with programs for seniors, adults, teens and children. Green space

7670-410: The area referred to the general vicinity around Hunter Island as "Laap-Ha-Wach King", or "place of stringing beads". One notable boulder, the "Gray Mare" at the northwestern shore of the island, is a glacial erratic where the Siwanoy would conduct ceremonies. Another boulder was the "Mishow", another important ceremonial site for the Siwanoy, as well as the burial sites of two sachems . Fishing

7800-559: The brand-new Split Rock golf course as part of the city's program to upgrade or build ten golf courses around the city. A final design for the beach was unveiled in July 1935. The beach project involved filling in approximately 110 acres (45 ha) of LeRoy's and Pelham Bays with landfill, followed by a total of 4,000,000 cubic yards (3,100,000 m) of sand. Moses thought that waste from the New York City Department of Sanitation would be cheaper than sand. In early 1935, workers began placing

7930-496: The confines of a serpentine carriageway, put in place the essential elements of his much-imitated design for Birkenhead Park in Birkenhead . The latter commenced in 1843 with the help of public finance and deployed the ideas which Paxton had pioneered at Princes Park on a more expansive scale. Frederick Law Olmsted visited Birkenhead Park in 1850 and praised its qualities. Indeed, Paxton is widely credited as having been one of

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8060-551: The current park. A brigade of 750 men under the command of the American Colonel John Glover were already inland, and they attacked the British advance units from behind a series of stone walls. After a series of attacks, the British broke off, and the Americans retreated. In 1836, Robert Bartow, a descendant of Thomas Pell, bought 30 acres (12 ha) of his ancestor's old estate. By 1842, construction

8190-453: The designed landscape as a setting for the suburban domicile (an idea pioneered by John Nash at Regent's Park in London) and re-fashioned it for the provincial town in a most original way. Nash's remodelling of St James's Park from 1827 and the sequence of processional routes he created to link The Mall with Regent's Park completely transformed the appearance of London's West End . With

8320-524: The eastern side of the manor. The land was the site of the Battle of Pell's Point during the American Revolutionary War . After the British forces unsuccessfully attempted to trap the main body of the Continental Army on the island of Manhattan , British Army commander-in-chief General Sir William Howe looked for another location along Long Island Sound to disembark his troops. On October 18, 1776, he landed 4,000 men at Pelham , close to

8450-499: The establishment of Princes Park in 1842, Joseph Paxton did something similar for the benefit of a provincial town, albeit one of international stature by virtue of its flourishing mercantile sector. Liverpool had a burgeoning presence in global maritime trade before 1800, and during the Victorian era its wealth rivalled that of London itself. The form and layout of Paxton's ornamental grounds, structured about an informal lake within

8580-452: The flow of water in LeRoy's Bay. The bridge's remnants still exist as of 2017 . Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary encompasses all of Twin Islands, Cat Briar Island, Two Trees Island, and the northeastern shoreline of Hunter Island. It contains many glacial erratics, large boulders that were deposited during the last glacial period . The rocky coast of Twin Islands contains

8710-779: The form of walking, running, horse riding, mountain biking, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing; or sedentary activity such as observing nature, bird watching, painting, photography, or picnicking. Limiting park or open space use to passive recreation over all or a portion of the park's area eliminates or reduces the burden of managing active recreation facilities and developed infrastructure. Many ski resorts combine active recreation facilities (ski lifts, gondolas, terrain parks, downhill runs, and lodges) with passive recreation facilities (cross-country ski trails). Many smaller neighborhood parks are receiving increased attention and valuation as significant community assets and places of refuge in heavily populated urban areas. Neighborhood groups around

8840-413: The former Hunter and Twin Islands . A lagoon runs through the center of Pelham Bay Park, and Eastchester Bay splits the southwestern corner from the rest of the park. There are also several recreational areas within the park. Orchard Beach runs along Pelham Bay on the park's eastern shore. Two golf courses and various nature trails are located within the park's central section. Other landmarks include

8970-416: The former Hunter Mansion's knoll ; a forest of white pines ; some mugwort and invasive Ailanthus ; the Hunter Mansion's main driveway; a less dense patch of trees and burnt tree stumps, part of a forest burned by the Siwanoy; white oaks and black locusts ; and lichen -covered boulders, a rare occurrence in New York City parks. The shorter red trail goes directly north through a white poplar forest;

9100-399: The garbage fill around Rodman's Neck, Twin Island, and Hunter Island. After the garbage began washing onto the beach, the rest of the site was filled-in using sand starting in 1936. The beach, designed by Gilmore David Clarke and Aymar Embury II , was dedicated in July 1936 despite only being partially complete. The beach officially opened on June 25, 1937. Soon after Orchard Beach opened, it

9230-415: The historic Pell property, and since the city acquired the peninsula in 1888, it has been used for multiple purposes. It was used as a United States Army training location during World War I , and was converted to under-utilized parkland in the 1920s. From 1930 to 1936, the peninsula was incorporated as part of Camp Mulrooney, a summer camp for the NYPD. The Army used Rodman's Neck again in the 1950s during

9360-447: The island in 1813. They built a mansion in the English Georgian style at the highest point on the island (90 feet above sea level). The mansion was destroyed in 1937 during the construction of Orchard Beach. In 1967, the island became part of the Hunter Island Wildlife Sanctuary. Twin Island, at 40°52′16″N 73°47′04″W  /  40.871186°N 73.784389°W  / 40.871186; -73.784389  ( Twin Island ) ,

9490-406: The land for the park, which had been one of the reasons for its initial opposition to acquiring the land. There was a proposal to have New York City pay taxes to Pelham if it acquired the land, which the city's Tax Department called "entirely novel, and of course, wrong". Despite Pelham residents' opposition to the park, the city acquired the land for Pelham Bay Park in 1887, and it officially became

9620-487: The land in 1889 for $ 324,000 (equivalent to $ 11,000,000 in 2023). In 1892, Stephen Peabody was given the right to occupy the Hunter Mansion, paying $ 1,200 a year in rent, in conjunction with his new role as groundskeeper of Hunter Island. Soon afterward, the mansion became a shelter for children operated by the Society of Little Mothers. The barn adjoining the mansion burned down in a fire in approximately 1890, and

9750-525: The large amount of open space and natural habitat in the former pleasure grounds, they now serve as important wildlife refuges, and often provide the only opportunity for urban residents to hike or picnic in a semi-wild area. However, city managers or politicians can target these parks as sources of free land for other uses. Partly for this reason, some of these large parks have "friends of X park" advisory boards that help protect and maintain their semi-wild nature. There are around estimated 27,000 public parks in

9880-514: The mainland by fill, and are part of the park. Several islands in the Long Island Sound (including the Chimney Sweeps Islands ), as well as Goose Island in the Hutchinson River, are also part of Pelham Bay Park. The park is divided into several sections, including two main sections roughly divided by Eastchester Bay . In the eastern section of Pelham Bay Park is Orchard Beach and its parking lot. The eastern section also contains

10010-417: The mainland. Hunter Island formerly contained Hunter Mansion, which Hunter had built for his family in 1811. It was located on the island's highest point and was destroyed in 1937 when Orchard Beach was expanded onto the island. A causeway connecting Hunter Island to the mainland still exists. Today the former island is part of a wildlife refuge , the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary, which

10140-608: The mansion, was used as a barn. John Hunter lived on the estate until his death in 1852. Ownership of the mansion then passed to Elias Hunter. Upon Elias's death in 1865, his son John III was supposed to inherit the land only if he lived on it, as per the senior John Hunter's will. John III, who lived in Throggs Neck instead, sold it to Mayor Ambrose Kingsland in 1866. The land then passed in succession to Alvin Higgins, Gardiner Jorden, and Oliver Iselin. The city then bought

10270-469: The melting glaciers caused sedimentation along the shore, creating sand and mud flats . Gradually, saltwater cordgrass started to retain sediment, causing some of the inland marshes to flood only during high tide . The Siwanoy (transliterated as "southern people") were the first Native American tribe to inhabit the Long Island Sound 's northern shoreline east to Connecticut . They lived

10400-567: The need to provide substantial space to congregate, typically involves intensive management, maintenance, and high costs. Passive recreation, also called "low-intensity recreation" is that which emphasizes the open-space aspect of a park and allows for the preservation of natural habitat. It usually involves a low level of development, such as rustic picnic areas, benches, and trails. Passive recreation typically requires little management and can be provided at very low costs. Some open space managers provide nothing other than trails for physical activity in

10530-523: The other parks closer to Manhattan, which were being extensively landscaped. None of the houses were rented in 1899, but by 1900, thirty-six houses in the park were being used as private residences, comprising 75% of houses rented within parks in the Bronx. This number dropped to thirty-three the next year. In spring 1902, NYC Parks destroyed two houses in the park and used the remaining wood to build free bathhouses, which were used by about 700 bathers per day during that summer. Around 1903, Hunter Island became

10660-407: The park from 1986 to 1995. Pelham Bay Park was also very dirty, and discarded trash from several decades prior was still visible. NYPD officers on these cases theorized that the frequency of body dumpings might be attributable to two things: the park's remote location near highways, as well as a belief that the parkland is haunted by the remains of the Siwanoy buried there. In 1990, NYC Parks received

10790-528: The park system's acquisition, the New York City Commissioners of Estimate distributed compensation payments. The Commissioners of Estimate paid a combined $ 9 million (equivalent to $ 305,200,000 in 2023), but some land owners sued for more compensation in 1889. In 1890, Mullaly proposed using the site for the 1893 World's Fair due to its size; however, the fair was eventually awarded to Chicago instead. The Pell family's burial vault

10920-404: The park was built was purchased by Richard Vaughan Yates, an iron merchant and philanthropist, in 1841 for £50,000. The creation of Princes Park showed great foresight and introduced a number of highly influential ideas. First and foremost was the provision of open space for the benefit of townspeople and local residents within an area that was being rapidly built up. Secondly it took the concept of

11050-438: The park was observed to have lost 25% of its 569 native species of plants as well as 12.5% of its 321 non-native species. Hunter Island ( 40°52′36″N 73°47′24″W  /  40.876773°N 73.789866°W  / 40.876773; -73.789866  ( Hunter Island ) ) is a 166-acre (67 ha) peninsula filled with woodlands; it had previously been 215 acres (87 ha) until Robert Moses extended Orchard Beach in

11180-439: The park was once part of Pelham Bay, separating Hunter and Twin Islands from the mainland, and was called LeRoy's Bay until the mid-20th century. It was popular for rowing regattas, but could not be used for regulation rowing races as it was blocked by the causeway to Hunter Island. By 1902, there were calls to remove the causeway so LeRoy's Bay could be used as a raceway. The New York City Department of Public Parks decided to create

11310-484: The park's southwest portion and the rest of the Bronx. It is crossed by the Pelham Bridge, which connects the two parts of the park. It is technically also a sound, and the northern end connects via a narrow channel to Pelham Bay. The Hutchinson River empties into Eastchester Bay near the northern end. The lower portion of the bay opens onto the East River , Little Neck Bay , and Long Island Sound . A lagoon within

11440-454: The parks were established, owing to efforts from supporters. After much litigation, the city acquired the land for the park. Although the residents of Pelham had initially supported the park's creation, they came to oppose it when they found that the park's creation would decrease the town's tax revenue. The 1,700 acres of land for the park were part of the town's 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) area at that time, but could not be taxed, nearly halving

11570-651: The parkway's exit ramp. Another park trail, called the Split Rock Trail, leads from the Bartow Circle to the rock. The Split Rock Golf Course was named after the rock. Split Rock also gives its name to Split Rock Road in Pelham Manor , which used to extend into the park itself. The rock appears to be a glacial erratic and derives its name from a large crevice dividing the stone into two half domes. The huge rock broke in half about 10,000 years ago under

11700-420: The past three years and 95 per cent expect their funding will continue to reduce". Parks can be divided into active and passive recreation areas. Active recreation is that which has an urban character and requires intensive development. It often involves cooperative or team activity, including playgrounds , ball fields, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and skateparks . Active recreation such as team sports, due to

11830-535: The peninsula from the city during the summer, hosting activities there. The club's presence gave the peninsula its current name, and in turn, the club's name was derived from Tallapoosa, Georgia , where some of its members had fought during the American Civil War . The Tallapoosa Club used a mansion originally built by the Lorillard family. They used the mansion until October 1, 1895. Tallapoosa Point

11960-819: The placement of a bronze tablet on Split Rock in honor of Anne Hutchinson. The tablet was installed in 1911 by the Colonial Dames of New York. However, it was stolen in 1914. The plaque reads: ANNE HUTCHINSON Banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 Public park Depending on size, budget, and land features, which varies considerably among individual parks, common features include playgrounds , gardens , hiking, running, fitness trails or paths, bridle paths , sports fields and courts, public restrooms, boat ramps, performance venues, or BBQ and picnic facilities. Park advocates claim that having parks near urban residents, including within

12090-560: The plants found on Hunter Island, including lousewort , alum root , and broad beech fern are seldom found in other New York City parks. The island contains the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary , established in 1967, and the Kazimiroff Nature Trail and Orchard Beach Environmental Center , which opened in 1986. To the north and west of the former island is LeRoy's Bay ,

12220-514: The popularity of the Hunter Island campsite. On February 11, 1934, Moses announced a plan for the new golf course. Two weeks later, he announced another plan for the upgraded beach, which had been inspired by the design of Jones Beach on Long Island . The beach and existing golf course would be reconstructed through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) under the 1930s New Deal program. Moses canceled 625 leases for

12350-457: The principal influences on Olmsted and Calvert's design for New York's Central Park of 1857. Another early public park, the Peel Park, Salford , England, opened on 22 August 1846. Boston Common was purchased for public use grazing cows and as a military parade ground and dump in 1634. It first started to get recreational elements in 1728, arguably making it the first municipal park in

12480-412: The project, and after campers unsuccessfully sued the city, the site was cleared of campers in June. Moses decided to connect Hunter Island and the Twin Islands to Rodman's Neck by filling in most of LeRoy's Bay. The deteriorated Hunter Mansion was demolished with the construction of the beach. The golf courses were reopened in June 1935, sixteen months after construction commenced. John van Kleek designed

12610-518: The proposed landfill expansion site. However, the state and federal governments did not favor the landfill being located at Tallapoosa. In October, Mayor John Lindsay signed a law authorizing in the creation of two wildlife refuges , the Thomas Pell Wildlife Sanctuary and the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary , on the site where the landfill was planned to be expanded. Tallapoosa West continued to be used as

12740-471: The public.) and some EU states that have mostly recreation grounds for kids to play within a park, but may also have a duck pond, large grassy zones not meant exclusively for sports, many trees, and several bushy places. When it occurs as a separate facility on its own, without any parkland, at a street corner or by a shop, the play facility is called a playground . Hunter Island (Bronx) Hunter Island (also Hunters Island or Hunter's Island )

12870-590: The remaining property on behalf of the Huguenots , and with that land, founded the town of New Rochelle for the Huguenots. Upon John Pell's death in 1700, he willed the property to his son Joseph, who in turn transferred ownership to his own son, John. Ownership of the manor then went to the Bartow family, who were maternal descendants of the Pell family. The Pell family burial plot faced the Pelham Bay waterfront on

13000-401: The seawall, adding a dog run, and creating a new walking trail. In 2012, Native American shell middens were found at Tallapoosa Point , prompting an archaeological investigation. Further digs at the site uncovered more than a hundred artifacts, some of which dated to the third century CE . Work on the restoration project was paused in June 2015 as a result of the finds. The restoration project

13130-492: The south is Orchard Beach and Pelham Bay . Orchard Beach surrounds the bay on its east in a roughly crescent shape, and the northern part of the beach connects Hunter and Twin Islands. The bay formerly adjoined the southern part of Hunter Island, but approximately one third of the original bay was filled in to create Orchard Beach from 1934 to 1938. Orchard Beach's parking lot is located on the southeast side of Hunter Island. The Siwanoy Native Americans who originally occupied

13260-664: The southernmost outcropping of Hartland schist , the major bedrock component of New England coastlines, as well as granite with both migmatite dikes and veins made of quartz . The sanctuary supports a unique intertidal marine ecosystem that is rare in New York State. It holds the largest continuous oak forest in Pelham Bay Park, including white , red , and black oak, as well as black cherry , white poplar , white pines , Norway spruce , and black locust trees. One can also find grape hyacinth , periwinkle , daylily , and Tartarian honeysuckle , which were part of

13390-444: The southernmost portion of Pell's estate, excluding Hart Island and City Island . Pell's land became known as Pelham Manor after Charles II 's 1666 charter, and parts of Pell's land claim were in conflict with that of other nearby settlers. Pell died in 1669, willing his property to his nephew John, who sold off City Island in 1685. The land grant was renewed in 1687. The next year, Jacob Leisler bought 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of

13520-554: The stress of glacial movements. Split Rock is also the location near where, in 1643, Anne Hutchinson and members of her family were massacred by Native Americans of the Siwanoy Tribe. Her daughter, Susanna , the only member of the family to survive the massacre, was at the rock during the time of the attack, which took place at the house, a distance away. In 1904, the New York State Legislature approved

13650-417: The time, out of city limits. The city was reluctant to pay to buy the parkland because of the cost and locations. Supporters argued that the parks were for the benefit of all the city's citizens; that the value of properties near the parks would appreciate greatly over time; that the Pelham Bay Park site could easily be converted into a park; and that Pelham Bay Park would soon be annexed to the city. Ultimately,

13780-546: The town's tax revenues from land area. One Pelham resident's letter to New York City Mayor Abram Hewitt , asking for financial assistance to supplement the town's growing tax rate, was published in The New York Times in February 1887. A month later, a group of Pelham residents petitioned Hewitt to oppose the park plan. The government of New York City also did not want to pay taxes to the town of Pelham if it bought

13910-490: The wealthy. In The Politics of Park Design: A History of Urban Parks in America, (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1982), Professor Galen Cranz identifies four phases of park design in the U.S. In the late 19th century, city governments purchased large tracts of land on the outskirts of cities to form "pleasure grounds": semi-open, charmingly landscaped areas whose primary purpose was to allow city residents, especially

14040-791: The western and eastern Bronx respectively. He formed the New York Park Association in November 1881. There were objections to the system, which would apparently be too far from Manhattan, in addition to precluding development on the site. However, newspapers and prominent lobbyists, who supported such a park system, were able to petition the bill into the New York State Senate , and later, the New York State Assembly (the legislature's lower house ). In June 1884, Governor Grover Cleveland signed

14170-432: The westernmost island was connected to Hunter Island via a man-made stone bridge, which now lies in ruins in one of the city's last remaining salt marshes . Twin Island is in turn attached to another former island called Two Trees Island. Twin and Two Trees Islands are now connected to Hunter Island and the mainland by landfill. All six landmasses form part of the Hunter Island Marine Zoology and Geology Sanctuary. To

14300-488: The workers, to relax in nature. As time passed and the urban area grew around the parks, land in these parks was used for other purposes, such as zoos, golf courses and museums. These parks continue to draw visitors from around the region and are considered regional parks , because they require a higher level of management than smaller local parks. According to the Trust for Public Land , the three most visited municipal parks in

14430-531: The world are joining together to support local parks that have suffered from urban decay and government neglect. A linear park is a park that has a much greater length than width. A typical example of a linear park is a section of a former railway that has been converted into a park called a rail trail or greenway (i.e. the tracks removed, vegetation allowed to grow back). Some examples of linear parks in North America include New York's High Line and

14560-465: Was abandoned by the early 20th century. By the early 1900s, Hunter Island had become a popular summer vacation destination, and it hosted a campsite. The Hunter House had been renovated into a hotel. In 1903, due to overcrowding on Hunter Island, NYC Parks opened another campsite at Rodman's Neck on the south tip of the island, with 100 bathhouses. By 1917, Hunter Island saw half a million seasonal visitors. The park's condition started to decline in

14690-559: Was also marked for preservation that year, and in July 1891, the descendants of the Pell family were given permission to maintain and restore the plot. After the park opened, several individuals were allowed to reside in the mansions within the park. In 1892, the New York City Department of Public Parks separately allowed the occupation of the Hunter, Hoyt, and Twin Island houses. The next year, two buildings near Pelham Bridge were auctioned off. Pelham Bay Park's ownership

14820-423: Was banned, so some park patrons began camping illegally. The current Orchard Beach recreational area and Split Rock golf course was created through the efforts of New York City park commissioner Robert Moses . Immediately after assuming his position in 1934, Moses ordered engineers to inventory every park in the city to see what needed renovating. He devised plans for a new Orchard Beach recreation area after he saw

14950-528: Was believed to have been built by an unknown Huguenot prior to 1700. What was later known as Hunter Island was originally part of the Pell estate, and Joshua Pell, a descendant of Thomas Pell, took ownership of the island in 1743. According to a newspaper article from 1933, the Old Stone House was the Pells' residence. The island was subsequently owned by the Hunter and Henderson families. The island

15080-441: Was briefly called Henderson's Island after Alexander Henderson, the third owner of the island. Upon Henderson's death in 1804, the island was offered for lease. John Hunter , a successful businessman and politician, purchased the property shortly afterward. Hunter, his wife Elizabeth, and his son Elias moved to the island in 1813. The Hunters built their own mansion on the island. The Old Stone House, which by then adjoined

15210-514: Was built on the island in 1899. Twin Island was restored in 1995 as part of the Twin Islands Salt Marsh Restoration Project, which cost $ 850,000. Rodman's Neck is a peninsula located in the central section of the park (at 40°51′09″N 73°48′02″W  /  40.852501°N 73.800556°W  / 40.852501; -73.800556  ( Rodman's Neck ) ). The southern third of the peninsula

15340-450: Was complete on the Bartow-Pell Mansion , the family's manor. Bartow died in 1868, and his family sold the mansion to the city in the 1880s. The mansion was vacant until 1915, when the city and International Garden Club assumed joint maintenance of the building. In the 1870s, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted envisioned a greenbelt across the Bronx, consisting of parks and parkways that would align more with existing geography than

15470-466: Was created in 1888, under the auspices of the Bronx Parks Department, largely inspired by the vision of John Mullaly , and passed to New York City when the part of the Bronx east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895. Orchard Beach, one of the city's most popular, was created through the efforts of Robert Moses in the 1930s. Before the colonization of what is now New York State in

15600-414: Was demolished in 1937 after a long period of deterioration. The stone causeway connected the island to the mainland. The entrance to the causeway from Eastern Boulevard (present-day Shore Road), on the mainland, was marked by two white granite gateposts. The Hunter's Island Inn, a mansion owned by Elias Hunter's daughter Elizabeth de Lancey , was located across from the gateposts. The causeway blocked

15730-406: Was established in 1967 on the northern shores of Hunter and Twin Islands. The sanctuary includes rock outcroppings and an intertidal marine ecosystem that is not found anywhere else in New York state. Hunter Island also contains the Kazimiroff Nature Trail and Orchard Beach Environmental Center, which was established in 1986 as a tribute to Bronx preservationist Theodore Kazimiroff . Hunter Island

15860-413: Was expanded, starting with the southern locker room in 1939. The water between Hunter and Twin Islands was filled in during 1946 and 1947, with new jetties at each end of the beach. The promenade was extended over the fill and opened in 1947, Further improvements were made to the bathhouse pavilion in 1952 and to the northern jetty in 1955. A new concession stand was added north of the pavilion in 1962, and

15990-402: Was heavily contaminated with "toxic wastes" dumped from 1964 to 1979. The waste from the landfill reportedly led to health problems for residents of nearby communities such as Country Club . The Tallapoosa landfill at Pelham Bay Park was designated a hazardous-waste site in 1988, and cleanup began in 1989. In 1983, the Theodore Kazimiroff Environmental Center was proposed for the park, alongside

16120-530: Was of secondary importance. As urban land prices climbed, new urban parks in the 1960s and after have been mainly pocket parks . One example of a pocket park is Chess Park in Glendale, California. The American Society of Landscape Architects gave this park a General Design Award of Honor in 2006. These small parks provide greenery, a place to sit outdoors, and often a playground for children. All four types of park continue to exist in urban areas. Because of

16250-456: Was once conducted on Hunter Island's eastern shore (though not necessarily by the Siwanoy), and on some days, fishermen netted over a thousand pounds of fish. Sources indicate Wampage II, Siwanoy sachem and son of Wampage I , had a stockaded "castle" on Hunter Island in the late 17th century. The earliest building to be built on the island was the Old Stone House, a small outbuilding that

16380-462: Was passed to New York City when the part of the Bronx east of the Bronx River was annexed to the city in 1895. Despite the park being for public use, some of the old estates remained standing, with a few occupied by private families. Due to its distance from the city, NYC Parks decided to keep 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of Pelham Bay and Van Cortlandt Parks in their natural state, unlike some of

16510-547: Was rented out to the Batthyány family to carry out such a project but the city had eventually taken back control and in 1813 announced a design competition to finally finish the park; works started in 1816. An early purpose-built public park, although financed privately, was Princes Park in the Liverpool suburb of Toxteth . This was laid out to the designs of Joseph Paxton from 1842 and opened in 1843. The land on which

16640-551: Was restarted in September 2015. At 2,772 acres (1,122 ha), Pelham Bay Park is the city's largest, being slightly more than three times the size of the 843-acre (341 ha) Central Park. Pelham Bay Park includes 13 miles (21 km) of shoreline as well as land on both sides of the Hutchinson River . Hunter Island , Twin Island , and Two-Trees Island, all formerly true islands in Pelham Bay, are now connected to

16770-457: Was situated at the highest point on the island, 90 feet (27 m) above sea level, and had views of Long Island Sound to the east and the hills and woodlands of the Town of Pelham to the north. At the time that the mansion existed, the remainder of the island was mostly lawns, except for a few outbuildings such as the former Old Stone House, as well as a tenant's house and a garden. The mansion

16900-625: Was used as a dump from 1963 until 1968, when landfill operations ceased and it became a part of the Wildlife Refuge. Since then it has been a part of the park, but there was an obscure proposal in the 1970s to make Tallapoosa into a ski slope . Tallapoosa Point was later re-planted and serves as a bird habitat. Between City Island and Orchard Beach is a sound named Pelham Bay ( 40°51′59″N 73°47′25″W  /  40.866335°N 73.790321°W  / 40.866335; -73.790321  ( Pelham Bay ) ), but contrary to its name, it

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