Hyde Park (Niagara Falls, New York)
Encyclopedia
Hyde Park is a municipal park in Niagara Falls, New York
. It is the largest city park in New York
outside of Manhattan
, and is located along Hyde Park Boulevard
The park contains a golf
course, bocce
, lawn bowling, tennis
and baseball
. It is the site of Sal Maglie Stadium
, named for Niagara Falls native and Professional baseball
player Sal Maglie
. The park also features picnic pavilions, an Olympic-sized swimming pool
, the rose garden, Hyde Park Lake (which is annually stocked with trout), and the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion. It is located in the geographic center of Niagara Falls.
Hyde Park was the brainchild of Charles B. Hyde, the owner of a paper company at the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard (then known as Sugar Street). When he sold the paper company and retired, he bought a large tract of land on what was then the outskirts of the city. In 1921, he suffered a stroke and died. By that time, he had willed the land to the city for use as a park. A year later, additional land was purchased, and the city began to build the park.
In the 1930s, a dam was built across Gill Creek, which flooded swampland and created Hyde Park Lake. In 1928, the Niagara Falls Power Company donated 58 acres. The company donated land once again in 1943.
The largest structure in the park is Sal Maglie Stadium
. The original stadium was built in 1936 as a WPA
project during the Great Depression
and dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
. Originally known as Hyde Park Stadium, it was built as a multi-purpose facility. In the 1980s, the stadium was renamed Sal Maglie Stadium to honor the Major League Baseball
player who had grown up in Niagara Falls. In 1998, during the administration of Mayor James C. Galie, it was demolished and rebuilt as a facility designed only for baseball.
Niagara Falls, New York
Niagara Falls is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 50,193, down from the 55,593 recorded in the 2000 census. It is across the Niagara River from Niagara Falls, Ontario , both named after the famed Niagara Falls which they...
. It is the largest city park in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
outside of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and is located along Hyde Park Boulevard
The park contains a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course, bocce
Bocce
Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire...
, lawn bowling, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. It is the site of Sal Maglie Stadium
Sal Maglie Stadium
Sal Maglie Stadium is a stadium in Niagara Falls, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Niagara Falls Rapids of the New York - Penn League. The ballpark has a capacity of 4,000 people and opened in 1939. Its original name was simply Hyde Park Stadium, and was...
, named for Niagara Falls native and Professional baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player Sal Maglie
Sal Maglie
Salvatore Anthony Maglie was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1945-1958 for the New York Giants, Cleveland Indians, Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. Maglie was known as "Sal the Barber", because he gave close shaves—that is, pitched inside to...
. The park also features picnic pavilions, an Olympic-sized swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, the rose garden, Hyde Park Lake (which is annually stocked with trout), and the Hyde Park Ice Pavilion. It is located in the geographic center of Niagara Falls.
Hyde Park was the brainchild of Charles B. Hyde, the owner of a paper company at the corner of Hyde Park Boulevard (then known as Sugar Street). When he sold the paper company and retired, he bought a large tract of land on what was then the outskirts of the city. In 1921, he suffered a stroke and died. By that time, he had willed the land to the city for use as a park. A year later, additional land was purchased, and the city began to build the park.
In the 1930s, a dam was built across Gill Creek, which flooded swampland and created Hyde Park Lake. In 1928, the Niagara Falls Power Company donated 58 acres. The company donated land once again in 1943.
The largest structure in the park is Sal Maglie Stadium
Sal Maglie Stadium
Sal Maglie Stadium is a stadium in Niagara Falls, New York. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Niagara Falls Rapids of the New York - Penn League. The ballpark has a capacity of 4,000 people and opened in 1939. Its original name was simply Hyde Park Stadium, and was...
. The original stadium was built in 1936 as a WPA
WPA
- Agencies and organizations :*World Pool-Billiard Association*World Psychiatric Association- United States :*Washington Project for the Arts*Women's Prison Association...
project during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and dedicated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. Originally known as Hyde Park Stadium, it was built as a multi-purpose facility. In the 1980s, the stadium was renamed Sal Maglie Stadium to honor the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player who had grown up in Niagara Falls. In 1998, during the administration of Mayor James C. Galie, it was demolished and rebuilt as a facility designed only for baseball.