St. Nicholas Park
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
public park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
located in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
at the intersection of Manhattan neighborhoods Hamilton Heights
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Hamilton Heights is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattanville to the south and Washington Heights to the north. It contains the neighborhood of Sugar Hill....
and Manhattanville. The nearly 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) park is contained by 141st Street to the north, 128th Street to the south, St. Nicholas Terrace to the west, and St. Nicholas Avenue
Saint Nicholas Avenue (Manhattan)
Saint Nicholas Avenue is a major New York City street. It runs north-south between 193rd Street and 111th Streets in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It goes through the neighborhoods of Washington Heights, Harlem, Hamilton Heights, and Inwood...
to the east. Much of City College's
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
campus, including the famous Shepard Hall, is located just across St. Nicholas Terrace. The wooded park features basketball court
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
s, playgrounds, handball
American handball
American handball is a sport in which players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using their hands.- History :...
courts, a dog park
Dog park
A dog park is a facility set aside for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners...
, and New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
-designated barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
areas. Other attractions include large Manhattan schist
Manhattan schist
The Manhattan schist is a formation of mica schist rock that underlies much of the island of Manhattan in New York City. It is well suited for the foundations of tall buildings, and the two large concentrations of skyscrapers on the island occur in locations where the formation is close to the...
outcrops, and monarch butterflies
Monarch butterfly
The Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer...
that cover the butterfly bush
Butterfly bush
Butterfly Bush may refer to a number of different plants including:*Butterfly Weed *Buddleja**Buddleja davidii**Buddleja globosa*Rotheca myricoides...
es at migration time.
The park can be reached via the subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
at the 125th Street
125th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
125th Street is an express station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 125th Street and St...
( trains), 135th Street
135th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
135th Street is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 135th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the C train at all times except late nights, B train during weekdays, and A train during late nights.This is...
( trains), or 145th Street
145th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
145th Street is a two level express station on the IND Eighth Avenue and Concourse Lines of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of 145th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue in the New York City borough of Manhattan...
stations ( trains).
History
The first parkland was acquired upon the condemnationEminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
of the Croton Aqueduct
Croton Aqueduct
The Croton Aqueduct or Old Croton Aqueduct was a large and complex water distribution system constructed for New York City between 1837 and 1842...
in 1895. After additional property was acquired, construction on the park began in 1906. Like the streets on its eastern and western borders, the park was named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
whose likeness adorned one of the ships that brought the first Dutch settler
Dutch colonization of the Americas
Dutch trading posts and plantations in the Americas precede the much wider known colonization activities of the Dutch in Asia. Whereas the first Dutch fort in Asia was built in 1600 , the first forts and settlements on the Essequibo river in Guyana and on the Amazon date from the 1590s...
s to New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
. Parks Commissioner Samuel Parsons
Samuel Parsons
Samuel H. Parsons Jr. . Parsons was a well-known American landscape architect remembered primarily for his "Beaux-Arts" designs in New York City, the development of Central Park, San Diego’s Balboa Park, and for serving as a founding member to the American Society of Landscape Architects...
designed the park himself. The park next expanded in 1909, when the park's southern boundary was extended to 128th Street. In 1931, a playground opened along 129th Street. A new playground was erected on this site in 1965. Alexander Hamilton's
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
Historic farmhouse, the Hamilton Grange, was moved in 2008 to the north side of St. Nicholas Park, to face 141st street.