Joyce Kilmer Park – Bronx NY

Description

A 1935 New York City Department of Parks Press release announced a:

‘plan for the reconstruction of Joyce Kilmer Park, north of the Bronx County Court House between Walton Avenue and the Grand Concourse and extending from 161st Street to 164th Street…

The new plan calls for the continuation of the Grand Concourse through these small triangles. The panels planted with Linden trees will be also carried through to 161st Street, The diagonal street through the south end of the Park will be closed and the open well on 161st Street in front of the Court House will be covered over…

It will be built around a grass panel 900′ long centering on the Court House. The panel will be surrounded by tree shaded promenades. The memorial fountain to Heinrich Heine, which is now located in one of the small triangles to be eliminated, will be located at the north end of this grass panel. An informal walk will be carried along the west edge of the Park under shaded trees. The statue of Louis J. Heintz, which is in another of the small triangles, will be relocated on the west side of the Park overlooking a grass panel opposite 162nd Street.’   (https://kermitproject.org/newdeal/pdf/1935.html#1935/02/19)

“Although the press release does not explicitly mention any New Deal agency, all NYC Parks Department projects in the 1930s were carried out with New Deal funding and labor, as explained and documented here.”   (https://kermitproject.org/newdeal/jk10.html)

The WPA in particular was a major source of funds and labor for the NYC Parks Department.