Rockefeller Park & The Real World

This is the conclusion of the walk I took along the Battery Park City Park Esplanade that runs along a portion of lower Manhattan west side along the Hudson River from Chambers Street to historical Battery Park...part one can be read here, and part two here. This beautiful walkway is filled with wonderful walkways, parks, meadows and flower beds. I am now in the section known as the Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, located in the north end of Battery Park City, west of River Terrace. The fountain in the photo above emptied into a man made pond.  You can see the stone top of the Irish Hunger Memorial in the background, and beyond that is the construction of the Freedom Tower on the former World Trade Center site. (all photos will enlarge when clicked on once and then click on once again when they open on a new page.)

This happy looking duck in the pond was enjoying his view of the Hudson River

Rockefeller Park contains most of Battery Park Conservancy Parks’ wide lawns, as well as a large playground, plantings and gardens, several public art pieces, and a sheltered pavilion. This playground contains a peddle-propelled carousel, climbing, running and jumping equipment for all different ages, plus sprinklers, swings and sand boxes.

The Rockefeller Park House loans board games and ping pong paddles, balls and jump ropes and has a first aid kit if needed.  A basketball and a handball court are nearby. 

The park is overseen by the Battery Park City Parks Conservancy, which provides amazing array of children's programs from May 1 to October 31.

Many of the flower beds in the park were filled with bushes filled with delightful large hibiscus flowers!

I also spotted lots of pink lilies, echinacea, and wild roses.

One of the large lawns in the park with a view of Jersey City, New Jersey, which is located across the Hudson River.

The most magical place in Rockefeller Park is Tom Otterness' "The Real World," which is a small sculpture garden at the northeast end of the park, bordering River Terrace.

Small bronze footprints wind a path toward the circular wading pool, where water rushes in at one end and sweeps out the other.

Tiny whimsical creatures lurk everywhere; on top of tables, and underfoot, even on top of lamp-posts.

The Park House will loan chess or checkers pieces if you'd like to play.

This bird better watch out as the cat has his eye on him!

A close up at all the detail in the fountain. A penny for your thoughts?

Is this frog a prince in disguise?  The Battery Park City building that houses the Poet's House can be seen in the background

This was my favorite sculpture. It is a working water fountain that has a friendly brass bulldog chained to it!

A photo collage of some more of the fanciful figures in the sculpture garden!

The Battery Park City Park Esplanade ends in the vicinity of Stuyvesant High School, which is located at 345 Chambers Street. Stuyvesant is a specialized high school for mathematics, science and technology, and is one of the premier high schools in the United States. It is noted for its strong academic programs, and has produced many notable alumni, including four Nobel laureates. Run by the New York City Department of Education, it is open to New York City residents and charges no tuition. Admission is by competitive examination.   I'm proud to say that my son is an alumnus, and was one of the first classes to attend the high school when this new building opened in Battery Park City in 1992, when the school was moved from the former east side location that was built in 1904.  We have witnessed quite a bit of the development of Battery Park City through the years, and even through the events of 9-11 severely effected the quality of life in that area for some time, the neighborhood has rebounded and is thriving and is definitely better than ever. 

The Battery Park City Park Esplanade is a wonderful place to visit and I hope you enjoyed walking along with me to see all it's interesting sights!

I'm linking to "Pink Saturday" on Beverly's blog "How Sweet The Sound."  One of my favorite blogs to visit on Pink Saturday is Susan's blog Black Eyed Susan's Kitchen.  Please visit Beverly to see the list of participating Pink Saturday blogs to visit and drop by Susan's and say hello!

A Walk Along The Esplanade of Battery Park City

In my last post I showed a portion of New York's Battery Park City's Esplanade which runs the entire length of Battery Park City, along the Hudson River from Stuyvesant High School on the north end all the way south to Historic Battery Park. The Esplanade is a pedestrian paradise, with views of the Hudson River and New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the New Jersey shoreline.  Parks and gardens line the entire route, along with numerous sculptures and public art installations.

Battery Park City Parks Conservancy (BPC Parks) is a non-profit organization which operates the nearly 36 acres of open space in Battery Park City, and maintains all the parks that were built upon this area of landfill on the southwestern portion of Manhattan, replacing piers that had fallen into disrepair in the 1960's.

The South Cove on the Esplanade, between First Place and Third Place, is one of Battery Park City's most popular destinations.  At this section we walk on a bridge over a water feature.

South Cove's winding walkways, quays, bridge and island, distinctive seaside plantings and views of the Harbor provide a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.

On a warm day, the esplanade is filled with people walking, running, roller blading and biking. The day I visited it was another one of July's unusually hot and humid days and therefore the esplanade was relatively quiet.

As I walked along the Esplanade I enjoyed the views of Jersey City, New Jersey on the opposite shore....

....... while I also admired the beautiful flowers along the path and....

....all the views of the busy water traffic on the Hudson River.

The Esplanade led to the North Cove, located on the river between Liberty Street and Vesey Street

The North Cove is a busy public yacht marina and is the home to the Manhattan Yacht Club and the North Cove Sailing School.  Charters and water taxis also arrive and depart from this location.

Directly behind the North Cove is the World Financial Center. This stunning marble and glass office complex was designed by Cesar Pelli.  It is home to the world headquarters of American Express, Merrill Lynch, Dow Jones and Deloitte and Touche.  Next door is the New York Mercantile Exchange and Goldman Sachs just built their new world headquarters next to the Financial Center.

The centerpiece of the World Financial Center is the famous Winter Garden.  This glass atrium is home to a grove of royal palm tress and there are also stores, restaurants, coffee and pastry shops inside.  All the public spaces within the World Financial Center are made of luxurious marble imported from Italy.  Located just outside the Winter Garden is the World Financial Center Plaza.  It has plenty of seating and provides a wonderful place to pause for a bite to eat while looking out over the North Cove and the Hudson River.

I'll continue my walk along the Battery Park City Esplanade in my next post where I'll show you more of the fabulous parks along its route and also one of the most fanciful children's parks I've ever seen. It reminded me of scene that could have been taken right out of Alice in Wonderland!

I'm linking this post to the "Outdoor Wednesday" at Susan's blog A Southern Daydreamer.

Green Gardening in Wagner Park, Battery Park City

Do you see the greenbelt of trees along the Hudson River in the borough of Manhattan in New York City?  This is part of Battery Park City Park, which is 36 acres of open public space in lower Manhattan.  It contains parks, gardens, plazas, playgrounds, playing fields and walkways. It is all man made land, built entirely on landfill, and on a platform extending into the Hudson River. The Battery Park City Conservancy (BPC Parks) is a non-profit organization supported mainly by the residents of Battery Park City and its commercial and residential developers, as well as by the Battery Park City Authority. (all photos will enlarge when clicked on once, and then again when they open in a new page)

Just north of Battery Park on Battery Place between West Street and First Place, Robert F.Wagner, Jr. Park occupies a gorgeous setting on the Hudson River, with views across the water to the Statue of Liberty. It’s a lovely combination of grassy lawns, colorful gardens, and walking paths.

The Park Pavilions contain the Gigino Ristorante I blogged about in my prior post, and its public roof deck affords breathtaking views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.

Wagner Park is also the location of the Museum of Jewish Heritage, located at 36 Battery Place.

The park is a magical "secret garden" full of lush plantings, winding paths, cool fountains and benches on which to sit and rest amongst the blooming perennial flower beds and shrubs.

BPC maintains the parks and gardens in a fully organic "Green" manner, without the use of toxic pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides or herbicides.  Nearly all the organic matter incorporated in the soils comes in the form of compost, which is composed of plant wastes gathered throughout the community, vegetables wastes collected from local grocers and restaurants, and horse manure provided by the mounted police.

The compost is manufactured in a compact, high efficiency facility and is applied to the planting beds twice annually.

The conservancy uses a natural system of pest control which utilizes beneficial insects such as Tichogamma wasps, lady beetles, pirate bugs, lace wings and predator mites. The BCP staff and volunteers closely monitor the health of the plants and at the first sign of stress they check to see if beneficial insects are present. If not they may respond with the least invasive treatment possible, ranging from removing the insects by hand to applying insecticidal soaps or oils.

As you can see from these two photo mosaics of flowers I found growing in Wagner Park the Battery Park Conservancy does a wonderful job making the park ablaze with beautiful color!

The hibiscus flowers were as large as dinner plates! 

It is a wonderful place to sit on a warm summer day to enjoy a bit of shade and to enjoy some quiet nature in New York City.

In my next blog post we'll walk along the Esplanade which runs the entire length of Battery Park City, along the Hudson River. 

I think you'll be amazed by its beauty and the wonderful sights we see along the way!

I'm adding this post to "Mosaic Monday" on Mary''s blog Little Red House. Please visit Mary to view her beautiful mosaic and to see the links to other blogs participating on Monday.