The Lefferts Historic House was built in 1783 by descendants of the Leffert family who had been in Brooklyn since the 17th century. This house was the second home built by the family. The first home was built when the Lefferts first moved to Brooklyn and purchased 58 acres of land in 1687. That house was destroyed during the American Revolution by Colonial troops who didn't want the British to use it as a base after the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776.&nbsp;<br><br>Peter Leffert, who built the house in 1783, served in the Revolutionary War as a lieutenant in the Continental Army. He later was part of the New York convention responsible for ratifying the Constitution in 1788. He passed the home onto his son when he died. The house remained in the family until 1918.<br><br>The City of New York accepted the house from the Leffert family in 1918, after years of urban encroachment threatened the home's future. The house was moved to Prospect Park that same year, and it was turned into a museum in 1920 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks &amp; Recreation, the museum provides an example of what family life was like in the 1820s. It was designated a city landmark in 1966.&nbsp;

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Leffert Pietersen's family was one of the first families from Europe to settle in Brooklyn when they purchased 58 acres of land there in 1687. The original home built on the property was destroyed by Colonial troops after the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. The house was rebuilt in 1783, and the family continued to live there until 1918. In 1918, the Leffert family decided to move out of the house and sell it to the city of New York, who preserved it by moving the house to Prospect Park where it still resides as a museum. 

Lefferts Historic House

This walking tour makes a loop through Prospect Park and includes a variety of monuments, museums, historic buildings, and other points of interest. Highlights include monuments related to the Battle of Brooklyn and a variety of war memorials as well as iconic Brooklyn public spaces, museums, and the Prospect Park Zoo.  

Though far less well-known than its much-larger counterpart in Manhattan, Brooklyn's Prospect Park offers its own charms. Like Central Park, Prospect Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. And like its larger neighbor, Prospect Park is filled with tucked-away places and winsome architectural features.<br><br>One such feature is the Peristyle, which is a Greek terms that refers to an architectural space surrounded by columns. Prospect Park's Peristyle is also known as the&nbsp; Grecian Shelter or the Croquet Shelter. The structure--which could have easily been transported from ancient Athens--was designed by one of the city's most acclaimed architects, Stanford White, in 1905. White would be murdered in the tabloid-esque fallout of a love triangle just a year later.&nbsp;<br><br>Though the Peristyle occupies a relatively humble position at a roadside in the park, its features are anything but humble. It features a vaulted Guastavino ceiling and limestone columns topped with marble Corinthian capitals. Located at the top of a rise, the building is perfectly situated to offer observers a clear view both of the park and the Parade Grounds, which are just across the street. In fact, the building's original purpose was to serve as a judging station for the regimental displays that took place there.&nbsp;<br><br>Like much of the city, Prospect Park fell into a period of decline and decay in the 1960s and early 1970s. The park eventually recovered and the Peristyle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Prospect Park is filled with numerous architectural features to add interest to the park. Some of these serve very simple purposes, such as providing shelter from the heat or a sudden storm. Arguably the most charming of these is the Peristyle, or Grecian Shelter, which was built in 1905. It was designed by famed architect Stanford White, who was responsible for other structures in the park. The Peristyle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The Peristyle (Grecian Shelter) at Prospect Park

<p>The Prospect Park War memorial is in the southeast corner of prospect park. It is a relatively small monument compared to its counterparts like the Grand Army Plaza dedicated to the defenders of the Union during the American Civil War. It is made of one statue and several plaques, the statue and plaques are made of bronze, and the benches, altar, and arced wall are made of granite. The statue shows the Angel of Death hovering over a soldier carrying a broken rifle. “Turning towards Death as if in a Trance” [3]. It shows the names of 2,800 Americans fallen in the name of protecting the Union, this time from a foreign enemy [1].</p><p>The monument was sculpted by the venerable Augustus Lukeman and designed by architect Arthur Pickering. August Lukeman has born January 1872 in Richmond Virginia and was a studio assistant of acclaimed Launt Thompson. He received formal training at the National academy for design and then studied at Columbia University. He then traveled to Paris to work under Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguiere. He then returned to America and became an assistant to Daniel C. French. His first work of art from his first studio was the <em>Hebrew Psalmist</em>, a façade also in Brooklyn New York. Lukeman was known for building many monuments throughout the city. But, in 1921, he finished the <em>Prospect Park Memorial</em>, which was the Monument dedicated to 2,800 Americans fallen in the First World War [2].</p><p><br /></p><p>This monument was dedicated to men of the 14th Brooklyn, the famed “Red Legged Devils”, who fought under the 106th infantry regiment during the war; who in fact, held garrison in prospect park before being reassigned to its parent unit in order to help enlist new men [3]. The 106th infantry regiment fought in France under Colonel Franklin W. War and its sister regiment was the 105th. They moved into the line on 25 June, 1918, relieving the exhausted British 6th Division stationed there. It participated in the Ypres-Lys offensive and the Second Somme Offensive, which finally cracked the Hindenburg Line. The regiment suffered 1,955 casualties, with 1,496 wounded and 376 killed in action [4].</p>

Located in the southeast corner of prospect park, Prospect Park War Memorial is an 18-foot wall with six plaques spanning the memorial's width of 35 feet. The monument seeks to honor the residents of Brooklyn who fought and died in Europe during the First World War. Sculptor Augustus Lukeman placed the Angel of Death embracing a disarmed soldier within the larger monument which was designed by architect Arthur Pickering. William H. Todd donated the funds to make the monument possible. 

Prospect Park War Memorial

<p>Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County (now LaRue County), Kentucky on February 12, 1809. His parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln, were both born in Virginia and came from humble families. When Lincoln was seven years old, his family moved to Indiana. Two years later, his mother died. As a young man, he received very little formal education. Despite this, he possessed a voracious appetite for knowledge and read as much as possible, often by candlelight well into the night. In 1830, his father moved the family to Illinois. Two years later, Lincoln served as a militia captain during the Black Hawk War, but never saw combat. After his military service ended, he read law and attempted to launch a political career, campaigning for a seat in the Illinois General Assembly as a member of the Whig Party. Lincoln was defeated, but a second attempt in 1834 was successful. He would ultimately serve four terms in the Illinois General Assembly from 1835 to 1843. During this time, he received his law license and practiced in Springfield throughout his tenure in the state legislature. In 1842, after a tumultuous courtship, Lincoln married Mary Todd, the daughter of wealthy slave-owning family from Lexington, Kentucky. The couple met a few years earlier at a ball in Springfield. The marriage produced four sons, only one of whom (Robert Todd Lincoln) lived to adulthood. </p><p><br /></p><p>Four years later, Lincoln won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. His time in Congress, however, was short-lived; serving only one term from 1847 to 1849. After, Lincoln resumed his legal career, but the passage of the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 reinvigorated his interest in politics. Four years later, Republicans in Illinois nominated him to run for the U.S. Senate. While he ultimately lost the race to Democrat Stephen Douglas, Lincoln earned a national reputation. Two years later, in 1860, the Republican Party nominated him as their candidate for president of the United States. Despite not receiving a single electoral vote from the slave states and winning just about forty percent of the popular vote, Lincoln enjoyed a relatively comfortable win in the Electoral College. </p><p><br /></p><p>Before Lincoln took the Oath of Office in early March 1861, seven southern slave states had already seceded from the Union. His decision to resupply Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor the following month led to its bombardment by South Carolina troops. While the federal installation surrendered, the incident galvanized northerners, who enthusiastically answered Lincoln’s subsequent call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the southern rebellion. His call for volunteers, however, acted as a double-edged sword; four additional southern slave states seceded and joined the Confederacy. After the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved individuals living in the Confederacy free. While in reality it did not free any slaves given that the Confederacy did not recognize or obey U.S. federal law, the Emancipation Proclamation did allow for the enrollment of African American men in the U.S. armed forces. In addition, it dashed the Confederacy’s hopes of securing foreign recognition, since both Great Britain and France had abolished slavery decades earlier and thus could not support the creation of a slave-owners’ republic. In late 1864 and early 1865, Lincoln worked assiduously to secure the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States.  </p><p><br /></p><p>On the evening of April 14, 1865, less than a week after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Lincoln was shot by southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a performance of the comedy <em>Our American Cousin</em> at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. He died early the next morning. He was fifty-six years old. Nearly two weeks later, federal troops tracked down and killed Boothe in Virginia. Four of his fellow co-conspirators were apprehended, tried, convicted, and executed that summer. </p><p><br /></p><p>Following Lincoln’s assassination, the War Fund Committee of Brooklyn began a campaign to raise funds for the construction of a monument in honor of the slain president. In response, thousands of Brooklyn residents donated to the fund-raising effort through the purchase of one-dollar subscriptions. Dedicated on October 21, 1869, the larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of Lincoln rests on an elaborate granite pedestal decorated with bronze eagles and wreaths. Designed by renowned sculptor Henry Kirke Brown, it depicts the sixteenth President of the United States standing upright, holding a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in his left hand and pointing to the phrase, “shall be forever free,” with his right. The statue was not only the first to be erected in the park’s history, but also the first to be erected of Lincoln in the country. Originally located in Grand Army Plaza, the statue was moved in the 1890s to the Concert Grove. In 2011, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that it would be moved back to Grand Army Plaza, displacing the monument to Alexander J.C. Skene. </p>

Designed by renowned sculptor Henry Kirke Brown, this Prospect Park statue commemorates the sixteenth President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). As president from 1861 to 1865, he shepherded the nation through the Civil War, while also issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and helping to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution through Congress. On the evening of April 14, 1865, less than a week after Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Lincoln was shot by southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. He died early the next morning. Following Lincoln’s assassination, the War Fund Committee of Brooklyn began a campaign to raise funds for the construction of a monument in honor of the slain president. In response, thousands of Brooklyn residents donated to the fund-raising effort through the purchase of one-dollar subscriptions. Dedicated on October 21, 1869, the larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of Lincoln rests on an elaborate granite pedestal decorated with bronze eagles and wreaths. It depicts the sixteenth President of the United States standing upright, holding a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation in his left hand and pointing to the phrase, “shall be forever free,” with his right. The statue was not only the first erected in the park’s history, but also the first erected of Lincoln in the country. Originally located in Grand Army Plaza, the statue was moved in the 1890s to the Concert Grove. In 2011, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that it would be moved back to Grand Army Plaza, displacing the monument to Alexander J.C. Skene.

Abraham Lincoln Statue

<p>Born in New York City on April 3, 1783, Washington Irving was the last—and favorite—of eleven children born to William Irving Sr., a Scottish merchant, and his English wife, Sarah (Sanders) Irving. During his early years, his father’s mercantile business prospered, gifting him a privileged upbringing. After attending private schools, Irving read law sporadically, in part to avoid becoming involved in his father’s firm, which had been the fate of his four older brothers. Interested in writing and storytelling from a young age, he indulged his creative side while reading law on and off. In 1802 and 1803, Irving published a series of satirical essays under the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle in his older brother Peter’s newspaper, the <em>Morning Chronicle</em>.  Over the next few years, he embarked on a series of excursions, which culminated in a tour of Europe from 1804 to 1806. Upon returning to the United States, Irving passed the bar and began practicing law. </p><p><br /></p><p>Despite being a lawyer, Irving’s literary pursuits remained his chief interest. From 1807 to 1808, he, in partnership with his older brother William and friend James Kirke Paulding, published <em>Salmagundi</em>, a satirical periodical. A year after <em>Salmagundi</em> ceased publication, Irving published <em>A History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker</em> (1809), a satirical history of the city. In 1811, he left his native New York and relocated to the nation’s capital, where he conducted lobbying work for the family’s mercantile firm, now owned by his older brothers (William Irving Sr. died in 1807). After serving in the War of 1812, Irving moved once again—this time to Liverpool, England—to look after the interests of his brothers’ firm. While on a business trip in London in 1817, Irving met Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott. The encounter not only led to a lifelong friendship between the two, but also inspired Irving to continue writing. A few years later, he published <em>The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent</em>., (1819-1820), a collection of roughly thirty essays and short stories that included “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and “Rip Van Winkle.” Despite being merely Americanized versions of German folktales, they have been referred to as the first American short stories. The book proved a commercial success in the United States and Great Britain, and convinced Irving that he could be a professional author.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 1826, Alexander H. Everett asked Irving to join the American delegation in Spain. While living in Spain, he published <em>Columbus</em> (1828), a biography of the famous explorer. The work helped to transform the theretofore marginally-known navigator into a national hero in the United States. It also promulgated the false belief that Europeans of the late-fifteenth century believed that the Earth was flat. </p><p><br /></p><p>After living abroad for nearly two decades, Irving returned to the United States in 1832. In the subsequent five years, he traveled the western part of the country, which inspired him to write <em>A Tour of the Prairies</em> (1835), <em>Astoria</em> (1836), and <em>The Adventures of Captain Bonneville</em> (1837). In 1842, Irving once again left the United States, this time to serve as minister to Spain. He would occupy the position until 1846. After his time as an American diplomat came to an end, Irving returned to his homestead, “Sunnyside,” in Tarrytown, New York. In his final years, he wrote a five-volume biography of his namesake, George Washington. Irving died on November 28, 1859 at the age of seventy-six. </p><p><br /></p><p>In 1871, only a little more than a decade after Irving’s death, a bronze bust of the well-known American author was dedicated in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Created by sculptor James Wilson Alexander MacDonald, the bust combines a naturalistic facial depiction of Irving with the bare shoulder convention of classical sculpture. It sits on a granite pedestal shaped like an inverted pyramid. </p>

The memorial honors the life and work of Washington Irving (1783-1859). Born in New York City, he is considered one of the first great American authors. Irving is best remembered today for his short stories “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and “Rip Van Winkle.” In 1871, only a little more than a decade after Irving’s death, a bronze bust of the author was dedicated in Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Created by sculptor James Wilson Alexander MacDonald, the bust combines a naturalistic facial depiction of Irving with the bare shoulder convention of classical sculpture. It sits on a granite pedestal shaped like an inverted pyramid. 

Washington Irving Memorial

The Boathouse was built in 1904 in the classical Roman style, which was common throughout the country at that time. The style's&nbsp;popularity grew after it saw a resurgence during&nbsp;the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. The design of the building closely resembled that of&nbsp;Penn Station which was demolished in the 1960s.&nbsp;<br><br>The Boathouse almost shared the same fate in 1964, as it was underused for so long. However, plans were made to preserve it, and it was&nbsp;listed on the&nbsp;National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It underwent renovation in the 1980s and then once more in 2000. In the 1980s-1990s, the boathouse served as the park ranger's headquarters and a visitor center. Thanks to the efforts of the Prospect Park Alliance and the Audubon Society chapter in New York, it is now an Audubon Society Center.<br>

The Boathouse on the Lullwater of the Lake is a two-story, classical Roman style building located on the eastern side of Prospect Park, Brooklyn in New York. Built in 1907, it served as a boathouse for many years but is now home to the Prospect Park Audubon Center. It is the first Audubon center in an urban park. It was named to National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The center's exhibits and free programs aim to educate children and the public at large about the park's natural diversity.

Boathouse on the Lullwater of the Lake (Prospect Park Boathouse)

<p><b><u>The Battle of Long Island</u></b></p>After George Washington took Boston on&nbsp;March 17, 1776 at the Siege of Boston, the British fled the city. Washington guessed that they would try to take New York City, an important port, so he went to New York as fast as he could to set up defenses. In July, 32,000 British troops led by General William Howe landed on Staten Island. Washington split his troops, leaving some in Manhattan, and sending some to fortify Brooklyn. The Brooklyn troops set up defenses facing New York Harbor and Staten Island, as that was where the British attack was expected to come from. However, on August 27, the&nbsp;British crept up on the American Continental Army from the rear and the flanks via Jamaica.&nbsp;Surprised, the Americans weren't ready to stop the British from advancing onto them. To slow the British down, the Americans chopped down a large white oak tree, which fell across the road at this site, blocking the British advancement long enough to allow the Americans time to retreat back to Manhattan. George Washington was purportedly the last American to leave Brooklyn.<br><br><p><b><u>The Monument</u></b></p>The plaque says (in original formatting):<br><blockquote><h6>SITE OF THE DONGAN OAK</h6><h6>AT THE BATTLE OF LONG ISLAND,</h6><h6>ON THE HILL TO
 THE NORTH OF THIS</h6><h6>SPOT, THE AMERICANS HAD A REDOUBT</h6><h6>WITH TWO GUNS, 
TO GUARD THE OLD</h6><h6>VALLEY GROVE ROAD, CALLED BY THE</h6><h6>EARLY SETTLERS THE
 "PORTE", MEANING</h6><h6>GATE-WAY THROUGH THE HILLS, AND WHICH</h6><h6>RAN IN FRONT
 OF THIS MONUMENT. BY</h6><h6>THAT ROAD STOOD A WHITE-OAK, MENTIONED</h6><h6>IN THE 
PATENT OF GOVERNOR DONGAN,</h6><h6>NOVEMBER 12, 1685, AS A MARKER BETWEEN</h6><h6>FLATBUST AND BROOKLYN. THIS TREE WAS</h6><h6>CUT DOWN AND THROWN ACROSS THE</h6><h6>ROAD, WITH THE DENSE WOODS ON THE</h6><h6>SOUTH AND SWAMPS ON THE NORTH, IT</h6><h6>MADE AN IMPORTANT OBSTRUCTION.</h6><h6>AMERICANS, COMMANDED BY GENERAL</h6><h6>SULLIVAN, VALIANTLY DEFENDED THIS POSITION</h6><h6>AGAINST THE HESSIAN GENERAL
 DE HEISTER,</h6><h6>UNTIL ATTACKED FROM THE REAR BY BRITISH</h6><h6>TROOPS, UNDER 
GENERAL CLINTON, THEN</h6><h6>THEY RETIRED IN GOOD ORDER, BRINGING</h6><h6>OFF THEIR
 ARTILLERY.</h6></blockquote>A plaque in the ground says<br>

<blockquote><h6>THIS MONUMENT</h6><h6>DEDICATED ON

</h6><h6>NOVEMBER 25, 1922</h6><h6>

</h6><h6>WAS RESTORED BY</h6><h6>

</h6><h6>THE PROSPECT PARK ALLIANCE.</h6><h6><br></h6><h6>ALEXANDER ETTL,</h6><h6>

</h6><h6>THE ORIGINAL CASTER</h6><h6>

</h6><h6>RECREATED F.W. RUCKSTULL'S</h6><h6>

</h6><h6>EAGLE AND PLAQUE.</h6><h6><br></h6><h6>

</h6><h6>REDEDICATED/JUNE 6, 1991.</h6></blockquote> The monument was cast and dedicated in 1922. It costed $2,000 ($27,145.89 in 2015 dollars). The stand is made of granite, and the eagle and plaque are made of bronze. The eagle was stolen in 1974, was replaced and rededicated in 1991, was stolen again, and was replaced a second time.<br><br><br><br><br>

The Dongan Oak Monument marks the place where American troops chopped down an oak tree and used it to obstruct the road in Brooklyn, slowing down British advancement in the 1776 Battle of Long Island. This event saved countless American lives by giving them time to escape. The Monument was built in 1922 by Frederick W. Ruckstull, and it is made out of granite with a bronze eagle atop it and bronze plaque attached. 

Site of the Dongan Oak Monument

<p>Animal exhibits at the Prospect Park Zoo include Animal Lifestyles, Barn and Garden, Discovery Trail, Hall of Animals and Sea Lion Court. Activities include the Discovery Center which allows the Zoo’s youngest guests to interact with animals and learn from first-hand experiences, as well as the Sea Lion Training Sessions which help stimulate the sea lions. The Zoo also offers camps, special programs, occasional events, field trips and themed birthday parties.</p>

<p>The Prospect Park Zoo, which is small in size at about 12 acres, houses nearly 400 animals of more than 100 species. The facility has been home to some form of menagerie or zoo since the late 1800s. It became a more modernized zoo after the formation of the New York City Parks Department and plans were announced for the Prospect Park Zoo in 1934. It opened in 1935.</p>

<p>The Zoo went through a number of ups and substantial downs in the following years until it was closed in 1988. Animals were relocated to other facilities and the Parks Department conducted a major tear down and rebuilding phase. It was turned over to the NY Zoological Society in 1993. In re-opened in late 1993. That coincided with the NY Zoological Society changing its name to the Wildlife Conservation Society. The Zoo has survived budget woes and struggles with attendance, but thankfully, it has been on the uptick in recent years.</p><br>

The Prospect Park Zoo is one of four New York City zoos as well as the New York Aquarium operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society. The other New York City zoos are the Bronx Zoo, the Queens Zoo, and the Central Park Zoo. Together they attract more than 4 million visitors each year. The Prospect Park Zoo features a variety of exhibits, activities, and special events. It is open 365 days a year.

Prospect Park Zoo

<p>Ebbets Field was more than a baseball stadium to the fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the local community known as Flatbush. Fans could buy tickets to the game at the stadium in one of the twelve ticket windows and enter the stadium through any of the multiple turnstiles. </p><p><br /></p><p>In the early 1900s, a man named Charles Ebbets bought the Dodgers and decided to build a ballpark for them, one made of steel due to the frequent fires that occurred in so many wooden ballparks during that time. The reason for this new stadium was actually because their old one, Washington Park, was one of those that burnt down. He decided to build the park in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, purchasing over 1,200 parcels of land along the Bedford Av. and Cedar Place. </p><p><br /></p><p>Construction began in 1912, and the stadium was completed in just over a year. Naming the new steel ballpark after himself, Ebbets Field hosted its first game on April 9th, 1913 against Philadelphia. Although it was a loss for the Dodgers, the field would be the scene of many legendary events in baseball history. </p><p><br /></p><p>Even though it was open and games were being played there, it wasn't yet complete. They still had to add a flag, seating in left and center field, and a scoreboard. Despite the fact it wasn't complete, it seemed as though the stadium was lucky because the Dodgers saw lots success for the first few years.</p><p><br /></p><p>Many legends called Ebbets Field home throughout the years, including legendary broadcaster Ernie Harwell. Harwell was a part of history when he became the only broadcaster to ever be traded when the Crackers traded him to Brooklyn for a minor league catcher in 1948. Harwell was with the team through the 1949 season, but got a lot of experience within those two seasons. It was his first time in the majors, and he also got some time on television calling the games. One of the highlights of his time here was Jackie Robinson stole home in Harwell's first ever broadcast with the team.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ebbets Field hosted nine World Series and was also home to the 1949 All-Star game. But during its 47 years, there was one moment in American and baseball history that stands above the rest--the integration of Major League baseball by Jackie Robinson.</p><p><br /></p><p>Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia and was an outstanding athlete from a young age. He would excel in many sports and became a star running back for UCLA. Robinson also excelled at baseball but faced limited opportunities due to the exclusion of Black players from the Major Leagues.  </p><p><br /></p><p>After graduation, Robinson served as an officer in the U.S. Army. Robinson repeatedly challenged the army's policies and practices of racial segregation and would even face a court-martial after refusing to give up his seat on an army bus. Army regulations forbid segregation on its buses, and Robinson was eventually exonerated but not until thousands of African Americans rallied to support his cause. </p><p><br /></p><p>Following the end of World War II, Jackie signed with the Kansas City Monarchs--a member of the Negro League. His talent and success led Branch Rickey, President of the Brooklyn Dodgers to sign Robinson--the first African-American to play for a Major League team since the late 19th century. Despite facing racial epithets and even death threats, Robinson led an already talented Brooklyn team to the pennant and was selected as Major League Baseball's Rookie of the Year. </p>

Ebbets Field was the home to the Brooklyn Dodgers between 1913 and 1957. In the early 1900s, team owner Charlie Ebbets worked to create a more modern replacement for Washington Park, a wooden ballpark that could no longer accommodate the team and sport's growing fan base. Ebbets acquired bought parcels of land throughout the area, including a garbage dump called Pigtown--a reference to the practice of using urban garbage dumps as a place to raise and feed pigs. Construction of the stadium began in 1912. One year later, Pigtown had been transformed into Ebbets Field.  

Ebbets Field was one of the most iconic stadiums during baseball's golden age. It also hosted a succession of professional football franchises in the early years of the National Football League. The significance of Ebbets Field transcended the realm of sports when Jackie Robinson took the field on April 15, 1947, making him the first African-American Baseball player in Major League Baseball's modern age. After new team owner Walter O'Malley decided to move the team to Los Angeles, the Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field on September 24, 1957. The stadium was torn down three years later. Walter O'Malley's decision to remove the beloved team from Brooklyn remains the most notorious example of an owner moving a professional team in American sports history. To this day, Brooklyn residents view O'Malley as a villain, although many baseball historians insist that the story is more complicated, pointing to examples where O'Malley attempted to keep the team in Brooklyn. 

Ebbets Field, 1913-1960

<p>According to its website, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's mission is to maintain an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment.</p>

<p>Although its name says “Garden,” there are many individual gardens inside. Numerous theme gardens give visitors both an artistic and educational experience. The Garden also features many signs, plaques, and plants throughout, giving visitors a glimpse into history from the glaciers that helped form the area, to monetary donations used to build the facility, and even plant markers commemorating major events such as the September 11 terrorist attacks.</p>

<p>The Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers many classes and workshops for adults and children and lots of family friendly activities throughout the year. It also has a large historic image collection for guests to enjoy. There is a Visitor’s Center which is located in an existing hillside and helps highlight conservation and sustainability. Its leaf-shaped roof hosts more than 40,000 plants.</p><br>

What was once an ash dump in the late 1800s is now dozens of acres of horticultural mastery and education. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded in 1910. It is located in the Prospect Park neighborhood. The Garden would have never been built if not for state legislation that set aside 39 acres of land specifically for a botanic garden. It has expanded over the years to include a variety of facilities and programs that showcase the best in urban horticultural as well as educational resources. Today, the Garden spans 52 acres.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

<p>In 1823, August Graham founded the Brooklyn Apprentices’ Library, the first step in a long series of evolutions that would result in the Brooklyn Museum. The library moved into the Brooklyn Lyceum building in 1841, with the two organizations merging two years later to form the Brooklyn Institute. The conglomerate organization was a multi-faceted center for the arts, offering lectures on a wide range of subjects and serving as a space for art exhibitions. For almost fifty years, the Brooklyn Institute flourished until director Franklin Hooper reorganized it into the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. The new institute began planning for a monumental museum, and commissioned the architects McKim, Mead &amp; White to design such a building. The architects delivered on the grand scale institute leaders desired as the original plans would have made the Brooklyn Museum the largest in the world. In addition to designing the museum building, McKim, Mead &amp; White also designed other components of the Brooklyn Institute such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Central Library of the Brooklyn Public Library System.</p><p>Construction began on the Brooklyn Museum in 1895 but was not completed entirely until 1926. Many problems hindered construction. An auditorium was added to the basement of the building, which required the main floor to be raised, which in turn necessitated a complete revision of the building’s monumental entry stairway. Most construction was paused during World War I. Additional changes were made to the museum in the 1920s so that it would line up with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which was also being constructed. New construction effectively finished in 1926, though the museum building was only a quarter of the size McKim, Mead &amp; White had initially intended. The Brooklyn Museum building is in a neoclassical style with beaux-arts details and features.</p><p>Despite being recently built, the museum was left to deteriorate until 1934. During this year, the Municipal Art Commission rushed a demolition of the front staircase of the building. The rush was due to disagreement with the architects who did not wish to see the design modified – the commission simply made changes while McKim, Mead &amp; White were out of town. With the removal of the stairs, the entrance and lobby of the museum were relocated to the ground floor. Modifications continued at the Brooklyn Museum throughout the latter half of the twentieth century. In the 1950s, beaux-arts details were removed from most of the columns. In the 1970s, an extension was created which now houses educational facilities. As the original auditorium had been usurped by the new lobby, a 460 seat auditorium was added under the auspices of Arata Isozaki and James Stewart Polshek. During the 1990s, a nearly decade long refurbishment repaired and replaced the skylights and roof of the entire museum.</p><p>Some of the Brooklyn Museum’s most striking changes have occurred in the last twenty years. In 2004, a critically acclaimed and extensively awarded plaza, entrance, and fountain were added to the front of the building. Other changes in 2004 include renovation of the museum’s library and the Luce Center for American Art. The 2007 Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art was the first public space of its kind in the United States and features iconic feminist works such as Judy Chicago’s “The Dinner Party.” The Brooklyn Museum is currently renovating the Great Hall space on the main floor. Once completed, it will provide a more cohesive entrance experience to the museum by rearranging museum services, such as the gift shop, and allowing space for a rotating introductory gallery.</p><p>The Brooklyn Museum is home to many major art collections. The Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art Collection, is often considered to be a seminal array of works. It was established in 1900 alongside the Arts of Africa Collection, which is similarly significant. A bequest in 1855 established an American Collection, which includes works dated up to circa 1945. Other important collections include the Arts of the Pacific Islands Collection, Arts of the Islamic World Collection, and the European Art Collection. The lattermost collection contains a multitude of nineteenth century impressionist paintings and sculptures by artists such as Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, and Paul Cézanne. The museum also maintains a collection of Contemporary Art, complemented by the relatively newer Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. In addition to art objects, the Brooklyn Museum Libraries and Archives holds over 300,000 volumes.</p>

The Brooklyn Museum, housed in a 560,000-square-foot, neoclassical beaux-arts building, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the country. Its world-renowned permanent collections range from ancient Egyptian masterpieces to contemporary art and represent a wide range of cultures. The museum is also New York City's third largest in physical size and holds an art collection with roughly 1.5 million works. The museum building has undergone near constant renovations since its construction completed in 1926, and is a shining example of modern and historical integration.

Brooklyn Museum 

<p>Planning for the Brooklyn Public Library's Central Branch began in 1889, when site selection was assigned to the Brooklyn Park Commission. Ground wasn't broken for the library until 1912 on the Beaux Arts design by architect Raymond F. Almirall (1869-1939). The overly ambitious project was slowed by economic conditions brought on by World War I and the Great Depression, and only one vacant, unfinished wing bordered Flatbush Avenue. The design was revamped to a more modern style in 1935 by architects Alfred M. Githens and Francis Keally, and work began again on the library building. Finally, the library branch opened on February 1, 1941, in a limestone-clad Modern Classical structure with Art Deco details.</p><p></p><p>When viewing the library building from above, the shape resembles an open book with the spine facing Grand Army Plaza and the wings along Eastern Parkway and Flatbush Ave. as the pages. The dramatic main entrance (facing Grand Army Plaza) is 50 feet tall and set into a concave facade that echoes the curve of the oval outline of Grand Army Plaza. The entrance features 15 gilded figures taken from American literature. The columns lining the doorway are filled with gold-leaf etchings representing the evolution of art and science over time. There are inscriptions on all three main sides of the library's exterior. Above the main doorway is this quote by Roscoe Brown, President of the Brooklyn Public Library Board in 1941: "While men have wit to read and will to know, the door to learning is the open book." One of the Flatbush Ave. inscriptions is by Alexander Smith and begins: "I go into my library, and history rolls before me...." (see the link below for other inscriptions).</p><p></p><p>A multi-million-dollar renovation of the Central Library began in 2018 with work on the entry plaza. The first phase of renovation was complete in May 2021, with a new or revamped welcome center, business and career center, grand lobby, and more. The next phases, scheduled for 2022 to 2023, will renovate the adult learning and teen spaces and refurbish the collections. In the future, there may be construction of an elevated outdoor garden to connect the library to Mount Prospect Park.</p>

<p>The Central Library is the main branch of Brooklyn's Public Library. Located on the southeast side of Grand Army Plaza, the building was built in several phases beginning in 1912 and ending in 1955. The building houses The Brooklyn Collection and features a bronze entryway sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones and C. Paul Jennewein, leading to a grand lobby. The Brooklyn Public Library's Central Library building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 for its architectural significance. The Central Library is the most-visited branch in Brooklyn and is in the midst of a multi-million-dollar, multi-phase renovation begun in 2018.</p>

Brooklyn Central Library

<p>Henry Warner Slocum was born in Delphi, Onondaga County, New York on September 24, 1827. The son of Matthew B. Slocum, a businessman, and Mary Ostrander, he enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1848. Four years later, Slocum graduated near the top of his class and received a commission as a second lieutenant in the First Artillery. He served in Florida for roughly a year before being assigned to garrison duty at Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor in 1853. While in South Carolina, during his spare time, Slocum read law under B.C. Presley, who would later serve on the state’s supreme court. In 1854, he received a furlough to return to New York and marry Clara Rice. The couple would have four children. In March 1855, Slocum received a promotion to the rank of first lieutenant. He, however, eventually grew tired of garrison duty in South Carolina. On October 31, 1856, Slocum resigned his commission and returned home to Onondaga County, settling in Syracuse. There, in 1858, he was admitted to the bar and began a law practice. Not long after, Slocum entered into the political arena when he accepted an appointment as county treasurer. In 1859, he was elected to the state legislature. </p><p><br /></p><p>When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Slocum volunteered to serve his country and was appointed colonel of the Twenty-Seventh New York Infantry, a volunteer regiment. During the First Battle of Bull Run, he suffered a serious wound to his left thigh. Soon after, Slocum received a promotion to the rank of brigadier general and took over command of a brigade serving in William B. Franklin’s division of the Army of the Potomac. During the initial stages of the Peninsula Campaign, he took over command of Franklin’s division. In July 1862, Slocum received a promotion to the rank of major general. In the wake of the Second Battle of Bull Run the following month, his division helped to cover the federal retreat. Despite being present at the Battle of Antietam in mid-September 1862, Slocum and his men did not see combat. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to command the Twelfth Army Corps, which suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Two months later, Slocum and the Twelfth Corps composed part of the federal defensive line on Culp’s Hill. About a year later, he was appointed to command the Twentieth Corps. Slocum and his men participated in General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea in late 1864 and his Carolinas Campaign in early 1865. In late September 1865, he resigned his commission and returned home to Syracuse. </p><p><br /></p><p>In 1866, Slocum and his wife moved to Brooklyn. There, he opened a law practice and resumed his political career. Running as a Democrat, Slocum won three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving from 1869 until 1873, and again from 1883 until 1885. On April 14, 1894, he died in Brooklyn. His remains were buried in Greenwood Cemetery. </p><p><br /></p><p>Shortly after Slocum’s death, the City of Brooklyn decided to erect a monument in his honor. Created by renowned sculptor Frederick MacMonnies and esteemed architect Stanford White, the monument consists of a bronze life-sized equestrian statue on a granite pedestal. Slocum sits proudly on his horse, his left hand firmly clutching the reins and his right hand holding his sword above his head, as if leading troops into battle. The pedestal is embellished with a bronze eagle on the front and two bronze medallions on each side. On May 30, 1905, the monument was unveiled to the public at an elaborate, well-attended dedication ceremony. It originally stood on Eastern Parkway at Bedford Avenue. In 1922, deeming it a traffic hazard, the borough moved it to Fifteenth Street and Prospect Park West. Only six years later, the borough once again moved it, this time to its current location in Grand Army Plaza, the main entrance to Prospect Park. </p>

Created by renowned sculptor Frederick MacMonnies and esteemed architect Stanford White, the monument honors the life and military career of Henry Warner Slocum (1827-1894). A native of Onondaga County, New York and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Slocum rose to the rank of major general during the Civil War and commanded troops at many of the conflict’s famous battles, including the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Chancellorsville, the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he settled in Brooklyn, where he died in 1894. Shortly after his death, the City of Brooklyn decided to erect a monument in his honor. Consisting of a bronze life-sized equestrian statue on a granite pedestal, the monument was unveiled to the public at an elaborate, well-attended dedication ceremony on May 30, 1905. It originally stood on Eastern Parkway at Bedford Avenue. In 1922, deeming it a traffic hazard, the borough moved it to Fifteenth Street and Prospect Park West. Only six years later, the borough once again moved it, this time to its current location in Grand Army Plaza, the main entrance to Prospect Park.

General Henry Warner Slocum Monument 

<h4><b>Soldiers' and Sailors' Monuments Across the US</b></h4><p>Most Union Civil War veterans were in their 50s and 60s in the late 1880s and early 1890s, when commemorative ceremonies and monuments were being built in New York, Brooklyn, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Connecticut, and Gettysburg, among other places. Furthermore, the construction of Civil War memorials across the nation was, in part, due to the power and advocacy of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and the children of Civil War veterans who wanted&nbsp;to recognize the achievements of the previous generation. Lastly, civic pride at this time formed as part of a social necessity, as patriotic feelings swelled due to&nbsp;American Imperialism and greater involvement in foreign policy.</p><h4><b>Building of the Arch</b></h4><p>Prospect Park and the Grand Army Plaza date back to 1867, though plans for both the park and the plaza were devised in the late 1850s and early 1860s. The Soldiers’s and Sailors’ Arch Monument was composed in the&nbsp;late 1880s, and the Soldiers’s and Sailors’ Monument Commission selected the designs of famous American architect John H. Duncan in 1889.&nbsp;</p><p>Duncan soon began collaboration with architects Stanford White, Samuel Parsons, and Calvert Vaux to prepare the site and build the arch. At the time, the Grand Army Plaza was undergoing significant renovations, and in 1889, renowned Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman spoke during the cornerstone ceremony. Three years later in 1892, President Grover Cleveland presented the unveiling of the arch. Although nowadays the arch features lavish statues, the 1892 unveiling included no such attributes, though it was recognized for its architectural beauty as a centerpiece for the Prospect Park entrance.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Following the initial construction, plans were made to outfit the arch with various statutes glorifying essential figures and American images central to the civic duty in which the monument would abide. Furthermore, the decision to add statues in 1894 came from the City Beautiful movement, spearheaded by the McKim, Mead and White architectural firm.&nbsp;</p><p>At the behest of Park Commissioner Frank Squire, famous American sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies was tasked with designing three sculptural groupings. In 1895, sculptors William O’Donovan and Thomas Eakins installed equestrian bas-reliefs of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant on the monument’s interior arch faces. MacMonnies then sculpted the Army and Navy sculptures as well as the crowning quadriga sculpture, which were installed in 1898.</p>
<p>To this day, the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch Monument endures as a beautiful aesthetic commemorating both Brooklyn and national pride as well as a memory of the Civil War.<sub>1</sub></p>

Often referred to as "Brooklyn’s Arc de Triomphe," this monument has stood at the main entrance of Prospect Park since 1892. The monument was built with the support of the Grand Army of the Republic, the leading fraternal organization for Union veterans. The monument demonstrates the Beaux-Arts style of architecture that was common for monuments of this type. Its grand arch is adorned with statues and reliefs. 

The monument, like many other Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monuments throughout the country, honors the memory and bravery of Civil War soldiers and sailors, but it also reflects the civic pride and optimism of many Americans at the turn-of-the-century. The monument was dedicated in 1892, with many of the statues and reliefs finished over the next six years. 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Arch

<p>John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born into a wealthy, well-connected Irish-Catholic family in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917. His father, Joe Kennedy, had amassed a large fortune in banking, real estate, and stock market speculation. His mother, Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy, was the daughter of John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, a former mayor of Boston and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The second of nine children, Kennedy graduated from Harvard in 1940. The following year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the South Pacific during the final years of the Second World War. In early August 1943, a Japanese destroyer collided with and sank <em>PT-109</em>, a patrol torpedo boat commanded by Kennedy. Despite suffering significant injuries, he helped lead the survivors to safety. For his heroics, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal. </p><p><br /></p><p>Following the war, Kennedy launched his political career, during which he never lost a race. In 1946, at the age of twenty-nine, he ran as a Democrat and won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Massachusetts’ Eleventh Congressional District. After serving three terms in the House, Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate in 1952. In a relatively close election, he defeated popular Republican incumbent, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. The following year, the junior senator from Massachusetts married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. In the mid-1950s, while recovering from back surgery, Kennedy wrote <em>Profiles in Courage</em>, which won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1957. Three years later, he secured his party’s nomination for President of the United States. That November, Kennedy narrowly defeated Republican nominee, Vice President Richard Nixon. With his victory, he became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to our country’s highest office. </p><p><br /></p><p>The Cold War abroad and the civil rights movement at home dominated Kennedy’s presidency. In 1961, a CIA-orchestrated operation to oust communist dictator Fidel Castrol from Cuba, known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, ended in disaster. The following year, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war, but helped make possible the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1963. At home, Kennedy put federal pressure on the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama to admit African American students. In 1963, during a primetime address to the nation, he called for the passage of landmark civil rights legislation. The result would be the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed racial segregation in public places and racial discrimination in employment. On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. </p><p><br /></p><p>The idea of a memorial to President Kennedy in Brooklyn originated with the president of the Borough of Brooklyn, Abe Stark. Soon after Kennedy’s assassination, Stark suggested the idea to the mayor of New York City, Robert F. Wagner, and the commission of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Newbold Morris. The American Institute of Architects oversaw the design competition and selected the proposal submitted by the firm Morris Ketchum, Jr. and Associates. Dedicated on May 31, 1965 in Grand Army Plaza, the memorial consisted of a bronze portrait bust of Kennedy, designed by sculptor Neil Estern, mounted on an oblong pedestal sheathed in Vermont marble. Etched into the front of the pedestal was the famous, inspirational line from Kennedy’s inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” A stairway led up to the memorial, which sat at the center of a circular plaza, forty-one-feet in diameter and partially paved with ebonite pebbles from the Amazon River. In attendance at the unveiling, in addition to Stark and Wagner, was Kennedy’s younger brother and former U.S. attorney general, Robert F. Kennedy. </p><p><br /></p><p>The memorial’s design, along with mistakes made during construction, led to the memorial’s eventual replacement. Over time, moisture became trapped in the pedestal’s marble veneer, which resulted in discoloration and rapid deterioration. Vandalism during the 1960s and 1970s, when Prospect Park fell into disrepair, only exacerbated the situation. Finally, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the City of New York and the Prospect Park Alliance moved to renovate the northern part of Grand Army Plaza, which provided an opportunity to address the memorial and its plaza. The stairway was removed and the plaza repaved with bluestone. A new grey granite pedestal designed by Estern replaced the old, discolored one. In addition, the sculptor designed a new bronze bust of Kennedy. The redesigned memorial to President Kennedy was unveiled on August 24, 2010. </p>

This Grand Army Plaza memorial commemorates the thirty-fifth President of the United States, John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). Born into a wealthy, well-connected Irish-Catholic family in Massachusetts, he graduated from Harvard in 1940 and served in the South Pacific during the final years of the Second World War. Kennedy served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 and the U.S. Senate from 1953 to 1960. In the presidential election of 1960, he narrowly defeated Republican nominee, Vice President Richard Nixon. With his victory, Kennedy became the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic ever elected to our country’s highest office. On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, he was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while traveling in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. Dedicated on August 24, 2010, the memorial consists of a bronze bust of Kennedy situated on a grey granite pedestal, both designed by sculptor Neil Estern. Etched into the front of the pedestal is the famous, inspirational line from Kennedy’s inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”

John F. Kennedy Memorial

<p>Alexander Johnston Chalmers Skene was born in the small village of Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on June 17, 1838. He attended King’s College in London before immigrating to Canada, where he settled in Toronto and began studying medicine. Skene then immigrated to the United States and continued his medical studies at the University of Michigan. After a short time in Ann Arbor, he moved to Brooklyn, where he finally earned his medical degree from the Long Island College Hospital (now the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center) in 1863. </p><p><br /></p><p>At the time, the country was embroiled in the Civil War. After graduation, Skene served for nearly a year as an assistant surgeon in the Union Army, during which time he was stationed in South Carolina and New York. Once out of the military, he settled in Brooklyn and established a private medical practice. Sometime after, Skene began teaching part-time at the same place he earned his medical degree, Long Island College Hospital. In 1870, he received a promotion to Professor of Diseases of Women and Clinical Obstetrics, a position he would occupy for nearly three decades. In addition to holding his faculty position, Skene served as the college’s Dean of Faculty from 1886 to 1893 and its president from 1893 to 1899. </p><p><br /></p><p>Skene was a prolific, internationally renowned physician and researcher who helped to establish the specialties of obstetrics and gynecology. In the course of his career, he published over one hundred scholarly articles and a handful of textbooks. Today, Skene is best known for his discovery of the para-urethral glands in the female genitalia, which were later named in his honor. In the late 1880s, Skene helped to found the American Gynecological Society, the first national organization in the world devoted to obstetrics and gynecology. </p><p><br /></p><p>Outside of medicine, Skene devoted considerable time to various artistic pursuits. He dabbled in sculpture and even published a Victorian romance novel. A bust he created of friend and fellow physician, J. Marion Sims, resides in the Medical Society of the County of Kings. Skene died at his vacation home in the Catskill Mountains on July 4, 1900, just weeks after celebrating his sixty-second birthday. </p><p><br /></p><p>Following Skene’s death, his colleagues at Long Island College Hospital formed a committee and began raising funds to erect a monument in his honor. The committee commissioned artist John Massey Rhind and architects M.L. and H.G. Emery to construct the monument, and selected Brooklyn’s Prospect Park as the appropriate site for its location. Dedicated in 1905 in Grand Army Plaza, the monument features a larger-than-life-sized bronze bust of Skene, dressed in a suit jacket and tie with an academic robe draping his shoulders. The bust sits atop a truncated Vermont white marble obelisk, which is partially built into a stele made of the same material. </p><p><br /></p><p>In 2011, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the monument to Skene would be moved to accommodate the relocation of the park’s statue of Abraham Lincoln. Residing in Prospect Park’s Concert Grove since the 1890s, the statue of Lincoln will take the place of Skene’s monument in Grand Army Plaza. Consequently, Skene’s monument will be moved to another location within the plaza.</p>

This monument commemorates physician, professor, and researcher, Alexander J.C. Skene (1838-1900). Born in Scotland, he served as Professor of Diseases of Women and Clinical Obstetrics at Long Island College Hospital (now the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center) for nearly three decades. In the late 1880s, Skene helped to found the American Gynecological Society, the first national organization in the world devoted to obstetrics and gynecology. Today, he is best known for his discovery of the para-urethral glands in the female genitalia, which were later named after him. Following Skene’s death, his colleagues at Long Island College Hospital formed a committee and began raising funds to erect a monument in his honor. The committee commissioned artist John Massey Rhind and architects M.L. and H.G. Emery to construct the monument, and selected Brooklyn’s Prospect Park as the appropriate site for its location. Dedicated in 1905 in Grand Army Plaza, the monument features a larger-than-life-sized bronze bust of Skene, dressed in a suit jacket and tie with an academic robe draping his shoulders. The bust sits atop a truncated Vermont white marble obelisk, which is partially built into a stele made of the same material. In 2011, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation announced that the monument to Skene would be moved to a new location within Grand Army Plaza to accommodate the relocation of the park’s statue of Abraham Lincoln. 

Alexander J.C. Skene Monument

<p>Gouverneur Kemble Warren was born on January 8, 1830 in Cold Spring, New York. In 1850, he graduated second in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following graduation, Warren was assigned to the Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. By exploring and surveying western lands for a transcontinental railroad route, he helped to create one of the first comprehensive maps of the United States west of the Mississippi River. Warren received a promotion to the rank of first lieutenant in 1856 and three years later became a professor of mathematics at West Point, a position he held until the spring of 1861.</p><p><br /></p><p>Soon after the Civil War broke out, Warren entered the volunteer army, becoming lieutenant colonel of the Fifth New York Infantry. With his regiment, he saw combat at the Battle of Bethel Church on June 10, 1861. A few months later, Warren was promoted to the rank of colonel. During the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, he commanded a brigade in V Corps. Warren was wounded at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, but recovered quickly enough to perform admirably at the Battle of Malvern Hill. Later that same year, he participated in the Second Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Antietam, and the Battle of Fredericksburg. Following Antietam, Warren was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. </p><p><br /></p><p>In February 1863, Warren became chief engineer of the Army of the Potomac. Later that same year, on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, he ordered Union troops to take control of a rocky hilltop on the left flank of the Union line, known as Little Round Top, just before Confederate forces launched their assault on the position. Warren’s decision most likely saved the Union Army from catastrophe. Following the engagement, he was promoted to the rank of major general. Warren then briefly commanded II Corps in place of the wounded Winfield Scott Hancock before taking command of V Corps in March 1864. He led V Corps during the Overland Campaign of May and June 1864, and through the early stages of the Appomattox Campaign of March and April 1865. At the Battle of Five Forks, on April 1, 1865, Major General Philip Sheridan, angered by what he perceived as Warren moving too cautiously, relieved him of his command.</p><p><br /></p><p>Following the war, Warren rejoined the Army Corps of Engineers. During the late 1860s and 1870s, he not only designed bridges and harbors, but also went to work to clear his name. Finally, in 1879, a court of inquiry largely exonerated Warren’s actions at the Battle of Five Forks. The court’s findings, however, were not published until after Warren died of liver failure in Newport, Rhode Island on August 8, 1882.  </p><p><br /></p><p>In 1896, the G.K. Warren Post No. 286 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Brooklyn commissioned a statue in honor of its namesake. Designed by German-born sculptor Henry Baerer, the over-life-sized bronze statue depicts Warren standing in full military garb, holding a pair of field binoculars and gazing into the distance. Dedicated in Grand Army Plaza on June 26, 1896, the statue rests on a pedestal made of roughly-hewn granite from Little Round Top.</p>

This statue honors Gouverneur Kemble Warren (1830-1882), who served as a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. A native of New York and graduate of West Point, he ordered federal troops to take control of Little Round Top on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg just before Confederate forces launched their assault on the position. Warren’s decision most likely saved the Union Army from catastrophe. At the Battle of Five Forks in early April 1865, Major General Philip Sheridan, angered by what he perceived as Warren moving too cautiously, relieved him of his command. A court of inquiry, however, largely exonerated Warren’s actions fourteen years later. In 1896, the G.K. Warren Post No. 286 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Brooklyn commissioned a statue in honor of its namesake. Designed by German-born sculptor Henry Baerer, the over-life-sized bronze statue depicts Warren standing in full military garb, holding a pair of field binoculars and gazing into the distance. Dedicated in Grand Army Plaza on June 26, 1896, the statue rests on a pedestal made of roughly-hewn granite from Little Round Top.

General Gouverneur Kemble Warren Statue

Felix Adler was the son of the rabbi at New York's&nbsp;Temple Emanu-El.&nbsp;Although most assumed that young Felix would follow his&nbsp;<span>father's footsteps, he stunned his father and his congregation by publicly expressing&nbsp;doubts about the certainty of Judaism and other organized religions. After his beliefs led to controversy at Cornell University in 1876, where he had taught courses on Hebrew and Chinese language courses, he resigned his professorship and established the&nbsp;New York Society for Ethical Culture.<br><br>Adler's&nbsp;organization</span>&nbsp;was dedicated to&nbsp;the study of social justice and establishing new institutions to achieve a more just and ethical society. In some ways, the new organization resembled the more traditional&nbsp;faith-based organizations, but Adler&nbsp;focused more on ethical behavior rather than faith in a single religious creed.&nbsp;Developing his talents for written and oral communication, Adler continued to publish and lecture and would later be appointed as&nbsp;chair of political and social ethics at Columbia University<br><br>Addler became a leading national figure in several reform movements. For example, he was the&nbsp;chairman of the National Child Labor Committee and one of the founding members of the&nbsp;American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).<br><br>The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture was established in response to a growing interest in Addler's ideas. Today, it presents itself as&nbsp;a liberal and educational fellowship of individuals and families who come together to&nbsp;pursue personal growth and social progress.&nbsp;

Inspired by the Ethical Culture Movement began by Columbia University professor Felix Addler in the late 19th century,  the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture was established in 1906. The society's headquarters is located in this neo-Jacobean style mansion designed by William B. Tubby. The historic building was constructed for the family of William J. Childs in 1900. Childs was an investor who helped to create the holding company that marketed the Bon Ami brand of cleaning powder--a product that once dominated the market and is still sold in stores. The society acquired its current headquarters in 1938. Although there are not regular public tours, the Society welcomes visitors.  

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture

<p>Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (full name: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette) was born into a noble family in Chavaniac, France on September 6, 1757. His early years were marked by tragedy. Just before his second birthday, Lafayette’s father, Michel, died at the Battle of Minden during the Seven Years’ War. About ten years later, his mother passed away. Despite being orphaned at a relatively young age, Lafayette inherited one of France’s largest fortunes. In 1774, he married Adrienne de Noailles, a young woman from an even wealthier and well-connected family. </p><p><br /></p><p>Immense wealth and elevated social status, however, did not satisfy Lafayette. Instead, he yearned for military glory. To this end, Lafayette obtained a captain’s commission in the French army and served with the Black Musketeers. Two years later, however, he lost his commission when the French government slashed military spending. That same year, Lafayette attended a dinner party in Metz. The guest of honor was the Duke of Gloucester, the younger brother of Great Britain’s King George III. During the course of the event, the Duke of Gloucester informed Lafayette of the situation in the American colonies. Inspired by the ideals of the American cause and still seeking glory on the battlefield, the young French nobleman sailed to the American colonies in early 1777. </p><p><br /></p><p>Despite being only nineteen years of age and having no battlefield experience, Lafayette secured a commission as a major general in the Continental Army shortly after arriving in the summer of 1777. He also quickly developed a close father-son-like relationship with the commander of the army, General George Washington. Following his heroics at the Battle of Brandywine, Lafayette received his own division to command. In February 1779, he returned to his native country. With Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, Lafayette convinced French King Louis XVI to send additional military aid to the American revolutionaries. After returning to the American colonies in the spring of 1780, he took command of an army in Virginia. Lafayette incessantly harassed the British army under the command of General Charles Cornwallis, eventually trapping it at Yorktown with the help of American and French forces. After a siege that lasted about three weeks, the British general surrendered his army on October 19, 1781. </p><p><br /></p><p>With American independence all but secured, Lafayette returned to France in 1782. Two years later, he visited the United States, during which time several states made him an honorary citizen. In 1824, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to once again visit the United States, where he received a hero’s welcome. While touring the country, he made an emotional stop at Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon and became the first foreign citizen to address the U.S. House of Representatives. Ten years after his triumphant tour of the United States, Lafayette died in Paris. As per his request, he was buried with dirt from Bunker hill that he had collected during his 1824 visit to the United States. Nearly 180 years later, in 2002, Congress made Lafayette an honorary citizen of the United States, an honor bestowed upon only eight individuals to date. </p><p><br /></p><p>In 1895, Henry Harteau, a wealthy French-born Brooklyn resident, died of typhoid fever. In his will, he stipulated that, following his wife’s death, $35,000 of his estate would be donated to the City of Brooklyn for the erection of a monument to his fellow countryman and personal hero, Lafayette. Harteau also requested that the monument be placed in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Dedicated in May 1917, the monument consists of a bronze relief set into a pink granite stele. Designed by renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French and based on a painting of Lafayette by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, the relief depicts the French nobleman standing in military uniform with his horse and an African-American groomsman behind him. The stele was designed by distinguished architect Henry Bacon. </p>

A posthumous gift from French-born Brooklyn resident Henry Harteau, this monument honors the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), a French nobleman and military officer who fought for American independence. Inspired by the ideals of the American Revolution and seeking glory on the battlefield, he sailed to the American colonies in early 1777. Despite being only nineteen years of age and having no battlefield experience, Lafayette secured a commission as a major general in the Continental Army. Two years later, with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, he helped convince French King Louis XVI to send additional military aid to the American colonists. In 1781, Lafayette helped trap British General Charles Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown. Dedicated in Prospect Park in May 1917, the monument consists of a bronze relief set into a pink granite stele. Designed by renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French and based on a painting of Lafayette by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon, the relief depicts the French nobleman standing in military uniform with his horse and an African-American groomsman behind him. The stele was designed by distinguished architect Henry Bacon.

Lafayette Memorial

<p>In mid-March 1776, under pressure from the fortified and heavily-armed American position on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city, British forces under the command of General William Howe evacuated Boston. Anticipating his opponent’s next move, General George Washington moved the Continental Army to New York in April and May and began preparing for the city’s defense. With so much territory to cover, he divided his army, keeping roughly two-thirds of his men with him in Manhattan and ordering the remaining third to Brooklyn to cover his left flank. The decision proved to be a terrible mistake. </p><p><br /></p><p>In late June, Howe arrived with hundreds of ships carrying an army of about 30,000 men. Throughout July and early August, he established his headquarters on Staten Island and plotted his move against Washington. On August 22, Howe’s army landed on the southern beaches of Brooklyn. At Brooklyn, the Americans held two positions: Guan Heights to the south and Brooklyn Heights to the north. On August 27, a contingent of British regulars under the command of General James Grant and Hessian mercenaries under the command of General Leopold Philip Von Heister attacked the American forces at Guan Heights from the south, while Howe, with 10,000 men, flanked them from the east. The outnumbered Americans were quickly overwhelmed. As their brothers in arms retreated north to Brooklyn Heights, a Maryland unit of about 400 men under the command of Lord Stirling provided covering fire and counter-charged the advancing enemy forces. The Maryland contingent accomplished its mission, but at a high cost, losing more than 250 men. The remains of the Maryland soldiers were buried on a plot of land on what is now Third Avenue between Eighth and Ninth Streets. </p><p><br /></p><p>By nightfall, American forces were trapped on Brooklyn Heights. Howe’s army threatened from the south and east and British ships patrolled the East River. Rather than continuing to press the American forces, Howe decided to dig in and lay siege to their position. A few days later, a storm drove British ships down river, allowing for American forces to retreat across the East River under the cover of darkness. While the British were victorious at the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn), Washington managed to escape with his army intact and the story of the bravery and sacrifice of the Maryland men gave the cause of independence a much-needed morale boost when it so desperately needed it. </p><p><br /></p><p>Over one hundred years later, the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution donated a monument to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of the “Maryland 400” during the Battle of Long Island. Designed by architect Stanford White, the monument is composed of a twelve-foot-tall granite column topped with a bronze Corinthian capital and a marble sphere. The shaft sits on a marble pedestal donated by the Brooklyn Parks Department. On August 27, 1895, the 119th anniversary of the engagement, the monument was unveiled during an elaborate ceremony at the foot of Lookout Hill in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, near where the Marylanders made their stand. In attendance were members of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Fourteenth Regiment of the New York State National Guard, and various historical societies. They were joined by special guests, the lieutenant governor of New York and the mayors of New York City and Brooklyn. </p><p><br /></p><p>Since its dedication in 1895, the Maryland Monument has undergone several restoration efforts. In the mid-1930s, the Works Progress Administration sponsored the first restoration of the Prospect Park monument. A little over thirty years later, in 1969, a second restoration effort occurred. In 1991, thanks to support from the Governor’s Commission on Maryland Military Monuments, the monument's granite and marble pieces were repointed, its surfaces cleaned, and its perimeter fence mended. Most recently, in 2008, the Citywide Monuments Conservation Program partnered with the Maryland Historic Trust to replace the missing bronze letters from the monument’s marble pedestal. </p>

Designed by architect Stanford White and located at the foot of Lookout Hill in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the Maryland Monument commemorates the bravery and sacrifice of a contingent of Maryland soldiers at the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolution. During the fighting, American forces stationed on Guan Heights were overwhelmed by advancing British and Hessian troops. As their brothers in arms retreated north to Brooklyn Heights, a Maryland unit of about 400 men under the command of Lord Stirling provided covering fire and counter-charged the advancing enemy forces. The Maryland contingent accomplished its mission, but at a high cost, losing more than 250 men. Over one hundred years later, the Maryland Society of the Sons of the American Revolution donated a monument to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of the "Maryland 400" during the Battle of Long Island. The monument—a twelve-foot-tall granite column resting on a marble pedestal and topped with a bronze Corinthian capital and a marble sphere—was unveiled during an elaborate ceremony on August 27, 1895, the 119th anniversary of the engagement.

Brooklyn's Prospect Park Walking Tour

Lefferts Historic House

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information