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Prospect
Park
is
an
urban
park
in
Brooklyn,
New
York
City.
The
park
is
situated
between
the
neighborhoods
of
Park
Slope,
Prospect
Heights,
Prospect
Lefferts
Gardens,
Flatbush,
and
Windsor
Terrace,
and
is
adjacent
to
the
Brooklyn
Museum,
Grand
Army
Plaza,
and
the
Brooklyn
Botanic
Garden.
With
an
area
of
526
acres
(213
ha),[5]
Prospect
Park
is
the
second
largest
public
park
in
Brooklyn,
behind
Marine
Park.
First
proposed
in
legislation
passed
in
1859,
Prospect
Park
was
laid
out
by
Frederick
Law
Olmsted
and
Calvert
Vaux,
who
also
helped
design
Manhattan's
Central
Park,
following
various
changes
to
its
design.
Prospect
Park
opened
in
1867,
though
it
was
not
substantially
complete
until
1873.
The
park
subsequently
underwent
numerous
modifications
and
expansions
to
its
facilities.
Several
additions
to
the
park
were
completed
in
the
1890s,
in
the
City
Beautiful
architectural
movement.
In
the
early
20th
century,
New
York
City
Department
of
Parks
and
Recreation
(NYC
Parks)
commissioner
Robert
Moses
started
a
program
to
clean
up
Prospect
Park.
A
period
of
decline
in
the
late
20th
century
spurred
the
creation
of
the
Prospect
Park
Alliance,
which
refurbished
many
parts
of
the
park
starting
in
the
late
1980s.
Main
attractions
of
the
park
include
the
90-acre
(36
ha)
Long
Meadow;
the
Picnic
House;
Litchfield
Villa;
Prospect
Park
Zoo;
the
Boathouse;
Concert
Grove;
Brooklyn's
only
lake,
covering
60
acres
(24
ha);
and
the
Prospect
Park
Bandshell
that
hosts
free
outdoor
concerts
in
the
summertime.
The
park
also
has
sports
facilities,
including
the
Prospect
Park
Tennis
Center,
basketball
courts,
baseball
fields,
soccer
fields,
and
the
New
York
Pétanque
Club
in
the
Parade
Ground.
There
is
also
a
private
Society
of
Friends
(Quaker)
cemetery
on
Quaker
Hill
near
the
ball
fields.
In
addition,
Prospect
Park
is
part
of
the
Brooklyn-Queens
Greenway,
a
network
of
green
spaces
that
stretch
across
western
Long
Island.
Prospect
Park
was
designated
a
New
York
City
scenic
landmark
on
November
25,
1975,
and
was
listed
on
the
National
Register
of
Historic
Places
on
September
17,
1980.
The
park
is
operated
by
the
Prospect
Park
Alliance
and
NYC
Parks.
Approximately
17,000
years
ago
the
terminal
moraine
of
the
receding
Wisconsin
Glacier
that
formed
Long
Island,
known
as
the
Harbor
Hill
Moraine,
established
a
string
of
hills
and
kettles
in
the
northern
part
of
the
park
and
a
lower
lying
outwash
plain
in
the
southern
part.[6][7]
Mount
Prospect
(or
Prospect
Hill),
near
the
intersection
of
Flatbush
Avenue
and
Eastern
Parkway,
is
one
of
the
tallest
hills
in
Brooklyn,
rising
200
feet
(61
m)
above
sea
level.[8]: 218 [9]
It
is
the
highest
among
a
string
of
hills
that
extends
into
the
park,
including
Sullivan,
Breeze,
and
Lookout
hills.
The
area
was
originally
forested,
but
became
open
pasture
after
two
centuries
of
European
colonization.
Significant
stands
of
trees
remained
only
in
the
peat
bogs
centered
south
of
Ninth
and
Flatbush
Avenues,
as
well
as
in
a
large
bog
north
of
Ninth
Street,
and
contained
chestnut,
white
poplar,
and
oak.[11]
Some
of
these
stands
were
preserved
in
the
modern-day
Prospect
Park
Ravine
and
nicknamed
"The
Last
Forest
of
Brooklyn".[12]
During
the
American
Revolutionary
War
(1775–1783),
the
park
was
a
site
of
the
Battle
of
Long
Island
(aka
Battle
of
Brooklyn).
American
forces
attempted
to
hold
Battle
Pass,
an
opening
in
the
terminal
moraine
where
the
old
Flatbush
Road
passed
from
the
villages
of
Brooklyn
to
Flatbush.
It
fell
after
some
of
the
heaviest
fighting
in
the
engagement,
and
its
loss
contributed
to
George
Washington's
decision
to
retreat.
Even
though
the
Continental
Army
lost
the
battle,
they
were
able
to
hold
the
British
back
long
enough
for
Washington's
army
to
escape
across
the
East
River
to
Manhattan.
Plaques
north
of
the
zoo,
as
well
as
the
Maryland
Monument
at
Lookout
Hill's
foot,
honor
this
event.[13][14]
The
City
of
Brooklyn
built
a
reservoir
on
Prospect
Hill
in
1856.
The
need
to
keep
the
lots
around
the
reservoir
free
of
development
