HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SEWARD PARK This past month, Seward Park celebrated its 118th birthday! Seward Park first opened its gates on October 17, 1903. Previously, the parkland had been a privately-sponsored playground run by the Outdoor Recreation League, an organization founded by settlement workers Charles B. Stover and Lillian D. Wald. The city assumed operations of ORL playgrounds in 1902, and Seward Park opened the following year as the first municipally-built playground in the country. Opening Day at Seward Park was a grand, albeit chaotic, affair. Despite the rainy weather, New York City children were so excited at the prospect of a new playspace that they mobbed the park before the opening ceremony even began. 20,000 children swarmed into Seward Park — well over the 5,000 that had been anticipated! The original Seward Park looked a bit different than the park we know and love today. In addition to the playground and gymnastic equipment, the park also featured a large running track and a children’s farm garden. A year later in 1904, a limestone and terra-cotta recreation pavilion was built with a gym, meeting rooms, and a public bathhouse. The park was so popular that attendants had to be hired to monitor the playground and supervise equipment use — over 10,000 children would visit each day! |
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