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Was more so refereing to the expansive large parks, but feel free to list the smaller ones built "into" the cities fabric.
Yeah I think with that definition you’ll get a lot of Red Mountain,-like Nature reserve-like parks that are like technically in the city but are very much outdoor destinations on the outside of the city. Vs a like City Park. A lot of places have city parks more akin to Middlesex Fells than a Boston Common or Grant Park (or even Delaware Park in Buffalo.
Yeah I think with that definition you’ll get a lot of Red Mountain,-like Nature reserve-like parks that are like technically in the city but are very much outdoor destinations on the outside of the city. Vs a like City Park. A lot of places have city parks more akin to Middlesex Fells than a Boston Common or Grant Park (or even Delaware Park in Buffalo.
Let me clarify. I'm talking about parks that are located within the urban fabric, not the city outskirts where they are detached or on reserve like locations. So yes this thread is more geared toward parks like Boston Common, Grant Park, Rock Creek, Druid Hill Park, Fairmount Park etc..
I guess in the context of how I worded it "large" was up for interpretation, so thats my fault for the confusion.
The Boston Common has to be in the top 10, maybe top 5.
Is Boston Common actually better than Franklin Park which is way larger. I don’t have an opinion really just wondering. But there a high chance you haven’t been, I don’t want I be presumptuous.
Tbh I’d put the Arnold Arboretum above both of those but idk if that counted.
Keep in mind that Central Park is highly sculpted, the work of man as much as of nature.
By contrast, about half of Fairmount Park (excluding the Wissahickon Park in the northwest part of the city, which is pretty much wild) is not sculpted beyond things like estate houses that were purchased to assemble it, roads and recreational facilities (and, of course, the River Drives). The West Park is mostly the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition and thus highly sculpted, but the East Park, being put together out of several then-country estates, is not as sculpted.
I'm guessing that most of the parks mentioned here are closer to Central Park than to Wissahickon Park in their degree of shaping by the hand of man. And the place in Philadelpiha that I was going to nominate as "best urban park" is quite small and very much sculpted:
Rittenhouse Square.
It gets an intensity of use few other urban parks outside New York City match, and it's surrounded by the towers of the urban cliff dwellers.
Keep in mind that Central Park is highly sculpted, the work of man as much as of nature.
By contrast, about half of Fairmount Park (excluding the Wissahickon Park in the northwest part of the city, which is pretty much wild) is not sculpted beyond things like estate houses that were purchased to assemble it, roads and recreational facilities (and, of course, the River Drives). The West Park is mostly the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition and thus highly sculpted, but the East Park, being put together out of several then-country estates, is not as sculpted.
I'm guessing that most of the parks mentioned here are closer to Central Park than to Wissahickon Park in their degree of shaping by the hand of man. And the place in Philadelpiha that I was going to nominate as "best urban park" is quite small and very much sculpted:
Rittenhouse Square.
It gets an intensity of use few other urban parks outside New York City match, and it's surrounded by the towers of the urban cliff dwellers.
Fairmount Park is similiar to Baltimore's Druid in that the northen portion is left "as is" to preserve the historic trees/landscape were as the southern half is all "hand sculpted"
Fairmount Park is similiar to Baltimore's Druid in that the northen portion is left "as is" to preserve the historic trees/landscape were as the southern half is all "hand sculpted"
Still, Rittenhouse Square is amazinggggg.
Since the thread is "urban parks", I would also nominate Rittenhouse Square Park, which is arguably the best urban square in the country. (although quite different than a Central Park or Piedmont Park).
Even taking out Central Park, NYC still packs quite a punch:
-Prospect (Brooklyn's flagship park)
-Van Cortlandt
-Riverside
-Flushing Meadows (Queens' flagship park)
-Inwood Hill
-Battery
-Washington Square
-Marcus Garvey (Mt. Morris)
-Forest/Highland
-Randall's Island
-Astoria
-Marine
-Bronx River Forest (featuring the zoo and NY Botanical Garden)
-Pelham Bay
-Latourette (Staten Island's flagship park)
Many of these would compete in the Top 15, and would be good discussion in the NYC forum about the top parks in the City (some may even rank them above Central Park). It shows that despite the density, there's plenty of green lungs scattered throughout the boroughs. Most other cities don't have a roster as impressive as NYC's, usually a signature park or two or three, but that's about it.
I think the analogue for NYC to the densely used urban park like Rittenhouse Square would be Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. I've said this before, but I think the Villages area of Manhattan is akin to a far more tourist-driven and much more expensive Center City.
NYC's also had some success in terms of being well-attended new parks with a bevy of new waterfront parks like the expanded Brooklyn Bridge Park, Domino Park in Williamsburg, and the expanded Gantry Plaza State Park in LIC.
It's also good to mention that Staten Island's ongoing conversion of its landfill to park space has been great! It's shaping up to be an enormous addition to NYC parks.
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