Mill Pond Park

Mill Pond Park is a public park in the Bronx, New York City. It was built to compensate for the loss of parkland resulting from the construction of new Yankee Stadium between 2006 and 2009. The park’s name was inspired by a dam near the site of a creek that emptied into the Harlem River.

Mill Pond Park
The Power house at Mill Pond Park
Type	Municipal park
Location	Concourse, The Bronx, New York
Area	11.57 acres (4.68 ha)
Opened	2009 (2009)
Owned by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Status	open all year
Water	Harlem River
Public transit access	New York City Subway: ​​ at 161st Street – Yankee Stadium New York City Bus: Bx1, Bx2, Bx6, Bx6 SBS, Bx13 Metro-North Railroad:      Hudson Line at Yankees – East 153rd Street
Website	www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-pond-park

Site use

Known to the Lenape Native Americans as Mentipathe, Cromwell Creek originated in Morris Heights and flowed south towards Harlem River.[1] Mullally Park and Macombs Dam Park were created in the late 19th century by filling in Cromwell Creek.[2] The old Yankee Stadium was completed on the filled stream in 1923.

On the Harlem River, landowner Robert Macomb built a dam in 1813 to harness the flow of the stream. Macomb's Dam enabled only small boats to pass through a lock. By 1838 residents along the riverbank questioned the private usurpation of the public waterway and a campaign to remove Macomb’s Dam succeeded in its demolition in 1858. The unpopular barrier was replaced with Macombs Dam Bridge, which connects 161st Street in the Bronx with 155th Street in Manhattan.

On the site of Mill Pond Park, Mayor John F. Hylan proposed a wholesale market to concentrate all farm produce entering the Bronx at one location. The project was completed in 1935 during the administration of mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia.[3] Along the Harlem River, railroad barges brought produce to the market, docking between four piers that were later incorporated into the park.

Description

Mill Pond Park opened in 2009 and includes picnic and grass areas, an outdoor classroom, children's spray showers, a sand play area, two water channels, and a rehabilitated seawall.[4] Mill Pond Park also includes 16 Deco Turf tennis courts that operate during the outdoor tennis season, from April through November. During the winter months, 12 courts are covered by a bubble. At the northern side of the park is the historic Power house, constructed in 1923 to provide refrigeration for Bronx Terminal Market. Retrofitted with a green rooftop, the energy efficient facility contains offices, public restrooms, indoor café, tennis clubhouse and locker room.[5] The second floor of the power house will serve as the permanent home of the Bronx Children's Museum.[6]

References

1. "CITY MUST RESTORE STREAM.; Will Have to Make Little Cromwell's Creek Navigable Again". The New York Times. December 18, 1904. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
2. "PLAN RECREATION PARKS; Plot of Ground Near Central Bridge for Outdoor Sports". The New York Times. October 12, 1902. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
3. Gray, Christopher (May 8, 1994). "Streetscapes/Bronx Terminal Market; Trying to Duplicate the Little Flower's Success". The New York Times. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
4. Marinaccio, Amanda “Mill Pond Park ribbon-cutting held” Bronx Times November 5, 2009
5. Rocchio, Patrick “Mill Pond Park "Power House" gets green certification” Bronx Times January 20, 2011
6. Wirsing, Robert (July 24, 2017). "Bronx Children's Museum construction begins". Bronx Times. Retrieved 13 July 2018.

External links

• Parks Department web site