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Betsy Head Park
Betsy Head Park is a 10.55-acre (4.27 ha) public park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The park occupies two non-contiguous plots diagonally across from each other at the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, covering a collective 10.55 acres (4.27 ha). The modern-day park contains a playground, a swimming complex, and fields for baseball, football, tennis, and basketball. The park's swimming complex, the Betsy Head Play Center, was designed by Ely Jacques Kahn and consists of a bathhouse, a general swimming pool, and an infilled diving pool. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks.
The construction of the park was funded by Betsy Head, a rich Briton who died in 1907. Plans for Betsy Head Park were completed in 1914 by Henry Beaumont Herts, and the park opened on September 30, 1915, with a bathhouse and a pool complex. The current Art Moderne style pool was built by Aymar Embury II and John Matthews Hatton during a Works Progress Administration project in 1935–1936. The bathhouse was not originally set to be renovated, unlike at other city parks with large pools, but it was rebuilt following a 1937 fire. The park's facilities were renovated from 1979 to 1983 and again in the late 2010s. The Betsy Head Play Center was designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2008.
Betsy Head Park is in two non-contiguous plots of unequal size, diagonally across the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street. The park's recreational facilities include three baseball fields, two football fields, eight tennis courts, and six basketball courts. The football fields and four of the basketball courts overlap with the baseball fields and cannot be utilized when the baseball field is in use.
The larger plot, at the southwestern corner of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, measures 8.262 acres (33,440 m2) and is bounded by Thomas S. Boyland Street to the east, Dumont Avenue to the north, Livonia Avenue to the south, and Strauss Street to the west. The plot measures 500 feet (150 m) along the western and eastern boundaries and 720 feet (220 m) on the northern and southern boundaries. It occupies three typical city blocks. Before 2021, the western two-thirds of the larger plot contained two baseball fields, an overlapping football field, and eight handball courts and one basketball court on the southern border of the plot. In 2021, four of the handball courts were replaced with a full basketball court, and two handball courts were built in another part of the plot. A four-lane running track and a synthetic turf field were also added during the 2021 renovation, within what was previously the baseball and football field.
A smaller plot exists at the northeastern corner of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street. This plot, measuring 2.293 acres (0.928 ha), is bounded by Blake Avenue to the north, Bristol Street to the east, Dumont Avenue to the south, and Thomas S. Boyland Street to the west. The plot measures 500 feet (150 m) along the western and eastern boundaries and 200 feet (61 m) on the northern and southern boundaries. It occupies one typical city block. Before 2021, this section of the park contained another baseball field with overlapping football field and four overlapping basketball courts; one non-overlapping basketball court; and four tennis courts. One early feature in the smaller plot was a farmhouse and rest station with a "model kitchen", which in turn was adjacent to a small urban farm with 500 plots for schoolchildren to tend. During the 2021 renovation, a skate park, parkour course, and event area was added.
The original facilities were modeled after Armour Square Park in Chicago. The western two-thirds of Betsy Head Park's larger southwestern section was originally designed with a 15,000-to-20,000-capacity stadium containing a running track. A two-story field house, measuring 25 by 100 feet (7.6 by 30.5 m), was just east of the stadium. The field house contained restroom facilities on the ground floor, and 25 club-rooms and 25 lockers on the second floor, as well as space for special events. Gymnasiums for men and women were to the north and south of the field house, each with numerous indoor recreation facilities for basketball, handball, tennis, and other sports.
The eastern third of the park's southwestern section contained a swimming pool and bathhouse. The original swimming pool was described as being 150 by 60 feet (46 by 18 m) with the long edge being parallel to the eastern boundary of the park's larger plot. The original bath building was composed of two portions, one wing each to the north and south, just east of the swimming pool. The bathhouse could accommodate 400 people per hour or 4,000 per day, and a boiler room and towel room was in the basement.
The structure had to be adaptable to a multiplicity of uses: hence the locker rooms can become basketball courts in winter; the roof is a stadium for viewing water pageants held in the pool. [...] Above all, the building is intended for enjoyable use.
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Betsy Head Park
Betsy Head Park is a 10.55-acre (4.27 ha) public park in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The park occupies two non-contiguous plots diagonally across from each other at the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, covering a collective 10.55 acres (4.27 ha). The modern-day park contains a playground, a swimming complex, and fields for baseball, football, tennis, and basketball. The park's swimming complex, the Betsy Head Play Center, was designed by Ely Jacques Kahn and consists of a bathhouse, a general swimming pool, and an infilled diving pool. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as NYC Parks.
The construction of the park was funded by Betsy Head, a rich Briton who died in 1907. Plans for Betsy Head Park were completed in 1914 by Henry Beaumont Herts, and the park opened on September 30, 1915, with a bathhouse and a pool complex. The current Art Moderne style pool was built by Aymar Embury II and John Matthews Hatton during a Works Progress Administration project in 1935–1936. The bathhouse was not originally set to be renovated, unlike at other city parks with large pools, but it was rebuilt following a 1937 fire. The park's facilities were renovated from 1979 to 1983 and again in the late 2010s. The Betsy Head Play Center was designated as a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2008.
Betsy Head Park is in two non-contiguous plots of unequal size, diagonally across the intersection of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street. The park's recreational facilities include three baseball fields, two football fields, eight tennis courts, and six basketball courts. The football fields and four of the basketball courts overlap with the baseball fields and cannot be utilized when the baseball field is in use.
The larger plot, at the southwestern corner of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, measures 8.262 acres (33,440 m2) and is bounded by Thomas S. Boyland Street to the east, Dumont Avenue to the north, Livonia Avenue to the south, and Strauss Street to the west. The plot measures 500 feet (150 m) along the western and eastern boundaries and 720 feet (220 m) on the northern and southern boundaries. It occupies three typical city blocks. Before 2021, the western two-thirds of the larger plot contained two baseball fields, an overlapping football field, and eight handball courts and one basketball court on the southern border of the plot. In 2021, four of the handball courts were replaced with a full basketball court, and two handball courts were built in another part of the plot. A four-lane running track and a synthetic turf field were also added during the 2021 renovation, within what was previously the baseball and football field.
A smaller plot exists at the northeastern corner of Dumont Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street. This plot, measuring 2.293 acres (0.928 ha), is bounded by Blake Avenue to the north, Bristol Street to the east, Dumont Avenue to the south, and Thomas S. Boyland Street to the west. The plot measures 500 feet (150 m) along the western and eastern boundaries and 200 feet (61 m) on the northern and southern boundaries. It occupies one typical city block. Before 2021, this section of the park contained another baseball field with overlapping football field and four overlapping basketball courts; one non-overlapping basketball court; and four tennis courts. One early feature in the smaller plot was a farmhouse and rest station with a "model kitchen", which in turn was adjacent to a small urban farm with 500 plots for schoolchildren to tend. During the 2021 renovation, a skate park, parkour course, and event area was added.
The original facilities were modeled after Armour Square Park in Chicago. The western two-thirds of Betsy Head Park's larger southwestern section was originally designed with a 15,000-to-20,000-capacity stadium containing a running track. A two-story field house, measuring 25 by 100 feet (7.6 by 30.5 m), was just east of the stadium. The field house contained restroom facilities on the ground floor, and 25 club-rooms and 25 lockers on the second floor, as well as space for special events. Gymnasiums for men and women were to the north and south of the field house, each with numerous indoor recreation facilities for basketball, handball, tennis, and other sports.
The eastern third of the park's southwestern section contained a swimming pool and bathhouse. The original swimming pool was described as being 150 by 60 feet (46 by 18 m) with the long edge being parallel to the eastern boundary of the park's larger plot. The original bath building was composed of two portions, one wing each to the north and south, just east of the swimming pool. The bathhouse could accommodate 400 people per hour or 4,000 per day, and a boiler room and towel room was in the basement.
The structure had to be adaptable to a multiplicity of uses: hence the locker rooms can become basketball courts in winter; the roof is a stadium for viewing water pageants held in the pool. [...] Above all, the building is intended for enjoyable use.
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