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Fort Greene Park
- coordinates: 40° 69' 19" N. 073° 97' 54" W. Google Map
- Class: Park. Location: Myrtle to Dekalb Avenues, Edwards and Cumberland Streets
- County: Kings. City: New York. Borough: Brooklyn. State: NY (New York) Country: US (United States)
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Description
From Wikipedia
Fort Greene Park is a city-owned and -operated park in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The 30.2 acres (12.2 ha) park was named after the fort which was formerly located there, originally named Fort Putnam, and then renamed Fort Greene in 1812 for Nathaniel Greene, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.
From NYC Parks Dept.
Fort Greene yesterday was crowded with people who sought, beneath the blue canopy of heaven and in the freedom of the fields, to worship ‘nature and nature’s God.’. --Walt Whitman, June 8, 1846
Fort Greene Park is a landmark, cherished for its history, rolling landscape, trees, and monuments. For 150 years, this noble park has served as a rus in urbe - a country in the city - for Brooklyn. In 1776 American Major General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) supervised the construction of Fort Putnam on high ground that is now part of the park. During the Battle of Long Island, the Continental Army surrendered the fort and retreated to Manhattan. When the fort was rebuilt for the War of 1812, it was renamed in Greene’s honor.
The City of Brooklyn designated the site for use as a public park in 1845. Walt Whitman (1819-1892), the chief editor at the time of the Brooklyn Eagle and King’s County Democrat, rallied popular support for the project. Whitman appealed for a pleasant retreat for city dwellers, “a place of recreation… where, on hot summer evenings, and Sundays, they can spend a few grateful hours in the enjoyment of wholesome rest and fresh air.” In 1847, the legislature approved an act to secure land on the site of the old fort for what would be called Washington Park, the original name of Fort Greene Park.
special events
Fort Greene Park is host to the annual Fort Greene Park Summer Literary Festival, an event featuring young writers aged 7–18 reading alongside established writers, such as Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sapphire, Gloria Naylor and Jennifer Egan.
notables
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