POTW: Viele's Original Prospect Park

In 1859 the legislation was passed to establish a sprawling public park in Brooklyn. In 1861, Egbert Viele published the first accepted plans for the park, which are captured in this Photo of the Week. The plans resemble the Prospect Park we know today, but with some very noticeable differences. 

Today’s park is encompassed by Grand Army Plaza in the north, Prospect Park West (previously Ninth Avenue), Prospect Park Southwest, Parkside Avenue to the south, and Ocean and Flatbush Avenues to the east. The immediate difference between Viele's park and today's is the presence of Flatbush bisecting Viele's park at the middle. The north half of the park was to be bordered by Washington Avenue, Warren Street (now Prospect Place), and Vanderbilt Avenue, while the south half was framed by Ninth Avenue, Third Street, Ninth Street, and a fourth road referred to faintly as “New Avenue,” which appears to be the continuation of Flatbush. The plan included two crossings at Flatbush’s northern end, connecting the park halves. 

There is no distinct appearance of Grand Army Plaza, which would, in its early days, be known as Prospect Park Plaza, though there is the rough semblance of a loop at the junction of Ninth, Flatbush, and Vanderbilt. The Mount Prospect reservoir, which stood at the site of today’s Mount Prospect Park from 1856 to 1938, was incorporated into the park’s plans. This location is the second highest natural point in Brooklyn, the highest being Battle Hill in Green-Wood Cemetery. This point, and its sweeping views, was the inspiration for Prospect Park’s name and was to include a sizable flower garden, not far from where the Brooklyn Botanic Garden stands today. However, in Viele’s design, a botanical garden was planned to appear at the south end of the park, as a much smaller garden of concentric circles and pie shaped beds. 

The land that was purchased for the park was acquired with Viele’s plans in mind, though the final layout changed significantly during a redesign in 1866 by Olmsted and Vaux, the same architects behind Manhattan’s Central Park, who shifted the park southward to avoid Flatbush. Missing its namesake peak of elevation, but without division by a major thoroughfare, Prospect Park opened to the public in 1867 and was completed in 1873. Since then, it has undergone various evolutions and welcomes roughly 10 million visitors annually. To view more of Brooklyn’s transformations, explore the Center for Brooklyn History’s map portal and digital collections.

Interested in seeing more photos from CBH’s collections? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images, or the digital collections portal at Brooklyn Public Library. We welcome appointments to research our entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections. Our reference staff is available to help with your research! You can reach us at cbhreference@bklynlibrary.org.