9. Fort Greene is Brooklyn’s Oldest Park Designated by the City

Olmstead and Vaux Plan for Fort Greene Park-1867-Brooklyn-NYC1867 plan for Fort Greene Park by Olmstead and Vaux

The city of Brooklyn bought the land that Fort Greene Park is located on in 1847 to preserve it as park and named it Washington Park. It was the first park designated by the city of Brooklyn. Just 20 years later, the famous designers of Central Park and Prospect ParkFrederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux reimagined a new design for Washington Park that would include a tomb for the prison ship martyrs.

Later, the park would be renamed Fort Greene Park in 1896 and the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument would be the last installment of the park in 1908.