8. Sunset Park (the park) used to have a golf course and a carousel
Sunset Park is a confusingly named public park within the neighborhood of Sunset Park located between 41st and 44th Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues. From the top of the park, visitors can see the full downtown Manhattan skyline. Today, the park includes fields, an Art Deco-style pool and playhouse, and walking paths. But Sunset Park also used to have a six-hole golf course and many other features.
The plot of land that would become Sunset Park, which at the time also boasted some of the best views of Manhattan, was acquired in 1891 by Brooklyn. Many Polish and Scandinavian immigrants would meet at Sunset Park, and a golf course was constructed in 1899 on the irregular terrain. A carousel and Neoclassical rustic shelter were also installed at the park, which grew in popularity with the construction of the Fourth Avenue subway nearby. By the time of the Great Depression, Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration worked to create new parks and pools throughout the city, and a pool at Sunset Park was one of the original 11 built in 1935. The pool took the place of the golf course and carousel. Also found at the site were Native American artifacts from the time in which the Canarsee inhabited the land.