40°51′10″N73°56′17″W / 40.85278°N 73.93806°W /40.85278; -73.93806
Bennett Park, also known asJames Gordon Bennett Park, is a 1.8-acre (0.73 ha) public park inNew York City, named forJames Gordon Bennett, Sr.,[1] the newspaper publisher who launched theNew York Herald in 1835. It is located between Pinehurst andFort Washington Avenues and West183rd and185th Streets in theHudson Heights neighborhood ofWashington Heights in northernManhattan, on land purchased by Bennett in 1871,[1] the year before his death. It sits opposite the northern Fort Washington Avenue entrance to the181st Street subway station on theIND Eighth Avenue Line, serviced by theA train. The park contains the highest natural elevation in Manhattan, at 265.05 feet above sea level.
Bennett, Sr. passed ownership of the land – which included the site ofFort Washington, from which theContinental Army delayed the advance ofBritish troops in 1776 – to his son,James Gordon Bennett, Jr., who in 1901 allowed theSons of the American Revolution to erect a marble, bronze and granitestele designed byCharles R. Lamb to commemoratethe battle.[2] This was dedicated in 1901 and is now located on the eastern perimeter wall of the park.[3]
Bennett intended to donate the land to the city for use as a park but died in 1918 without adding that bequest to his will. The land was therefore divided for sale, but the request of theAmerican Scenic and Historic Preservation Society that the part of the property where Fort Washington stood be preserved was honored. In 1928, the site was acquired by the city, and, with additional land, was turned over to the Parks Department.[2] The park opened in 1929.[1]
In 1932, in commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth ofGeorge Washington, the Washington Heights Honor Grove Association planted an American elm tree, which is indicated with a marker.[1][4] Other memorials in the park include the Emilio Barbosa Memorial, given in 1996 by Joseph Barbosa to honor his younger brother, who died on theUSSNevada atOkinawa in 1945.[5]
On the west side of the park lies an outcropping ofManhattan schist, which is the highest natural point in Manhattan – 265 feet (81 m) above sea level – with a square stone marker attesting to the fact.[6] The schist is part of the bedrock foundation of New York City, which allows the construction ofskyscrapers where it lies close to the surface.[7]
The park's playground was constructed in the 1940s, and service buildings were added in 1964.[1]
Bennett Park hosts a variety of events, including the Revolutionary War Reenactment, which Redcoats and George Washington's army actors converge and fight in the park, reenacting the battle of Fort Washington. An annual Harvest Festival is held in the park's field.
As part of the "Northern Manhattan Parks 2030 Master Plan", devised in 2010–11, the playground and comfort station in Bennett Park will be reconfigured to "improve sight-lines and play value." In addition, the condition of the park's perimeter will be improved.[8]
