| Claremont Park | |
|---|---|
 The gazebo | |
 Interactive map of Claremont Park | |
| Coordinates | 40°50′27″N73°54′27″W / 40.84083°N 73.90750°W /40.84083; -73.90750 |
| Area | 38 acres (15 ha) |
| Created | 1884 |
| Operated by | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Status | Open all year |
Claremont Park is a park in theMorrisania section ofthe Bronx in New York City. The land on which the park sits was once part of theMorris family estate and was the site of the Zborowski Mansion. After becoming a municipal park in 1884 as part of theNew Parks Act, the mansion was used for a time as the Bronx headquarters for the Department of Parks and was torn down in 1938.
Claremont Park is a 38-acre (15 ha) park in theMorrisania section ofthe Bronx. Roughly triangular,The New York Times once described as "ham-shaped".[1] The park is bordered by East Mount Eden Avenue (previously known as Belmont Street) on the north, by Morris and Teller Avenues on the west, and by East 170th Street and Clay Avenue on the east.[2]: 319 It sits atop a ridge which overlooks the modernWebster Avenue; at one time this had been Mill Brook (also known as Saw Mill Creek), which no longer exists.[2]: 289 [3]
The park includes handball and basketball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds, and barbecue areas. There are also two outdoor pools; a large one for swimming, and a smaller wading pool. There is a gazebo, which was built in 1938 when the Claremont Mansion was torn down.[4] One block east of Claremont Park is the .55-acre (0.22 ha) Little Claremont Playground, also known as Claremont Community Park. The playground is part of PS 42.[5]
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The land which became Claremont Park was part of the Morris family estate from 1679 to 1848, whenGouverneur Morris II sold a parcel in the northern part of the property to Elliott and Anna Zborowski de Montsaulain. The couple built Claremont Mansion (later known as Zborowski Mansion) on the land in 1859,[6] establishing for the first time the nameClaremont for this area.[7]
In 1884, the New Parks Act was passed, which led to the purchase of land by the city to create the 6 major parks in the borough: Claremont,Crotona,Van Cortlandt,Bronx,St. Mary's, andPelham Bay. The Zborowski mansion was used by theParks Department as their Bronx headquarters until it was moved to theRanaqua section of Bronx Park.[8] In the ensuing years, additional parts of the Zborowski[note 1] estate in the vicinity of Claremont Park continued to be sold. In 1888, 110 lots were offered for sale, of which 97 were ultimately sold, for an aggregate price of $73,000.[9] A further 250 lots of the estate were sold in 1897, for $200,000.[10]
In 1889, Claremont Park, along with a nearby horse racing track calledFleetwood Park,[11][12] was considered as a possible site for a 1892World's Fair.[13][14] The fair was to be the International Columbian Exposition, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus finding the new world. The alternative locations in New York wereInwood,Oak Point-Barretto Point,Port Morris, Cedar Park, andMorningside Park-Riverside Park-Bloomingdale Asylum. In 1890, however, the US Congress designatedChicago as the host city for the exposition.[15]
A 1904 letter to the editor ofThe New York Times complained about electrical wiring having been strung through the park to bring power to the Claremont Mansion, which at that time was being used as the headquarters for the Bronx Parks Department. The writer also complained about excessive noise from the park due to sporting events and Sunday concerts.[16]
The New York Central Railroad (now known as theHarlem line of Metro North Railroad) ran one block east of the Zborowski estate, with a station known as Central Morrisania directly across from the property. The name was changed toClaremont Park Station on June 1, 1891.[17] The station was permanently closed in 1960.[18]
A geological oddity of Claremont Park was a small but deep lake known as the "Black Swamp", which had a reputation for swallowing up livestock. TheNative Americans who lived in the area believed it to be inhabited by evil spirits. Early European settlers were also aware of the danger, erecting a fence around it to prevent cattle from falling in.[19]: 95 [20] In 1904, a project to extend Morris Avenue past Claremont Park ran into problems when a horse and cart carrying fill intended to be dumped into the lake sank into the water. It was estimated that over 60,000 cubic yards (46,000 m3) of fill were dumped into the lake before the job was finished.[19]: 95 [20]
A collapse of a porch of the mansion led to 26 people being injured in 1909. An afternoon rainstorm caused about 100 people who were in the park to seek shelter on the porch, leading to a structural collapse and the people being dropped 15 feet into a cellar.[1]
