A Walk Through Prospect Park

Though Central Park was quite beautiful, I felt like there was just something it missed. The reason why is quite simple, though. It's just too structured.

Now, don't get me wrong. Structure can be beautiful. Architecture and gardens do not naturally occur, and both of them can be quite beautiful, but there is something about nature that simply cannot be matched. I should know. As I've mentioned before, I'm from an area of farm and forest, of paths and dirt. As much as I've been enjoying the city, there was still a part of me that got excited when I was told that there existed a more "wild" feeling park.

Now, THIS is more like it!

Prospect Park has existed in Brooklyn for just shy of 150 years. While not as well known as Central Park, and even once struggling to bring people in, it's now one of the biggest parks in New York.

The first thing I was greeted with upon stepping off the subway was this fountain. Containing several nude figures and resting in the middle of a small plaza, this fountain was simply striking. As I expressed after my visit to the Met, I think tasteful nude is incredibly beautiful. The human body itself is a work of art, and it's a shame that many depictions of it are immediately sexualized or taboo. Seeing something like this out in public made me feel good. The sounds of the water hitting the base of the fountain was very relaxing, and drowned out the sounds of the traffic around. On one of my trips to the park, I was accompanied by my girlfriend, and we sat to eat lunch at this fountain.

It makes a romantic date spot!

 

 

This rather large gate leads the way up to Prospect Park. Right at the entrance to the park, there is a sculpture that people were climbing on. I'm not sure why, but this sculpture reminded me of the railings they use on the side of highways. Perhaps the drive up to New York is playing tricks on my mind?

But seriously, these look just like those railings.

 Within the park, you are instantly greeted with this massive open field.

 This is referred to as the Long Meadow. I think the most obvious difference between this area and Central Park was the amount of people present. Central Park is always loud and busy. When asked I someone nearby why they preferred Prospect Park, she told me it was the lack of tourists. Prospect Park is visited primarily by New Yorkers, as it is the less famous of the two.

A pathway surrounds this meadow, and had many people jogging and walking dogs along it. One young man was kind enough to stop his stroll and speak with me. He told me he loved Prospect Park because it didn't feel like the rest of the city. It wasn't loud and bustling with people on their ways. It was a quiet place where one could feel like they'd left behind the common life of the city. I observed many people reading on chairs, blankets, or just the ground itself. On my last visit to the park, the day was rather overcast, but despite that, the number of visitors had not dwindled. Children ran and played in the field. On all of my visits, I witnessed lovers of different ages kissing on the grass. Some people were sunbathing on my second visit.


On my most recent visit, I walked up to the only building within sight. This building hosts the bathrooms and a small selection of sodas from a machine. Outside of it rested several picnic tables, which were all claimed on all my visits by what looked to be parties, where people all knew each other. I chose not to invade, but on my last visit, I witnessed some odd game taking place just next to this area. It seemed like some kind of team-based game with people in rubber inflatable tubes throwing a ball around. I watched for a bit with the rest of the crowd, but I couldn't make sense of it.



I ventured further towards some trees I saw, which almost seemed out of place in this otherwise open clearing. From there I observed how uneven the ground was in the park. Hills and dips this frequent were nonexistent within the city, and not present to this extent in Central Park, outside of the area with the large rocks. Something about this seemed comforting to me. It's amazing how something so small as uneven terrain could change my attitude towards an environment so easily. I actually asked someone how they felt about this terrain, but they kind of just shrugged and said they had no opinion.

It may sound petty, but I'm not a fan of the fences.

I decided to walk through one of the trails that traveled through the trees. After all, I chose this park specifically because I thought I would feel at home here. I felt like if there was any place in New York I'd make a special connection with, it would be Prospect Park. As I approached the path, I was immediately disappointed.

The fences just seemed so unnecessary to me. Why would they be here? It's not as if some dangerous animals need to be kept out of the rest of the park. Sure, the paths did indeed pass beside the trees, and you did feel surrounded, but it didn't feel real to me. Not like the area I'm from. These fences kept the park from feeling natural. It broke my immersion, and reminded me that I was still bound within the city. A woman was walking down the path as I arrived, and I asked her why there were fences here. She seemed a tad confused by the question, but told me it was to keep people from hurting themselves.

The picture above is of the path my girlfriend used to walk to school. I use it regularly to walk to her house, as it's faster than driving if I cut through the school yard. Areas like this are common in my neighborhood. Children play in the woods. My friends and I would hike through the woods near an abandoned farmhouse to a nice sitting area to hang out. I just find it unnecessary for Prospect Park to fence off some areas, deeming them "too wild" for the city folk. Although from what I gathered, I was the only person who cared. It's as if the people here liked to be fenced. In the same way freedom makes me feel at home, they felt at home with just the smallest semblance of order. The fences reminded me that I was still in the city, and while I disliked that, it provided comfort for others who may otherwise feel out of their element.

As I continued down this path, I began to see a small river through the trees beyond the fence.

You can just barely see it in the middle of this picture.

A little further down, I came across the pond that was the starting point for this river. I've always been fascinated with rivers, and seeing where they start and where they end. I know that may sound silly, but it's something that has stuck with me since I was a kid. When my cat Shadow passed away, we had him cremated, and sprinkled his ashes in a small stream that ran behind my house. It started with a small drainage ditch in the neighbors yard, and only flowed when it rained. Following this stream down led to an area where it joined up with a slightly larger river, and then eventually joined up with the main river that's located right next to the farmhouse I always visited. The stream ran through the woods behind my house, and, even though the part in my yard was filled up when a new development was built, walking into the woods reveals where it once was. I'm not sure why, but that even got me really interested in finding out where rivers began and where they let out, so I was very happy to find the source of this river.

Darned fences...

At this point on my last visit, I began to walk down the path, surrounded by woods (and fences) towards the lake. I came across many people. Some were alone, some had families, some walking dogs. Most didn't acknowledge me at all. As I walked by, they continued to look straight ahead. All I said "Hello!" to responded in some way, but none took it farther than that. I wasn't disappointed. They wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet here. New York City is a loud place, and the people of the city needed a break. Central Park is a beautiful place, but everything about it still feels exactly like a city. Prospect Park, on the other hand, feels like a midway point, not quite a city, with it's hills and plants all growing out of line, but not as free and uncontrolled as the area I grew up in. While the trees were not planted by planners, and not lined up in any way, they were also all put out of the way. One was unable to truly walk through the trees, as I had hoped. But this wasn't a bad thing. For the people of New York, this was wild and different. The open meadow alone was immersive for them. It was a quiet place, with nothing but the sounds of birds and wind if one wished for it. The soft, earthy smells were a pleasant change from the strong smells of the city. People who have only lived in New York wouldn't be bothered by the inability to walk right through the trees as I do, because to them, they already were walking through the trees.

Prospect Park, while not what I was expecting, is a beautiful place. Central Park is beautiful, but Prospect Park did mean something else to me. A walk down Prospect Park to me would be like a walk through Lansdale, the biggest area near my town, to a New Yorker. It may not be what I expected, but it's still beautiful, and it serves its purpose to its people. Prospect Park is an escape, a change of scenery and pace from the average city experience. It lacks the structured feel and tourism of Central Park. It's a place I think I should like to be able to visit again in the future, and one I think is an important community to the city of New York.