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Paley Park
A Historical Oasis
Conclusion
The Stork Club
From the 1930's to the 1960's, the Stork Club gave the rich and famous a place to party as the country emerged from the Prohibition Era and were thrust into the Great Depression, as the men went off to die in the Second World War and the survivors returned.
Though Paley Park seems to have been forgotten by many New Yorkers, it is a place layered in history that must not be destroyed.
- It is the last remaining remnant of The Stork Club, New York's famous nightclub
- It was the first pocket part, built as part of a larger movement within the New York City Renaissance. Its prompted the building of other parks like it all across the city.
- It now houses 5 pieces of the Berlin Wall that contain a reminder to all who see it that the gravest atrocities can be overcome.
The Berlin Wall
New York City Renaissance
In 1990, another layer of history was added to Paley Park, as five 12-foot-high, 5,000-pound pieces of the Berlin Wall were displayed in a separate section of the park.
During the period between 1945 and 1970, New York saw the expansion of slums and the building of more skyscrapers. So, as the city approached the 70's, New Yorkers began to seek a renewal of the city and its culture. Thus, the 1970's saw a New York City Renaissance with the renovation of many of the city's landmarks. This period of Renaissance and renovation included the movement to build pocket parks.
Paley Park:
A sensory oasis in a bustling metropolis
The First Pocket Park
Other Park Projects
Paley Park was New York City's first pocket park. Before the New City Renaissance kicked into full gear, three important figures in New York social history undertook the project of reshaping the public space. The project was promoted by activist and philanthropist Thomas Hoving and began with the financial support of CBS founder William S. Paley, who donated the money and the land for the project and dedicated the park to his father, Samuel Paley. Paley hired the landscape architect Robert Zion to design the park. Paley Park was opened to the public in May of 1967.
The building of Paley Park and the positive reaction it received, prompted these men to become involved in the building of other pocket parks throughout New York City, as Paley Park jumpstarted their movement to redesign the public space. By September 1967, eighteen other vest pocket parks had been designed with ten more in the works.