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Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District

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Coordinates: 43°4′47.16″N 75°13′56.07″W / 43.0797667°N 75.2322417°W / 43.0797667; -75.2322417
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Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District
Bathhouse archway in the district
Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District is located in New York
Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District
Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District is located in the United States
Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District
LocationParkway and Pleasant St, Utica, New York
Coordinates43°4′47.16″N 75°13′56.07″W / 43.0797667°N 75.2322417°W / 43.0797667; -75.2322417
Area625 acres (253 ha)
Built1909
ArchitectFrederick Law Olmsted Jr., Edward C. Whiting
NRHP reference No.08000594[1]
Added to NRHPJuly 03, 2008

Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District is a national historic district located at Utica in Oneida County, New York. It consists of four contributing historic elements: a historic right-of-way known as the Memorial Parkway and the three large parks it connects: Roscoe Conkling Park, F.T. Proctor Park, and T.R. Proctor Park. The district includes seven contributing buildings, three contributing sites, 26 contributing structures, and five contributing objects. The park and parkway system was designed between 1908 and 1914 by the firm of Olmsted Brothers Landscape Associates, headed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.[2] The Utica Zoo is located in Roscoe Conkling Park.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[1]

History

The district's establishment began in 1905, when Thomas R. Proctor announced the donating of land to the city of Utica for public use. “For his generosity, July 9 was declared ‘Proctor Day’ and was celebrated by a parade or special festivities in the parks."[3] The Olmsted family, which designed the Emerald Necklace in Boston and Central Park in New York City, also designed the parks for Utica, such as: Frederick T. Proctor, Thomas R. Proctor, and Roscoe Conkling Parks. The listed parks are known today to accommodate athletic activities, public events and fundraisers.

Frederick T. Proctor Park

Frederick T. Proctor Park is located on the corner of Rutger Street and Culver Avenue. It has approximately sixty-two acres of land that is known to accommodate space for the engagement of athletic activities, such as: jogging, roller blading and biking. It is considered the “Crown Jewel” of the district's parks, because it is the smallest of the Utica Parks and Parkway system.[4] The park includes a lily pond, a butterfly garden, bathhouses and sculptors. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), established on June 22, 1935, was the national program of construction and improvements of public spaces. It contributed in building some of the parks' structures;[3] "Many of the stone structures in the park were added during the WPA era and though they are not original to the park’s Olmsted design, they are no less significant".[5] The Starch Factory Creek, which is known for its landscape and its woods, flows through T. R. Proctor Park and F. T. Proctor Park. The park contains a vast array of trees and flowers that were planted by the garden club and Conservancy volunteers.[5] The park also hosts the city's Fourth of July fireworks.[6]

Thomas R. Proctor Park

Thomas R. Proctor Park is located next to F. T. Proctor Park on the corner of Culver Avenue and Welshbush Road. It has a hundred acres of land with baseball and soccer fields, basketball courts, a playground and running trail.[7]

Roscoe Conkling Park

Roscoe Conkling Park is located on Oneida Street and the Memorial Parkway totaling up to 625 acres. This was the first park developed by the Proctor brothers in 1909. It was designed to give Utica a pastoral appearance. The park includes the Utica Zoo, Valley View Golf Course, Val Bialas Ski and Sled Chalet, Parkway Recreation Center, John Mott Tennis Courts, South Woods switchback trails and several monuments. Roscoe Conkling Park also has many memorials and statues, including the Eagle Monument.

The Utica Zoo is situated on the park's grounds and features over 200 animals on forty acres of land. The Park also includes the Valley View Golf Course, which was designed by Robert Trent Jones. The gold course is used by golfers of all skill levels with three fields: white field having 6409 yards, blue field having 6786 yards, and red field with 5916 yards.[8]

During the winter, visitors can visit the Val Bialas Ski and Sled Chalet, which is named in the honor of a local Olympian ice skater, Valentine Bialas. It offers a rope tow, chair lift, night skiing, an ice rink and chalet with a snack bar.[7] During the winter The South Woods Switchback Trails are groomed for cross country skiing.

The Parkway Recreation Center, also known as the Edward A. Hanna Recreation Center, contains two modified basketball courts, a playground, weight training station, exercise equipment, walking track, tennis courts, computer room, conference area, and the Utica Sport Hall of Fame. The Recreation Center also accommodates the Utica Boys & Girls Club and the Parkway Senior Center.

Memorial Parkway

The Memorial Parkway is a divided parkway with a wide grassy median for most of its length. East of Mohawk Valley Community College the two sides join, and east of the Utica Armory it becomes Culver Avenue. From west to east, the monuments on the Memorial Parkway are:[9][10][11]

Caption
Order Name Erected Location Notes
1 James Schoolcraft Sherman 1923 West of Genesee Street, facing east Utica native Sherman served as US Vice President under William Howard Taft.
2 Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben 1914 East of Genesee Street, facing west General in the US Revolutionary War, settled in Remsen, New York after the war. Erected by the Utica German American Alliance.[12]
3 Vietnam War memorial 1985 West of Holland Avenue
4 George E. Dunham 1931 East of Holland Avenue Editor of the Utica Daily Press, vice principal of the Whitestown Seminary, manager of the Utica State Hospital for the Insane
5 Brigadier General Casimir Pulaski 1930 West of Oneida Street General in the US Revolutionary War
6 Spanish American War/USS Maine Memorial 1915 East of Oneida Street
7 POW/MIA Memorial 1992 Across from the Parkway Center
8 Central New York War Memorial 2000 Across from Kemble Street Memorial for World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
9 Mary S. Hendricks Police and Firefighters Memorial Park 2005 Across from Kemble Street Named for a Utica woman who advocated for the Utica Police and Fire departments.
10 Statue of Liberty 1950 West of Elm Street A replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. One of nearly 200 copies gifted by the Boy Scouts of America on their 40th anniversary.[13]
11 Swan Memorial Fountain 1910 East of Elm Street Dedicated to Joseph R. Swan, a prominent Utica lawyer, by his wife. Sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies.[14]
12 Thomas R. Proctor 1921 East of previous Memorial to Thomas R. Proctor, for whom Thomas R. Proctor Park is also named.
13 Christopher Columbus 1952, moved to current location 1966 West of Mohawk Street Gift of the Federation of Italian-American Societies of Utica. Originally stood outside the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
14 September 11 Memorial 2011 East of Sherman Place

References

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System – (#08000594)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ Raymond W. Smith (March 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Utica Parks and Parkway Historic District". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2010-01-10. See also: "Accompanying eight photos". Archived from the original on 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
  3. ^ a b Clarke, T. Wood. Utica for a Century And A Half. Utica: Earl Widtman, 1952. Print.
  4. ^ Staff, Renee Gamela. "'It's a jewel': Utica parks system marks 100 years." Observer-Dispatch (Utica, NY) 9 Sep. 2006, 1, A-Section: 1A. NewsBank. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Frederick T. Proctor Park - Culver Avenue (adjacent to T.R. Proctor Park)." Central New York Conservancy. 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.
  6. ^ Schneider, H. Rose. "Things to do, what to know for Independence Day around Utica". Utica Observer Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  7. ^ a b "Parks & Open Spaces". City of Utica. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  8. ^ "Valley View Golf Course Details." Utica Valley View Golf Club. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
  9. ^ Madison, Samantha. "14 monuments you'll see on Memorial Parkway". Utica Observer-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  10. ^ "Memorial Parkway". Central New York Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  11. ^ "History of the Utica Parks". Central New York Conservancy. Archived from the original on 2020-06-29. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  12. ^ Pohlsander, Hans A. (2010). German Monuments in the Americas: Bonds Across the Atlantic. Peter Lang. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-3034301381. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  13. ^ "Statue of Liberty Replica, (sculpture), NY000432". Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog. Archived from the original on 2020-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  14. ^ "Swan Memorial Fountain, (sculpture), NY000508". Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog. Archived from the original on 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
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