Mount Prospect Park

Mount Prospect Park is a 7.79 acre (3.2 hectare) park in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It includes Mount Prospect, the second highest point in Brooklyn. It is located on Eastern Parkway near Underhill Avenue, close to Grand Army Plaza. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

It is not the same as the much larger and better-known Prospect Park, which is across Flatbush Avenue from Mount Prospect Park.

Mount Prospect Park shares a common parcel of land with other Brooklyn cultural institutions, the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library.

History

Mount Prospect is named for its sweeping views (some no longer possible) of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and parts of New Jersey and Staten Island to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and Long Island to the east. It was a lookout point for the Continental Army in 1776. The Battle of Long Island (sometimes called Battle of Brooklyn) was fought nearby., New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, accessed July 3, 2008.

In 1856, the then City of Brooklyn built a reservoir atop Mt. Prospect, soon to be supplemented by the larger Ridgewood Reservoir. In 1860, Mt. Prospect was to be included in the city's ambitious...
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