Saw Mill Playground

Can you hear the echoes of Mill Brook? It’s a ghost stream, vanished from sight but not from memory, whispering around Saw Mill Playground. This isn’t just a playground, you see. It’s a testament to a forgotten waterway. Saw Mill Playground, completed in 1974, initially started as a paved schoolyard for P.S. 49, now M.S. 222. It remained disconnected from its watery namesake until 1987 when Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern officially christened it Saw Mill Playground. The name, ironically, is a nod to Saw Mill Creek, another name for Mill Brook. There was never a saw mill here, adding another layer to the playground’s curious history. Mill Brook, once known as Acrahung, began its journey near Fordham University. It flowed south, tracing a path along the Harlem Valley Line, then followed Brook Avenue before finally meeting the Bronx Kill. Imagine this bustling waterway, now buried beneath the city. By the late 19th century, as Morrisania and Mott Haven grew, Mill Brook was straightened, then covered, disappearing from view. The 1970s brought decline to this neighborhood, with abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Yet, in these empty spaces, community gardens bloomed. One such garden, between 140th and 141st Streets, became Brook Park in 1979. Just south of it sat the future Saw Mill Playground, still a simple schoolyard. Saw Mill Playground today is more than just asphalt. Thanks to the 2014 Community Parks Initiative, it’s a vibrant space. Redesigned with community input, Saw Mill Playground boasts new play equipment, a synthetic turf field, and even spray showers. Its winding paths, designed by Quennell Rothschild, subtly evoke the lost Mill Brook, a reminder of the nature buried beneath the concrete. Although Mill Brook isn’t visible here, its legacy lives on in the name and the design of this playground. Saw Mill Playground, alongside Brook Park and Mill Brook Playground further southeast, keeps the memory of this hidden stream alive in the heart of the Bronx.