Remember Jackie Robinson. The legendary baseball player graces this very park. This is Jackie Robinson Playground. It sits in Hamilton Heights and Harlem.
Jackie Robinson Playground spans 12.77 acres. It lies between 145th and 155th Streets. Bradhurst Avenue bounds it to the east. Edgecombe Avenue borders it to the west.
Once called Colonial Park, it opened in 1911. The city acquired the land between 1894 and 1899. The park’s construction aimed to offer organized play for inner-city children.
Aymar Embury II designed the pool. It was built between 1935 and 1936. This was part of a Works Progress Administration project. The WPA improved the park with playgrounds, basketball and volleyball courts and a wading pool.
The Colonial Park Pool opened in 1936. Robert Moses completed ten pools that year. The opening attracted 25000 people.
The park was renamed after Jackie Robinson in 1978. Councilmember Fred Samuel introduced the local law. Mayor Edward I Koch signed it.
Jackie Robinson Park has steep terrain. The Edgecombe Avenue side is higher than the Bradhurst Avenue side. The cliff north of 155th Street becomes Coogan’s Bluff.
The park contains two playgrounds on Bradhurst Avenue. They are named after cross streets. Playground One Forty Nine CIL is at 149th Street. Playground One Fifty Two CLII is at 152nd Street. The 152nd Street playground was once a wading pool.
There are baseball fields at 150th Street. One basketball court is south of 150th Street. Four handball courts are at 151st Street. These sporting fields and playgrounds were built in 1936.
The Jackie Robinson Pool is north of 146th Street. It has a main pool and a smaller water play area. The pool measures 82 by 236 feet. It can hold 4090 bathers at once.
The recreation center is east of the pool. It has a brick facade with Romanesque details. The eastern facade has cylindrical buttresses and recessed arches.
Inside, there is a bust of Jackie Robinson. Inge Hardison created it. It was installed in 1981. The recreation center also has a basketball court and fitness room.
An open-air bandshell sits at 147th Street. It faces a dance floor terrace. The bandshell’s interior has a mural of Robinson. The Junior League of New York painted it in 2006.
The park also features paths. These paths predate the WPA renovations in 1936.
Colonial Park got its name from American Revolutionary War battles. These battles took place in the area.
In the early 1900s, the area west of the park became Sugar Hill. Wealthy Black Americans lived there during the Harlem Renaissance. W E B Du Bois and Thurgood Marshall resided in the Colonial Park Apartments.
Today, Jackie Robinson Playground stands as a testament to history and recreation. It honors a baseball legend. It provides a space for community and play. As you explore, remember the legacy of Jackie Robinson. Think of the park’s rich past.