Tucker Place

Did you ever hear of a park named after a stolen horse tail? Tucker Place, a small park nestled in Brooklyn, New York, doesn’t owe its fame to a tenor, as many believe. Its story starts much earlier, tangled up with a vanished bronze horse and three mischievous boys. It was 1906. Empire Park South, as Tucker Place was then known, was a tiny triangle of green. Its claim to fame was an ornamental drinking fountain, topped by a bronze horse, forever frozen mid-gallop. The New York Times even gushed about its “great speed”. One May morning, three boys hatched a plan. They were going to sell the horse’s tail. Boosting each other up, they managed to snap it off. Their victory was short-lived. A detective found them waiting outside a junkshop, their ill-gotten gains still in hand. The boys ended up spending the day at the Children’s Society building, their dreams of easy money dashed. Over time, Empire Park South lost its horse and then its name. It became simply Empire Park, then Dante Park in 1921. Richard Tucker, a renowned tenor, made his Met Opera debut in 1945. After his death in 1975, the park became unofficially known as Richard Tucker Park. The Tucker family even offered to donate a statue in 1978. But a local planning board member, Doris Freeman, strongly opposed the full statue, deeming the Metropolitan Opera a more suitable location. She found fault with their process for suggesting the artwork. A compromise was reached. A bronze bust of Tucker was installed, paid for by his widow, Sara, and unveiled in 1979. The pedestal lists 31 operas he performed. Finally, in 2017, the park was officially dedicated as Richard Tucker Park. A plaque was installed to mark the occasion. So, next time you visit Tucker Place, remember the tale of the stolen horse tail. It is a reminder that even the smallest parks hold the biggest stories.