Dewitt Clinton Park is located on two city blocks in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, from 52nd Street to 54th Street, 11th Ave. to 12th Ave.

To visit the park, take the C or E train to 50th Street. Walk two blocks north and three blocks west. -OR-
Take the M31 on 11th Ave. to 52nd Street or the M11 on 10th Ave. to 53rd Street and walk one block west.
 

History of Dewitt Clinton Park by Barbara Feldt, Park Warden, Gardener, and DCPC member

Located in the community known as both Clinton and Hell’s Kitchen, DeWitt Clinton Park is one of the few parks that has tent its name to a neighborhood. Originally stretching to the shores of the Hudson River, the park was named for DeWitt Clinton in 1901 when the City acquired 7.4 acres that was once part of the Clinton farm.

DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828) served ten terms as Mayor of New York City, was a U.S. Senator, and was Governor of New York State for eight years. His most visionary initiative was Manhattan’s street grid system (1811) but he was best known for planning and promoting the State-funded Erie Canal.

The park was designed by landscape architect Samuel Parsons Jr., and officially opened in 1905. It featured a recreational and bathing pavilion topped with grand columns, a gymna­sium, running track, playgrounds, and curved paths that led to a panoramic view of the Hudson and the Palisades.

The centerpiece was the Children’s Farm (1902-32) lead by Director Frances Griscom Parsons, the City’s first female park administra­tor. She oversaw more than 300 children’s vegetable and flower gardens and taught young gardeners how to increase their harvests. Raised beds enabled handicapped children to enjoy if gardening. This successful program inspired if other park gardens and influenced the commu­nity garden movement. The construction of the -~ West Side Highway (193144) eliminated the gar­dens and reduced the park to just under six acres.

The striking statue of a World War I doughboy’ was dedicated in 1930 and restored in 1997. The monument is a reminder of all the lives that were lost, many of them local. The memorial is often anonymously decorated with red poppies, which symbolize that remembered heroes live forever.

The 1996 renovation of the aptly named Erie Canal Playground included multi­functional play equipment, safety surfac­ing, a map of the canal’s route painted on the ground, a drinking fountain, and three concrete mules (from ‘The Erie Canal” song). DeWitt’s Dog Run offers pet owners benches and a water supply. There are six basketball half-courts, four handball courts, and parkhouse restrooms just past the frog and arch water sprayers.

The Dewitt Clinton Park Conservancy...

The DeWitt Clinton Park Conservancy will advocate for our park:

• with the community creating an enhanced sense of ownership in the neighborhood. We will call on the users of the park to be an integral part of its upkeep.
• with the various permit-holders. We hope to help softball leagues, event holders, etc. to see that DeWitt Clinton Park is a neighborhood park and that they are, in a sense, entering our homes.
• with MidTown North Precinct. We will work with the police to keep Clinton Park safe and clean.
• with the Department of Parks and Recreation. As plans are developed, we will serve as the conduit for neighborhood opinion, needs and desires.
• with and for our children. We hope that by our active show of concern for our park we will engender in our youth a respect for our park, our neighborhood, and our city.