A Walk in the Park: Renovation of Theodore Roosevelt Park at the American Museum of Natural History

By Meg A. Parsont

The dog days of summer have arrived early this year, and New Yorkers and visitors to the city are panting for ways to beat the relentless heat and humidity. Abutting the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History on Columbus Avenue (77th to 81st Streets), comprising close to two acres, the newly renovated western portion of Theodore Roosevelt Park provides leafy refuge from the heat, just when we need it most.

With over 20 new oaks and elms supplementing the existing mature trees, the park now has a continuous canopy of greenery overhead, enhanced by another level of flowering trees like dogwood and redbud, extensive new plantings of native and pollinator-friendly perennials, evergreen and deciduous shrubs, ferns, and a lush lawn. With the addition of a number of new benches, the park is ready to welcome those seeking a quiet place to chill.

Landscape architecture firm Reed Hilderbrand consulted the 1870s plan of architect and landscape architect Calvert Vaux (who was also Frederic Law Olmsted’s partner on the design of Central Park) to develop a new design for the western portion of the park. The renovation “recalls the roots of the original plan,” notes Lydia Gikas Cook, Senior Associate and Project Manager at the firm.

Reed Hilderbrand preserved decades-old elm and oak trees and re-used plantings and soil from the previous incarnation of this portion of the park. It also reconstructed two stone piers from the original entrance, now placed on either side of the new central entrance. This entrance is three times as wide as the original, making the park more accessible from Columbus Avenue and hopefully encouraging more neighborhood interaction. A second, more intimate entrance has been added just north of 77th Street. With a brand-new bench-lined pathway wending its way along the edge of the museum, this section has the feel of a true community park.

As John Grove, Reed Hilderbrand’s partner in charge of the renovation, explains, their goal was to create a space that accommodates both visitors to the museum and those in the neighborhood who just want to relax and enjoy the park. From the open paved area around the Nobel Monument to the lush lawn of the Margaret Mead Green, which will open up to visitors once the sod has settled in, the park offers many welcoming spots.

Sinuous pathways meander through the restored section, creating flow and continuity through the park. Grove explains that these fluid walkways also made it possible to shift the path as needed to work around major root systems of existing trees. Other new features of this portion of the park include improvements to the infrastructure, such as regraded walkways with less slope in areas to eliminate drainage problems and the addition of a 100-foot-long storm water retention tank under the Margaret Mead Green to help support water flow.

Sean M. Decatur, President of the American Museum of Natural History, notes that the renewal of this portion of the park presented “a great opportunity to connect the museum and the community.” The renovations were developed in collaboration with the Park Working Group, which was formed in the early stages of the project and met dozens of times throughout the course of the project. This group was co-chaired by the Museum and Friends of Roosevelt Park, and its members included representatives from the offices of then Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, then New York City Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, NYC Parks, Community Board 7, the West 77th Street Block Association, Theodore Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association, the Defenders of Teddy Roosevelt Park, and the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District.

The Museum is responsible for the maintenance of the entrance area in front of the Gilder Center, and the New York City Parks Department is responsible for park and plant maintenance, with a dedicated gardener assigned to the park.

This is an exciting time to experience the rejuvenated portion of the park as the new plantings are starting to fill in, the oak-leaf hydrangeas are taking on a lovely mauve tone, and the lavender-colored flowers of dozens of liriope and hostas are starting to bloom. The weather forecast for the foreseeable future is hot and humid, and Theodore Roosevelt Park offers an opportunity to slow down, relax, and cool off.