Recreation Department

Broadway Park (also known asDowning Vaux Park )

In 1902, the Mayor said in his annual message that "this unused piece of the street might be cleaned up … with settees placed in good position so as to give a clear view of the river, and thus make a cool and pleasant resting place on warm summer evenings." Downing Vaux, son of noted architect Calvert Vaux, was commissioned to create a rustic oasis.

Broadway Park, also known as Downing Vaux Park is flanked by open space, with views of the river, where old city buildings were demolished in the 1970s.

In 2009, while working on the reconstruction of the former West Shore Railroad Station, owner Ray Yannone of Storm King Building Company, Inc. noticed what he thought was a “deteriorated staircase” on the other side of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. He took a walk, and soon recognized, without knowing the history, that the stairway was an important connection between the waterfront and Broadway. Mr. Yannone took on the restoration of Broadway Park as a personal mission.

Click on link to see Broadway Park, also known as Downing Vaux Park as it looked at the preview of its restoration in November, 2009. 111509-dvbwpkfnlpx