Paley Park
New York, New York Paley Park has been recognized by the Project for Public Spaces as one of the most utilized pocket parks in the United States. This open space for Manhattan is located on 53rd Street, between Madison and 5th Avenues, and completed in 1967 by landscape architect Robert Zion. At only 4,200 square feet, Paley Park is one of the smallest urban parks in NYC, but acts as a magnet drawing passers-by to its offerings of food and relaxation. Paley Park’s moveable tables and chairs provide visitors with the ability to rearrange the space to fit their needs, accommodating both groups and individuals. Paley Park’s success exists in the ability of such a small space to offer an incredibly unique sense of place, apart from the surrounding commotion. First, the canopies of honey locust trees extend over the sidewalk to capture the pedestrian’s attention. Then, the rushing sound of a twenty-foot waterfall serves as a backdrop to the plaza and entices people to stop and explore the space. While the park is slightly elevated from the sidewalk to define the space, the steps are low and inviting. As captured within William Whyte’s documentary, The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces, visitors use the stairs for additional seating, which further entices people along the sidewalk to explore Paley Park. Those who experience Paley Park describe it as otherworldly, a space that withdraws you from the rush of New York City. The park’s vegetation creates an intimate environment – with walls of green ivy to soften the framing buildings, and seventeen honey locust trees that dapple its visitors with diffused light. As a privately owned public space, the park is closed at night, but the iron gate maintains a captivating view of the illuminated waterfall. Paley Park serves as a prime example of how design may transform even the smallest of spaces into an open space retreat.
PRECEDENT - 17