Editing Fort Tryon Park (section)

=== Acquisition and planning ===
[[File:Palisades and barge on the Hudson crop.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Panoramic view looking west from London Terrace. A barge on the Hudson River and the Hudson Palisades beyond, with the Englewood Cliffs campus of Saint Peter's University on the top of the Palisades|The view from Linden Terrace to the west: a barge on the [[Hudson River]] and the [[Hudson Palisades]] beyond, with the [[Englewood Cliffs]] campus of [[Saint Peter's University]] on the top]]

The philanthropist [[John D. Rockefeller Jr.]] had held an interest in Fort Tryon since childhood, when he and [[John D. Rockefeller|his father]] had taken walks in Fort Tryon.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /> In January 1917, Rockefeller anonymously purchased the {{Convert|33|acre||abbr=}} that collectively comprised the Hays and Sheafer tracts,<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="NYH-BiggestDeal-1917" /><ref name="NYT-BuysTract-1917">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/01/06/archives/rockefeller-buys-5000000-tract-for-city-park-gift-john-d-jr.html|title=Rockefeller Buys $5,000,000 Tract For City Park Gift|date=January 6, 1917|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923140633/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/01/06/archives/rockefeller-buys-5000000-tract-for-city-park-gift-john-d-jr.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Shortly afterward, a ''New York Times'' article publicized the sale,<ref name="NYT-BuysTract-1917" /> and Rockefeller acquired the {{Convert|25|acre||abbr=|adj=on}} Billings estate for $35,000 an acre.<ref name="renner">Renner, James (2007) ''Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill''. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing. p.20 {{ISBN|0-7385-5478-2}}</ref>

In June 1917, Rockefeller announced that Fort Tryon Park would be given to the city on the conditions that it be joined to the existing [[Fort Washington Park (Manhattan)|Fort Washington]] and [[Riverside Park (Manhattan)|Riverside Parks]], and that the city maintain the park.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="Torrey p. 17"/> Rockefeller also donated land on the opposite bank of the Hudson to the [[Palisades Interstate Park]] in 1933;<ref name="concrete172"/><ref name="NPS p. 9">{{harvnb|National Park Service|1978|ps=.|p=9}}</ref> that land would be taken over by the [[Palisades Interstate Park Commission]], which had operated the Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey since 1900.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/06/18/archives/urges-park-extension-commissioner-ward-says-city-should-meet.html|title=Urges Park Extension; Commissioner Ward Says City Should Meet Rockefeller Conditions.|date=June 18, 1917|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923140634/https://www.nytimes.com/1917/06/18/archives/urges-park-extension-commissioner-ward-says-city-should-meet.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission's website, there is an often-repeated claim that the land in New Jersey was bought to preserve views from Fort Tryon Park; however, the Palisades land was purchased years before Fort Tryon Park was opened to the public.<ref name="Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey 1917 l920">{{cite web | title=An 'Oft-Repeated Anecdote' | website=Palisades Interstate Park in New Jersey | date=June 13, 1917 | url=https://njpalisades.org/oftRepeatedAnecdote.html | access-date=March 15, 2024}}</ref> In any case, Rockefeller planned to run a ferry service across the Hudson River between Fort Tryon and [[The Palisades (Hudson River)|the Palisades]] on the river's western bank.<ref name="Torrey p. 17">{{harvnb|Torrey|1936|ps=.|p=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36266005/|title=Park Gift Link to Palisades|date=January 7, 1917|work=New York Sun|access-date=September 23, 2019|page=1|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508192104/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36266005/park-gift-link-to-palisades/|url-status=live}}</ref> Mayor [[John Purroy Mitchel]] was positioned to accept Rockefeller's offer. However, his successor [[John Francis Hylan]] ultimately did not accept the land, saying that the site had not been "improved". Moreover, the city had failed to propose a law that would have deeded the parkland to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.<ref name="NYCL p. 3" /><ref name="Torrey p. 17" /> In 1925, Hylan told one of Rockefeller's advisors that the city would consider another proposal to take the land and use it as a park.<ref name="Torrey p. 17" /> Following this, Rockefeller again offered the land to the city in 1926,<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|Shockley|Baugher|1983|ps=.|p=4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/12/29/archives/rockefeller-again-offers-city-a-park-mayor-to-consult-board-of.html|title=Rockefeller Again Offers City A Park; Mayor to Consult Board of Estimate on Accepting Billings Estate|date=December 29, 1926|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923140637/https://www.nytimes.com/1926/12/29/archives/rockefeller-again-offers-city-a-park-mayor-to-consult-board-of.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> though without success.<ref name="Torrey p. 17" />

In preparation for converting the land into a city park, Rockefeller hired the [[Olmsted Brothers]] firm, particularly [[Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.]], son of [[Frederick Law Olmsted|the designer]] of [[Central Park]]. Olmsted's design capitalized on the topography to reveal sweeping vistas of the Hudson River and the Palisades. Olmsted Jr. was guided by the four principles of park design that his father had established in creating Central Park: the beautiful, as seen in small open lawns; the picturesque, as shown in wooded slopes; the sublime, represented in the vistas of the Hudson River; and the gardenesque, exemplified by the park's Heather and Alpine Gardens.<ref name="concrete172">{{cite concrete|page=172}}</ref><ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> Olmsted Jr. had a preliminary report in 1927 and conducted a more exhaustive study in 1928–1930.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> In addition, James W. Dawson was hired to create a park-planting plan.<ref name="nycland">{{cite nycland|page=213}}</ref><ref name="aia">{{cite aia5|page=573}}</ref>

[[File:2018 Fort Tryon Park archway under Linden Terrace and path.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Stone archway and path under Linden Terrace, with small steps|Archway and path under Linden Terrace]]

Rockefeller also bought sculptor [[George Gray Barnard]]'s collection of [[medieval art]] in 1925.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref name="Husband p. 18">{{harvnb|ps=.|Husband|2008|p=18}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=English and French Medieval Stained Glass in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art|last1=Hayward|first1=Jane|last2=Shepard|first2=Mary|last3=Clark|first3=Cynthia|date=October 2012|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-30019-318-3|page=38}}</ref> He added several artworks to the collection, which became a branch of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (Met) in 1926.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> Rockefeller retained Barnard as an advisor for the collection, and they collectively decided to add a museum for the collection at Fort Tryon Park, which they chose for its elevation, views, and accessible but isolated location.<ref name="Siple">{{cite journal|last=Siple|first=Ella|date=August 1938|title=Medieval Art at the New Cloisters and Elsewhere|journal=The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs|volume=73|jstor=867467|number=425|pages=88–83}}</ref> The Billings mansion, which was originally supposed to house the collection, was destroyed in a March 1926 fire that burned down everything except the walls.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Billings Mansion on Hudson Razed by Fire, 2 Saved|date=March 27, 1926|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36266642/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36266667/ 4]|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> In June 1930, Rockefeller offered {{Convert|56|acre||abbr=}} of the park to the city for a third time, though he reserved {{Convert|4|acre||abbr=}} for the future museum.<ref name="NPS p. 9" /><ref name="NYTimes-Offer-1930">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/06/07/archives/rockefeller-offers-city-56acre-13000000-park-to-include-art-museum.html|title=Rockefeller Offers City 56-acre $13,000,000 Park To Include Art Museum|date=June 7, 1930|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923185953/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/06/07/archives/rockefeller-offers-city-56acre-13000000-park-to-include-art-museum.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BDE-Accepts-1930">{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/36266911/|title=City to Accept Park Site Gift of Rockefeller|date=June 7, 1930|work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=August 28, 2019|page=22|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508192104/https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/36266911/city-to-accept-park-site-gift-of/|url-status=live}}</ref> Rockefeller also offered to improve the grounds for $2 million,<ref name="BDE-Accepts-1930" /><ref name="NYT-Accepts-1930">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1931/03/19/archives/city-acts-to-accept-rockefellers-park-sinking-fund-commission-gives.html|title=City Acts To Accept Rockefeller's Park|date=March 19, 1931|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923140637/https://www.nytimes.com/1931/03/19/archives/city-acts-to-accept-rockefellers-park-sinking-fund-commission-gives.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> though the city would be responsible for improving utilities in the park.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /> In his letter offering the park to the city, Rockefeller proposed to name the park after Fort Tryon,<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="NYTimes-Offer-1930" /> but in September 1930, historian [[Reginald Pelham Bolton]] said that Rockefeller actually preferred to have the park be named "Forest Hill Park".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/11/archives/rockefeller-dislikes-tryon-as-name-for-park-he-donated.html|title=Rockefeller Dislikes Tryon As Name for Park He Donated|date=September 11, 1930|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923140637/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/11/archives/rockefeller-dislikes-tryon-as-name-for-park-he-donated.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In early 1931, the city moved to accept Rockefeller's offer.<ref name="NYT-Accepts-1930" />