Editing Fort Tryon Park (section)

=== Construction ===

Construction of the park began in August 1931,<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Shockley|Baugher|1983|ps=.|p=7}}</ref> before the city had accepted the deed to the land on December 28, 1931.<ref name="encnyc" /><ref name="Torrey p. 17" /> The work provided many jobs during the [[Great Depression]].<ref name="encnyc" /> The work included numerous smaller projects such as destruction of the old Billings estate; grading of the terrain; constructing structures such as arches and balconies; planting trees, shrubs, and lawns; and cutting into the ridge of the west side of the park to create an extension of Riverside Drive. Some {{Convert|36000|yd3|m3|abbr=}} of Manhattan schist were used in the project, while an average of 350 workers were employed during each day of work.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> Construction progressed quickly and by February 1932, it was reported that Fort Tryon Park was 42% complete.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/14/archives/work-40-finished-on-fort-tryon-park-revolutionary-battle-site-is-be.html|title=Work 40% Finished On Fort Tryon Park|date=February 14, 1932|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210933/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/14/archives/work-40-finished-on-fort-tryon-park-revolutionary-battle-site-is-be.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Rockefeller bought an additional two plots from the Met totaling about {{Convert|1|acre||abbr=}} in June 1932.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/06/24/archives/rockefeller-buys-land-from-museum-takes-over-metropolitans-two.html|title=Rockefeller Buys Land from Museum|date=June 24, 1932|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210933/https://www.nytimes.com/1932/06/24/archives/rockefeller-buys-land-from-museum-takes-over-metropolitans-two.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, he offered to landscape the additional plots at his own expense,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/01/13/archives/rockefeller-offers-land-gift-to-city-would-landscape-at-own-expense.html|title=Rockefeller Offers Land Gift to City; Would Landscape at Own Expense an Acre Addition to Fort Tryon Park.|date=January 13, 1933|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210934/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/01/13/archives/rockefeller-offers-land-gift-to-city-would-landscape-at-own-expense.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and the city accepted that land.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/04/archives/city-accepts-land-from-rockefeller-estimate-board-orders-terms.html|title=City Accepts Land From Rockefeller; Estimate Board Orders Terms Drawn in Gift for Fort Tryon Park Addition.|date=February 4, 1933|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210935/https://www.nytimes.com/1933/02/04/archives/city-accepts-land-from-rockefeller-estimate-board-orders-terms.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

The project included the construction of the [[New York City Subway]]'s [[IND Eighth Avenue Line]], served by the modern-day {{NYCS trains|Eighth far north}}, which contains two stations serving the park (see {{section link||Transportation}}).<ref name="encnyc" /> The line, which crosses directly under the park between the two stations,<ref name="NPS p. 2" /> opened in late 1932.<ref name="Chambers">{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D13F7395513738DDDA90994D1405B828FF1D3|title=Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains in New Subway|date=September 10, 1932|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=June 29, 2018|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912162150/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D13F7395513738DDDA90994D1405B828FF1D3|archive-date=September 12, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> By March 1934, it was reported that the park was nearly complete, but that an additional $500,000 was needed for improvements.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/03/30/archives/city-unable-to-open-fort-tryon-park-lack-of-500000-for-improvements.html|title=City Unable To Open Fort Tryon Park; Lack of $500,000 for Improvements Holds up $5,000,000 Gift of J.D. Rockefeller Jr.|date=March 30, 1934|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210935/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/03/30/archives/city-unable-to-open-fort-tryon-park-lack-of-500000-for-improvements.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36282182/|title=Fort Tryon Park Fund of $500,000 Sought by City|date=March 30, 1934 |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |location=New York |access-date=September 21, 2019|page=93|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508192106/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36282182/fort-tryon-park-fund-of-500000-sought/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Public Works Administration]] subsequently gave mayor [[Fiorello H. La Guardia]] and New York City parks commissioner [[Robert Moses]] $800,000 in funds to complete the park.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The playground at the northeast corner of the park, at Broadway and Dyckman Street, was opened on September 6, 1934.<ref name="NYTimes-Playground-1934">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/06/archives/ft-tryon-play-area-is-opened-by-moses-400-children-take-possession.html|title=Ft. Tryon Play Area Is Opened By Moses; 400 Children Take Possession At Once – Another Group Gives Party for Heckscher.|date=September 6, 1934|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924032213/https://www.nytimes.com/1934/09/06/archives/ft-tryon-play-area-is-opened-by-moses-400-children-take-possession.html|archive-date=September 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The park was dedicated on October 12, 1935 by Rockefeller & Moses. In total, Rockefeller had spent $3.6 million toward the park's construction.<ref name="encnyc" /><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/13/archives/tryon-park-a-gift-to-city-is-opened-rockefeller-formally-presents.html|title=Tryon Park, A Gift To City, Is Opened; Rockefeller Formally Presents Beauty Spot to Public, With Plea for Preservation.|date=October 13, 1935|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923210935/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/10/13/archives/tryon-park-a-gift-to-city-is-opened-rockefeller-formally-presents.html|archive-date=September 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon Fort Tryon Park's opening, Upper Manhattan had nearly {{Convert|600|acre||abbr=}} of parkland split among several non-contiguous sites, including Fort Tryon, Fort Washington, [[Inwood Hill Park|Inwood Hill]], and [[Highbridge Park|Highbridge]] Parks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/07/23/archives/uptown-a-vast-park-spreads-nearly-600-acres-of-open-space-at.html|title=Uptown a Vast Park Spreads; Nearly 600 Acres of Open Space at Manhattan's North End Turned Into an Area of Planned Beauty and Utility|date=July 23, 1939|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924142230/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/07/23/archives/uptown-a-vast-park-spreads-nearly-600-acres-of-open-space-at.html|archive-date=September 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 1935, construction started on [[the Cloisters]], the Met's medieval art museum within the park.<ref name="nycland" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/04/04/archives/costly-museum-cloister-to-be-built-by-rockefeller-2500000-gothic.html|title=Costly Museum Cloister To Be Built by Rockefeller; $2,500,000 Gothic Building for Metropolitan to Rise in Tryon Park – Donor Also Gives Six Tapestries Worth $1,100,000.|date=April 4, 1935|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924010831/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/04/04/archives/costly-museum-cloister-to-be-built-by-rockefeller-2500000-gothic.html|archive-date=September 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The museum, designed by [[Charles Collens]],<ref name="Barnet p. 12">{{harvnb|ps=.|Barnet|Wu|2005|p=12}}</ref> incorporated several medieval buildings that were purchased in Europe, brought to the United States, and reassembled, often stone by stone.<ref name="Husband p. 35">{{harvnb|ps=.|Husband|2008|p=35}}</ref> The first portions of the Cloisters were opened to the public in May 1938,<ref name="NYTimes-Opened-1938">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1938/05/11/archives/cloisters-opened-on-tryon-heights-rockefeller-disclaims-praise-as.html|title=Cloisters Opened on Tryon Heights|date=May 11, 1938|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723004645/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/05/11/archives/cloisters-opened-on-tryon-heights-rockefeller-disclaims-praise-as.html|archive-date=July 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> and the museum was completed the following year.<ref name="Met Cloisters History">"[http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/history-of-the-museum/the-cloisters-museum-and-gardens The Cloisters Museum and Gardens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415030814/http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/history-of-the-museum/the-cloisters-museum-and-gardens |date=April 15, 2012 }}". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved May 15, 2016</ref>

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[[File:FtTryonPk.JPG|thumb|center|800px|alt=A view of the park from the Hudson River. The Cloisters museum can be seen at the top of the hill on the right. The green elevated highway is the Henry Hudson Parkway|A view of the park from the [[Hudson River]]; [[The Cloisters]] can be seen at the top of the hill on the right. The green elevated highway is the [[Henry Hudson Parkway]]]]

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