A privately maintained, 6,000-square-foot (one-seventh of an acre) pocket park configured across a multi-tiered urban layout. Gifted to the city in 1971 by philanthropist Abby Rockefeller Mauzé and designed by landscape architect Hideo Sasaki, the space is engineered to mitigate surrounding urban street noise. The rear of the property features a 25-foot-tall granite waterfall that functions as an acoustic shield, generating a continuous volume of white noise designed to completely mask vehicular traffic sounds from nearby Third Avenue.
The site utilizes three distinct levels to maximize its small physical footprint. The street-level entrance directs visitors into a central plaza shaded by a dense canopy of mature honey locust trees and landscaped with seasonal azaleas. This main seating area features brick side walls, built-in stone benches, and moveable wire patio furniture. A structural steel overhead trellis spans this section and is equipped with functional radiant heating elements to maintain visitor comfort during colder spring and autumn temperatures.
A separate, sunken lower terrace is located directly at the base of the main waterfall, providing total physical and visual isolation from the street level. This lower section includes a small, trickling side brook, ivy-covered stone walls, and a viewing area subjected to the mist radiating off the waterfall's collection pool. The property is open to the public daily and is entirely funded, secured, and meticulously upkept under the direct care of the Greenacre Foundation.
Address: 217 E 51st St, New York, NY 10022 Normal Price: Free Hours: Open daily year-round
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