Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux
1870-74 – Scenic Landmark
Eastern Parkway, the world’s first six-lane parkway and one of only 10 scenic landmarks in New York City, was laid out by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The parkway, a term that Olmsted himself coined, featured broad green medians with rows of trees and paths for pedestrian and equestrian promenading. These medians were flanked on either side by service roads for carriages. Though it was narrowed over the years, the parkway retains this layout today. Eastern Parkway was designed to extend the picturesque character of Prospect Park, also by Olmsted and Vaux, eastward into the expanding residential neighborhoods of Brooklyn. It was also intended to encourage first-class residential construction, which was certainly a success in Crown Heights. Today, this “shaded green ribbon”, as Olmsted called it, forms the boundary between Crown Heights North and Crown Heights South.
Eastern Parkway is a New York City Scenic Landmark and located in the State and National Register of Historic Places Crown Heights North Historic District.