Harlem Art Park

Harlem Art Park. .347 acre. , Harlem Art Park is located at the corner of East 120th Street and Sylvan Place, a small road between Lexington and 3rd Avenues that was closed off for use as parkland. The City of New York originally acquired the first part of this property, a .174-acre plot directly behind the Harlem Courthouse, as a site for a public bath in 1929. The bath never materialized and the site lay vacant for nine years. By 1938, the land had become a popular informal sitting park, but NYC Parks did not acquire the jurisdiction over the land until 1945. Sylvan Place was closed off in the early 1980s between East 120th and East 121st Streets to be used as a park by the Casabe Houses, the neighboring senior citizen housing development. On October 30, 1992, about half of the closed off road was assigned to NYC Parks and added to the existing park, doubling its size., The park is nestled between Harlem Courthouse and Casabe Houses. The courthouse, a red brick and brownstone structure with gables, archways, an imposing corner clock tower, and a terra-cotta roof, was originally the site of police court hearings in the early 1890s. The building later played a role in reformers' struggle to establish a separate correctional facility in the city for female inmates. In June 1966, the courthouse was granted landmark status., One of Harlem Art Park's main attractions is Growth, an engaging 15-foot-high red sculpture located in the center of the park. Artist Jorge Rodriguez dedicated the sculpture in 1985. Growth, Rodriquez's first large-scale permanent work, was also the first project completed by the Percent for Art Program. Administered by the City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Percent for Art Program uses one percent of specific capital project budgets to commission works of art as part of new construction. In 2010, 25 years after its dedication Growth was restored by the Citywide Monuments Conservation Program. Though the sculpture had suffered no graffiti or vandalism, it had begun to show signs of surface wear including rust and faded paint from dust abrasion and water runoff. In consultation with the artist, the sculpture, which had originally been painted magenta, was painted "Emergency Red" in the spirit of the artist's original vision. Today, the sculpture is regularly maintained to preserve its coating., Of his work Rodriguez says, "I have tried to capture the interaction between trees, birds, insects, flowers, and man. My sculpture may portray a seed sprouting from the ground, an insect transforming into a flower, or a bird changing into a tree. I hope to create an art piece that will serve as a source of enjoyment and inspiration to the community."