St. Mary's Park

The ground was part of Jonas Bronck's estate from 1600 to 1643 and was held by the Gouverneur Morris family from 1752 to 1816. Wikipedia records it as occupied by a group of Loyalist military refugees during the Revolutionary War, as a camp. Adrian Janes purchased the land in April 1857; his iron foundry manufactured the Capitol dome, Bow Bridge and components of the Brooklyn Bridge's railings, and the park carries the name of his daughter, Mary. The city bought the land between 1888 and 1890. The borough's first playground opened here in 1914 and New York's first full-service indoor recreation center in 1951. A railroad tunnel was built through the park in 1905, 1.2 acres were returned to it in 1912, and a further 0.8 acres were added in 1968.