Prohibition Park

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Prohibition Park
Temperance town
1890s map of National Prohibition Park
1890s map of National Prohibition Park
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CityNew York City
BoroughStaten Island
Founded1887
OpenedJuly 4, 1888[1]
Ceased1907
Named forProhibition Party

Prohibition Park, also called National Prohibition Park,

New York City Parks Department.[6][7]

History

Main article: History of Westerleigh, Staten Island

The area of Prohibition Park and modern Westerleigh began as part of the 5,100 acres estate of

National Prohibition Party. The party intended on founding a reclusive summer retreat in response to apparent widespread crime and blight in the city attributed to alcohol consumption.[2][6] The park was opened on July 4, 1888, and was operated by the National Prohibition Campground Association (later the National Prohibition Park Company).[5][2][6] In its first year of existence, 60,000 people visited the park.[2] A 4000-seat auditorium called University Temple opened in 1891.[5][6] By 1897, the park had grown to 150 acres (610,000 m2) in size, with a yearly attendance of 200,000.[2]

The park consisted of

campground, a picnic grove, tennis courts, ball fields, horse stables and other recreational facilities. Visitors would stay in tents anchored to wooden platforms. Any open lots not used for campsites were used for development, giving way to permanent buildings including a bowling alley, a large hotel called the Park Hotel, and several small hotels.[5][2][6] Events at the park included temperance rallies, religious and temperance meetings, educational lectures, and Chautauqua entertainment.[5][8]

The park was served by a surface trolley line (operated by the Port Richmond and Prohibition Park Electric Railway Company) on Jewett Avenue beginning in 1892, originating in

Saint George Terminal.[4][2]

Residential development

In 1892, the area began transitioning into a permanent residential community. Over 1,000 building sites were created, each with a deed prohibiting the use, manufacture, or sale of liquor. Single-family homes in Victorian, Dutch, and English stylings were constructed.[2] Streets were constructed in the neighborhood, named after prominent Prohibition figures.[5][2][7] The Westerleigh Collegiate Association, a private school which offered education from Kindergarten to college, opened in 1895.[5][2]

Initially selling only to fellow temperance followers, in the 1900s the Park Company began selling lots to non-members of the movement.[1][2] This, along with declining park attendance, and the destruction of the University Temple and Westerleigh Collegiate in 1903 due to separate fires, led to the decline of Prohibition Park. The community was renamed Westerleigh, and the remaining undeveloped parkland was acquired by New York City in 1907.[1][5][2][6][7]

Residents

References

  1. ^ a b c d Haller, Vera (April 8, 2014). "Westerleigh, S.I., Built on Temperance". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. ^
    SILive.com. Staten Island, New York: Staten Island Advance
    . Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Prohibition Park". Sunday Herald. August 11, 1895. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
  4. ^ a b Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences (1916). Proceedings - Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, Volumes 5-6. New Brighton, New York: Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Prohibition Park, Staten Island, New York". prohibitionists.org. Prohibition Party. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  6. ^
    New York City Parks Department
    . Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. ^
    New York City Parks Department
    . Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  8. SILive.com. Staten Island, New York: Staten Island Advance
    . Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  9. New York Times
    . February 25, 1896. Retrieved 2011-05-03. William H. Boole. The Rev. William H. Boole, D.D., a prominent clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal Church and widely known as a temperance lecturer and evangelist, died at 1 o'clock yesterday morning at his Home, Prohibition Park, Staten Island. Dr. Boole, who was sixty-eight years old, had been slightly indisposed for a week, but was preparing to fill several engagements to lecture this week. ...
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