Prospect Park Bridges
Prospect Park Bridges

Brooklyn, NY
1984

Client

NYC Departments of
Parks and Recreation

Services

Historic Preservation
Architectural Design

This project involved the restoration of four historic bridges in Prospect Park for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

Work on the Lullwater Bridge, an 1889 cast iron bridge designed by McKim Mead and White, involved reconstruction of the original cast iron ornamental castings which were lost or vandalized. This restoration won a Bard award from the City Club.

The restoration of The Nethermead Arches, a 1870 landmark stone bridge, involved replacement of sandstone balustrades, repointing brickwork beneath arches and reinforcing and re-landscaping the ravine banks.

Work on the Meadowport Arches, also built circa 1870, involved restoration of sandstone arches, vaulted wood ceiling and re-creation of historic wood benches. The Cleft Span Bridge, the first precast bridge in this country, required replication of its cast stone ornamentation, repaving with cast stone pavers and reconstruction of its drainage system.