Isham Park

40°52′11″N 73°55′09″W / 40.86972°N 73.91917°W / 40.86972; -73.91917

The entrance to the park on Broadway near Isham Street (June 2016) The red stone marker to the right is the original 12th mile marker on the Kingsbridge road(Old Boston Post Rd.) from 189th st.
Isham Park's central lawn, at the top of the hill (April, 2010)
An outcropping of marble in Isham Park (July 2016)
A ginkgo biloba tree in the park; it was named one of New York City's "Great Trees" in 1985.[1][2] (July 2016)

Isham Park is a 20-acre (81,000 m2) historic park located in Inwood, Manhattan, New York City. The park was created in large part through gifts to the city from the Isham family of land from the William Bradley Isham estate. It sits roughly between Broadway, Isham Street, Seaman Avenue, and West 214th and 215th Streets.[3]

The park once extended to the Harlem River, but after the creation of Inwood Hill Park and the reconfiguration of area streets, the boundary became, for the most part, Seaman Avenue, although the baseball fields across the street are considered to be part of Isham Park and not Inwood Hill Park.[3] The extent of the current park now equals that of the original Isham estate. The Isham mansion, which originally came with the park gift, was torn down in the 1940s due to its deteriorating condition.[4]

Isham Park is noted at its southern end for some exposed marble outcroppings which date from the Cambrian period. This is a popular location for college geology classes to visit. There is a public garden in the northeastern corner. Much of the rest of the park has trees and brush growing in a rather wild manner, although the center of the park at the top of the hill is a grass lawn.

  1. ^ Carmody, Deidre (April 127, 1985) "New York, Again Tree City U.S.A., Pays Homage to it Finest Specimens" The New York Times
  2. ^ "Ginkgo at Isham Park" New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
  3. ^ a b "Isham Park" New York City Geographic Information System map
  4. ^ "Isham Park - Historical Sign". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved July 19, 2010.