Van Cortlandt Park is a 1,146-acre (464 ha) park located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the fourth largest park in New York City, behind Pelham Bay Park, Flushing Meadows Park and Staten Island Greenbelt.
The park was named for Stephanus Van Cortlandt, who was the first native-born mayor of New York, and the Van Cortlandt family, which was prominent in the area during the Dutch and English colonial periods. Contained within the Park is the Van Cortlandt House Museum, the oldest building in the Bronx. The park is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The eastern side of the park is served by the Woodlawn subway station (4 train), and the western side by Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street station (1 train).
Van Cortlandt Park contains New York City's largest freshwater lake.
Read more about Van Cortlandt Park: History, Attractions, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words van and/or park:
“His reversed body gracefully curved, his brown legs hoisted like a Tarentine sail, his joined ankles tacking, Van gripped with splayed hands the brow of gravity, and moved to and fro, veering and sidestepping, opening his mouth the wrong way, and blinking in the odd bilboquet fashion peculiar to eyelids in his abnormal position. Even more extraordinary than the variety and velocity of the movements he made in imitation of animal hind legs was the effortlessness of his stance.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“The park is filled with night and fog,
The veils are drawn about the world,”
—Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)