Recreation Park
At the center of Binghamton's West Side neighborhood lies Recreation Park, a gift to the City from shoe manufacturing magnate George F. Johnson. Bounded by Seminary Avenue on the South, Schubert Street on the North, Beethoven Street on the West, and Laurel Avenue on the East, Recreation Park is both a peaceful oasis and a focal point for major community events. Evolved over the years, today the park contains both quiet areas suitable for walks or a picnic and areas for athletic activities. Major features include
- A grove of mature oak trees, interlaced with walking paths
- A large lawn area
- A playground
- A swimming facility with a bathhouse, swimming pool, and wading pool
- Two baseball fields
- Seven tennis courts
- A volleyball court
- A fully-restored and operational 1925 Allan Herschell carousel (placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992)
- A bandstand
- Three monuments honoring individuals of significance to the community:
- George F. Johnson [1857-1948], a sculpture of the park's benefactor by Charles Keck
- Harry L. Johnson, a reflecting pool with the sculpture Boy with Fish by Charles Keck
- Rod Serling, a bronze plaque in the floor of the bandstand
History of the Park
Prior to being a park, the property was primarily farmland, owned by Abel Bennett, the former first mayor of Binghamton, along with three smaller parcels owned by others. In a stunning act of generosity and foresight, these parcels, totaling eighteen acres in all, were purchased by George F. Johnson, the founder of Endicott-Johnson Shoe Corp., and then gifted to the City of Binghamton in October 1921. At a time when a working person made perhaps $2,000 per year, Johnson wrote in a letter to the current mayor of Binghamton that he paid $100,000 for the property, "a price which seemed to me reasonable." Remarkably, he also pledged an additional donation of $25,000, "to be expended as soon as possible for improvements." The only condition of this gift of property was "that it shall remain forever a public park, and that it shall be properly improved and maintained by the city as such. If at any time this property shall be used for any other purpose, it shall revert to the giver, his heirs or assigns." Also included was a list of "suggestions" he requested to be carried out, if considered "fair and reasonable, and so far as practical."
The improvements came in short order. The crown jewel, the Herschell carousel, added in 1925, has delighted children for generations now (including the world-renowned playwright, Rod Serling, who lived his boyhood years on the West Side). The bathhouse, which once had a red tile roof, still serves its patrons. The bandstand, now restored, hosts concerts in the summertime. The reflecting pool and its sculpture, Boy with Fish, were restored in 2004 (the latter by the Binghamton University art department through a grant from the Rose-Ross University and Community Projects Fund). In the early days of the park, a giant wooden toboggan slide was situated at the Laurel Avenue side but ultimately burned. These structures formed the basic amusements of the park, as we know it today. The oak grove, which has matured into the green canopy we see today, offers shade to those seeking relief from the sun. All of these have survived the last eighty years, yet they were nearly lost to neglect until recently.
By the 1980's, the park was in serious disrepair; the legend of its creation had faded. In the 1986 Heritage Committee Special Report, written by a task force that reviewed the park and made recommendations, members lamented that the park "has primarily changed only in the form of falling into such a state of disrepair that renovation is no longer cost efficient." Residents, realizing that a great treasure was about to be lost, pressed for restoration of these structures. From then, until the present, much time, effort, and money have been spent to restore the park structures to a functional and pristine condition.
Today, in addition to serving the needs of the residents in the surrounding
neighborhood, the Park hosts nationally known and local events such as
the Chris
Thater Memorial Races, the USTA
Challenger Tournament, the Lee E.
Barta Remembrance Run, and the Recreation
Park Music Festival.
Photo Gallery
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Bandstand in foreground, with the park's carousel behind. |
| The park's Allan Herschell carousel, installed 1925 (exterior view). The fully-restored and operational carousel operates daily during the summer. |
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The carousel includes 60 jumping horses four-abreast in the "country fair" style, chariots, and the original two-roll frame Wurlitzer Military Band Organ with bells. |
| Rod Serling memorial plaque. The inscription refers to Walking Distance, the fifth show of the first season of the Twilight Zone, which aired on October 30, 1959. This episode was influenced by Rod Serling's boyhood years playing in the park. |
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Sculpture of the park's benefactor, George F. Johnson, by Charles Keck, 1923. Inscribed "Have Faith In The People. George F. Johnson. Erected By An Appreciative Community To The Nobility Of His Character And His Great Benefactions To The People. 1923. Labor Is Honorable." |
| The Harry L. Johnson memorial, a tribute to the youngest brother of George F. Johnson. Inscribed "This Fountain Was Given By The School Children In Memory Of Their Friend Harry L. Johnson MCMXXII". |
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Boy with Fish, by Charles Keck, 1922. |
| The bathhouse (rear view), the wading pool, and the swimming pool. |
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The bandstand amidst the grand grove of oak trees during a winter snowstorm. |
| The bathhouse (front view) during a winter snowstorm. |
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The George F. Johnson monument in a winter snowstorm, Seminary Avenue houses in background. |
| Riders in the Chris Thater Memorial Races of 2003 round the corner from Beethoven Street to Seminary Avenue at the southwest edge of the park. |
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Riders in the Chris Thater Memorial Races of 2003 begin the charge up Seminary Avenue hill. |
