The carousel will be featured on the parks tour. (Wikimedia)
April 26, 2019 By Laura Hanrahan
History buffs will be able to enjoy a free walking tour of the historic sites at Forest Park this weekend thanks to a new event organized by the Newtown Historical society.
The tour will kick off at 10 a.m. on April 27 at the Forest Park Bandshell and last for approximately two hours. It will focus on the area west of Woodhaven Boulevard, which features the park’s carousel—first built in 1903—the WWI Memorial Trees, and the former mansion of wealthy French landowner Edward Bourcier.
The Newtown Historical Society hopes that the tour will bring more attention to the sometimes overlooked park.
“The focus lately has been on Highland Park with all the tours going on there, the wetlands designation and the listing on the national register,” said Christina Wilkinson, President of the Newtown Historical Society. “We felt it was time to also draw attention to the rich history of Forest Park, which is considered to be Highland’s sister park.”
Wilkinson herself will lead the tour.
The tour was purposely scheduled on the same day as the Parks Department’s open house of the Forest Park Greenhouse —an annual one-day event where the park’s greenhouse is open to the public.
The greenhouse has been in operation for nearly a century, growing flowers and foliage to be planted in parks throughout Queens and Brooklyn. Wilkinson says they hope that having the events on the same day will allow attendees to take advantage of both.
To register for the tour, email [email protected]
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