30 



Davenport, Hilda T.oines, Mrs. Stephen T.oines, Edwin P. May- 

 nard, $500 each. 



"Gardens on Parade" is the designation chosen for tlie Ilortus 

 ILxhibit, and the " cornerstone " of the ])aviHon in this section was 

 laid, with ap])r()])riate exercises on the site, on In-iday afternoon, 

 October 21, representatives of the jjotanic Garden beint^' present. 



Dcpartiucui of Parks 



1. Mf. Prospect Park. — F.ver since the land coni])risini;" the 

 l^jotanic (jarden \\as " <;'ranted and devised" by the City of Xew 

 York to The I^rookdyn Tnstitnte of Arts and Sciences to admin- 

 ister as a botanic j^arden ( Asi;-reenient of neceniber 28, 190^^), an 

 area of several acres at the northwest corner of the (harden has 

 been occui)ied I)y Ml. Pros])ect Reser\-()ir. This ai'ca has an east 

 frontai;'e on the Piotanic (jarden ot ai^proxiniately 037 feet, and a 

 north frontage on h'astern Parkwav of some 575 feet. About 

 1929 there liegan an organized et'fort to induce the lioard of 

 Estimate and .■\|)portionment to approve the Alt. l*ros])Cct ])roi)erty 

 as the site for the l^)rooklyn Center of the College of tlie City of 

 New York. 1diis Center \vas later organized as Pirooklyn College. 

 ^•Vbout 1934 the l)oai"d of 1 ligher Education, fortunately. re(|ueste(l 

 tlie P)oard of hlstimate to api^rove a larger ])roi)ertv in south Elat- 

 hush, known as " the W^ood-l larmon site," for the location of the 

 new College. On December 21. 1934, this site was a])])ro\-e(l and 

 subsequently ])m'chased by the Cit\-, much to the gratification of 

 the Botanic Garden authorities, who felt that if a large college (it 

 now, December, 1938, has an enrollment of 13,440 students at da^' 

 and evening sessions, not including 3,519 in tlu' summer session) 

 were located adjacent to the Garden our grounds ^\•ould inevitably 

 become transformed l)_y use into the eam])us of the college, espe- 

 cially since the Reservoir site was so small as to leave verv little 

 area after the buildings were erected. In fact it was definitely 

 proposed at one time that some of the liotanic (jarden land be 

 taken and added to the proi)osed site of the college. 



On January 3. 1935, the Commissioner of Parks, ^Nfr. Pobert 

 Moses, requested the Commissioner of W^ater Su])ply, (]as, and 

 Electricity, ]\Ir. Maurice P. Davidson, to release the Mt. Prospect 

 Reservoir pro]ierty to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, 

 for transfer to the l)e])artment of Parks. 



