The Parks and Cemeteries 291 



property, built stables and stands, and laid out an oval track 

 one and a quarter miles long, with a straightaway track cross- 

 ing it, three quarters of a mile long. These are said by experts 

 to have been the finest in the country. All the decorations 

 of the stands and buildings were in the Pompeiian villa style, 

 in carved relief and set off in varied colors. There were stable 

 accommodations for more than seven hundred horses. The 

 first race meet took place in 1890, and the park was in constant 

 use until 1904, when it was closed to racing and divided up into 

 lots. In 1908 and 1909, the track was used on several occa- 

 sions for exhibitions and tests of aeroplanes and balloons. As 

 a race-track it was a great favorite with the betting and racing 

 population. The Morrises who were interested in the park 

 are not of the old Morrisania family. 



Up to the year 1883, the (old) city of New York ranked 

 sixth in the country in the matter of area of land for public 

 parks; but in that year a number of public-spirited men, 

 with an insight into the future, petitioned the State Legis- 

 lature for a commission to select sites for new parks. In 

 accordance with the act passed in answer to the petition, a 

 committee of seven citizens was appointed by Mayor 

 Franklin Edson, which worked so expeditiously that 

 their report was ready for the Legislature of 1884, which 

 authorized the purchase of the various sites selected. These 

 commissioners served without pay, and entirely from public 

 spirit. The "New" parks, as they were called, comprised 

 3757 acres, now included in Van Cortlandt, Bronx, Pelham 

 Bay, Crotona, St. Mary's, and Claremont parks. The con- 

 demnation proceedings took some time, so that title did not 

 vest in the city until December 12, 1888. Cedar Park, of 

 17.47 acres, had been purchased by the city June 4, 1885, 

 before the New Parks Act became operative by the completion 



