Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Recharging the Battery’s Park
“The park on the tip of Manhattan” never sounded as glamorous as when four-time Tony Award-winning actress Zoe Caldwell delivered a dramatic monologue about it at the Battery Conservancy’s Water Gazer Gala Tuesday. For that matter, it never looked as glamorous: a perfect sunset on the Hudson as the backdrop, Tiffany & Co. boxes at every plate, and guests dressed in seafoam green to match the décor.
By the end of the evening, the lights of New Jersey twinkling on the horizon, it was clear that the park will only get more glamorous: Mayor Bloomberg and the city’s Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe announced that architect Frank Gehry will design a playground for a park that, 15 years ago, was known for the number of its rats.
But back to Ms. Caldwell’s monologue. In her crisp Australian accent, she traced the history of Dutch and British rule over the spot, and of Castle Clinton’s lives as an entry point for immigrants, a concert hall for the New York Philharmonic, an aquarium, and as a ticket-booth for visitors to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
The tale ended with the present and with praise for the conservancy’s president, Warrie Price, who is transforming the park with new gardens, a seahorse carousel, and a restoration and expansion of Castle Clinton to include a performing arts venue.
“That was the best history lesson I’ve ever had,” a former managing editor of the New York Times and a biographer of Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Gelb, said. He was biased, however, since the tale was told in his honor: Mr. Gelb received the first Battery Medal for Culture.
Mr. Bloomberg presented an award to the co-chairman of Brookfield Properties, John Zuccotti, and Mr. Gehry gave one to the chairman of Tiffany & Co., Michael Kowalski (the architect designs tableware and jewelry for the company).
The event raised more than $800,000, bringing the total of private funds raised by the conservancy to $18 million, the chairman of the conservancy, William Rudin, said.
“We are rebuilding the birthplace of our city and we need to continue our dynamic pace,” Mr. Rudin said.
