MORE
ABOUT HOYT PARK:
Former Parks Superintendent, Daniel Stapay, once said,
"Hoyt [Park] is important because of its history."
Indeed, the origins of present-day Hoyt Park can be traced to
1890 when the City acquired property rights to twenty-four acres of
stone quarry which in time grew to its current thirty-one acres
through donation and purchase.
By 1933, operations at the stone quarry had ceased and the
land had officially become a city park when it was named Hoyt Park
in honor of Frank W. Hoyt also known as "The Grand Old Man." Between
1894 and 1934, Mr. Hoyt acted as a leader in the Madison Park and
Pleasure Drive Association, a volunteer-based group which predated
the Board of Park Commissioners assembled in 1937 and was integral
in opening, and maintaining recreational places in the Madison area.
Major efforts to develop Hoyt Park began during the Great
Depression with funds provided by Franklin D. Roosevelt's New
Deal. Many unemployed
workers were hired by programs such as Works Progress Administration
and Civil Works Administration to improve various aspects of Hoyt
Park. Significant among
these laborers were the Italian masons from the local Greenbush
neighborhood who were responsible for constructing stone fireplaces
and tables using materials from the Park's quarry.
Though money for the building projects had been exhausted,
the Italian masons continued to work without pay in order to
complete what they had started.
However, subsequent time, vandalism, and harsh winter cycles caused the
Depression-era artifacts to deteriorate.
In response to citizen concern for the dire situation, the
Friends of Hoyt Park was founded in 1995.
This volunteer group is committed to restoring and preserving
cultural features of the park's past.
In the years to follow, with financial contributions of both
the City and the Friends of Hoyt Park, the twelve stone fireplaces
were meticulously restored to their previous condition.
|
