HMWhite and Patricia McCobb collaborated on the landscape master plan and site design for the rehabilitation of one of New York City's first public parks. Commissioned by a private / public partnership -- the City Parks Foundation and neighborhood business sponsors, the landscape transformation secured the Park's future as an internationally recognized public park.

Thorough research and urban analysis led to a contemporary schematic plan grounded in park history. A complete tree inventory was conducted to chart present and future conditions, which established a preservation and landscape management program. The park's design anticipates future losses and proposes new planting design to reinforce a simplified visual and spatial organization.

Anchored by a new water basin and a restored historic fountain, the redesign reinforced the Park's central oval at its core. A permeable, stabilized crushed stone walking surface replaced trampled lawn and created a new gathering area, while promoting the health and growth conditions of numerous mature trees. A new architectural order developed a hierarchy of entrances, pathways and plaza nodes to minimize visual clutter and highlight the Park's historic landscape characteristics.