Fort Tryon Park Historical Timeline
- 1917: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. begins to acquire the properties that form today's Fort Tryon Park
- 1927: John D. Rockefeller, Jr. engages Olmsted Brothers to design Fort Tryon Park
- 1935: Construction of park completed; Columbus Day park opening attended by Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Rockefeller, Jr. and sons Laurance and Nelson
- 1938: The Cloisters Museum opens
- 1950: Plantings begin to disregard the Olmsted Brothers design
- 1970: Budget cuts during fiscal crisis drastically reduce maintenance of the park
- 1983: Plans for a Capital Renovation; the Greenacre Foundation approaches NYC Parks with offer to restore the Heather Garden and funds a master plan for Fort Tryon Park. Council Member Stan Michels commits significant funds for the garden’s infrastructure.
- 1985: Under Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, Park Administrator Jane Schachat oversees the restoration of the Heather Garden landscape by the Parks Department gardeners. She builds upon its success and partners with the Friends of Fort Tryon to reclaim other areas of the park.
- 1988: The Greenacre Foundation continues to provide funds to sustain the Heather Garden. Council Member Stan Michels directs City Capital funds to advance the park’s revitalization, providing close to $10 million for upgrades by 2001
- 1990: Through the 1990s, the Garden is maintained by a staff whose numbers fluctuate widely
- 1998: Manhattan Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Joseph Pierson and Edie Kean initiated the Heather Garden Committee Endowment (today the Fort Tryon Park Trust) to begin a fund to ensure the ongoing care and preservation of the Heather Garden
- 2001: $200,000 Challenge Grant to the Heather Garden Endowment Fund launched by the Rhodebeck Charitable Trust
- 2003: First Heather Garden Benefit, honoring Abby O’Neill
- 2006: $250,000 gift from Arthur Ross Foundation to create a Winter Walk, featuring evergreens and other plants of winter interest
- 2007: $500,000 gift from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation initiates the restoration of the Alpine Garden and Grotto on the Broadway side of the park, a catalyst for the Broadway initiative to revitalize the entire eastern side of the park
- 2008: $50,000 gift received from the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation enables drinking foundations and irrigation to be installed on the park’s Broadway Side. One week before his death, the Stan Michels Promenade is dedicated, in recognition of Michels’ tireless commitment to the park’s revitalization.
- 2009: Joan K. Davidson is honored at Sunset on the Hudson Benefit. Public Garden designer Lynden Miller is engaged to develop a Heather Garden Framework Plan for enhancing and sustaining the Heather Garden
- 2010: Fort Tryon Park’s 75th Anniversary Year. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg dedicates the Linden Terrace as the David Rockefeller Linden Terrace, in recognition of his generous support of the Fort Tryon Park Trust.
