Building of the Day: Prospect Park Picnic House

Brooklyn, one building at a time.

Name: Prospect Park Picnic House
Address: Prospect Park, behind Litchfield Villa at 5th Street and Prospect Park West
Neighborhood: Park Slope
Year Built: 1927
Architectural Style: Colonial Revival
Architect: J. Sarsfield Kennedy
Other Work by Architect: “Gingerbread House,” Bay Ridge; houses in Prospect Park West, Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope and elsewhere.
Landmarked: Prospect Park is landmarked, and this building falls within it, so technically I believe it is.

The story: The grass had hardly begun to grow in the new Prospect Park before eager picnickers swarmed the Long Meadow and other areas, eager to enjoy the outdoor spaces. The year was 1868, and the park wasn’t even done yet, and the city had received seven permits for groups of over 100 people who wanted to be able to have a picnic. In response, a picnic shelter and concession stand was built in 1876 to make a day in the park easier.

The popularity of the park grew steadily, and as time went by, more shelters, restaurants and other buildings were added inside the park, all designed to make the park experience easier for patrons, and to add to the ambiance of the park. Some of the buildings were quite charming, some quite unusual, and some just silly.

In 1927, the original Picnic House burned down, and this building, designed by J. Sarsfield Kennedy, was built. Kennedy, a Canadian by birth, was a local architectural sensation, best known for his design of the so-called “Gingerbread House,” in 1917, an Arts and Crafts gem of a house built in Bay Ridge for Howard and Jesse Jones. In the 1920s, he was busy in Brooklyn Heights, changing classic row houses into “modern” apartment buildings. His alterations to many of the houses in the Heights involved invoking a Colonial Revival atmosphere, so he was well versed in the style, which he used to great advantage here.

He built a two story structure with an open room on the upper story and bathroom facilities and storage below. THe building has a steep pitched roof, covered in Mediterranean tile. It’s quite Georgian looking, and very elegant. The building survived Robert Moses’ purges, when he removed several park buildings that should have stayed where they were, and in the 1960s was home to a program for senior citizen groups who would gather for lunch, card games, arts and crafts and music. The Picnic House has had two renovations since then, both of which fixed the roof, enlarged the bathroom spaces, and provided more room for public functions.

Today, the Picnic House is a welcome comfort station, and its upper floor is often rented out for weddings, concerts and other special occasions and events. Back around 1985, I was working for the Penny Bridge Players, a children’s theater in Brooklyn Heights, and we did a wonderful production of Cinderella here. I was the costume designer, and created an elaborate and colorful production with 18th century style costumes. The open stage of the picnic house was perfect for the occasion. It’s one of my favorite Prospect Park memories. The Picnic House is a great space. GMAP

(Photo: Prospect Park Alliance)