The Battery Oval, Bikeway and Perimeter

The Battery Oval, Bikeway and Perimeter transformed half the area of Battery Park into green lawns and winding gardens and restored and relocated 23 historic monuments to the park’s highly trafficked perimeter. The Bikeway links Hudson River Park to the East River Esplanade, creating a new series of garden “rooms,” shaded by over 250 mature trees and joined by meandering, soft-surface pathways for cyclists, joggers and pedestrians. The Battery Oval reconfigured the park entrance into a grand oval with a seating capacity of 8,000 people, the only large public assembly place in Lower Manhattan. Bronze “firefly” bollards, designed by Linnaea Tillett, lend enchantment to the tall native grasses and lush perennials while classic post-top lanterns illuminate primary pathways and the Oval.

CLIENT
The Battery Conservancy; NYC Parks and Recreation

TEAM
Piet Oudolf, garden designer
Quennell Rothschild & Partners in association with Starr Whitehouse, landscape architects and planners

RECOGNITION
2017 ASLA NY Chapter: Honor Award for General Design

Photography: Courtesy of Seth Tillett and Seth Ely