Richard Tucker Park - New York, NY - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

The sign reads, "Richard Tucker Park is named after the renowend tenor, Richard Tucker (1913=1975). Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Richard Tucker worked as a cantor before making his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1945, where he enjoyed a 30-year career, specializing in Italian operatic works.

The park's bronze portrait bust of Tucker, created by Milton Hebald (1917-2015), sits on an inverted, tapered and polished granite pedestal on which are inscribed the titles of 31 operas in which Tucker performed In 1979, the monument was unveiled and given as a gift by Tucker's wife, Sara, and the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, established in the tenor's memory to support young American opera singers. A similar bust was unveiled in Tel Aviv, Israel that same year. In 19080 the park was officially named Richard Tucker Park.

History
For many years the site of Richard Tucker Park and the parcel to its south were both considered part of what was known as Empire Park, whic hwas evenutally separated into two parks: Empire Park North and Empire Park South. In 1811, the City Commisionoers created the extrodinary grid plan, which extended to 155th Street. The design incorpereted the meandering path of Bloomingdale Road (now called Broadway) and the points at which this path crossed the new grid became "bowtie" intersections, whcih would develop as centers of activity and typically became small parks.

By 1880 the elevated train station on Ninth Avenue (known as the "El") extended into the Upper West Side, greatly increasing access to the area and spurring a rush of business, theaters and hotels in the area. The El station was located at 66th Street, its iron stairways on the east edge of the present-day Richard Tucker Park. By 1902 the Interborough Rapid Transit Company was excavating under Broadway for the subway and its station entrances, which were also located on 66th Street opposite the El. In 1906 the area surrounding the intersection of Broadway and Columbus avenue was officially named Lincoln Square by the New York City Board of Alderman. In 1940, after coexisting with the subway for 35 years, the El was demolished. Richard Tucker Park became a transportation hub for the entire district and retains this function today."

Group that erected the marker: City of New York Parks & Recreation Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: New York, NY, USA URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: Not listed

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