A rickety old architectural gem located inside Prospect Park is due for a facelift!
The historic Concert Grove Pavilion — which has been roped off since 2014 due to structural issues — will be restored to its former luster courtesy of $2 Million in Council funding, which will foot the bill for repairs to years of water damage, reconstruct missing historical details, and repaint the shelter based on historical images.
“This beautiful structure has been a beloved community landmark for generations,” said Sue Donoghue, president of the Prospect Park Alliance. “The Concert Grove Pavilion deserves a thorough restoration to restore it to its original grandeur.”
Located in the park’s southeast corner, the 1874 Calvert Vaux designed pavilion is supported by eight cast-iron columns holding up a massive metal and wood roof, which contains Egyptian, Chinese, and Hindu motifs.
In addition to rehabilitating the ailing gazebo, Councilman Brad Lander is looking to rename the structure, which is also called the “Oriental Pavilion,” and which the Park Slope lawmaker called “racist” in a Jan. 13 Instagram post.
This isn’t the first restoration the fanciful pavilion has gone through, and the structure was rehabilitated in 1988 in the wake of a fire that gutted the building more than a decade earlier.
And it may not be the park’s only historic structure due for an upgrade in the coming years — details on the long-anticipated Rose Garden restoration are rumored to be revealed this year.
