A few days ago, Gowanus Lounge reported that Prospect Park is getting a $25 million skating facility with two rinks – one for hockey and one for recreational use. The plan was presented by Prospect Park Alliance President Tupper Thomas at a recent Park Slope Civil Council meeting.
Then yesterday, the Lounge unearthed an even better scoop: Husband-and-wife team Tod Williams and Billie Tsien will design the facility. The source? A posting by Mr. Williams on an appearance he’s making in March at Georgia Tech.
The new rink will be located on the parking lot next to the Wollman Rink, which will be restored to its original landscaping – in order to right a Moses-related wrong that obliterated Music Island and, with it, writes Bob Guskind, “what is said to have been one of the park’s most beautiful vistas.”
With Mr. Williams and Ms. Tsien designing the project – in a telephone call, Hua Yu of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects revealed that there’s no information to, um, reveal, but issued no denials - are working, too, on the Harmony Atrium at Lincoln Center and they also designed the American Folk Art Museum adjacent to MoMA on West 53rd Street.
We love the notion of skating in a brand-new rink and who are we to complain about the award-winning designers, but we're kinda glad it won't be open for at least another three years. Because the delay will slow down the inevitable: The Central Park-ization of Prospect Park.
