Cityscapes: Walking Giants

The park was part of the deal when IKEA wanted to build on the 22-acre Todd Shipyard property in Brooklyn's Red Hook. The park is a nearly one mile long waterfront esplanade. Four huge gantry cranes were incorporated into the design as well as other nautical artifacts. What was lost was a 700-foot-long dry dock, known as Graving Dock No. 1, filled in by Ikea for a parking lot. The dock has been outlined in Belgian-block paving stones and a small segment was preserved near the water’s edge. The design called for 558 trees, wildflowers and grasses that are maintained by IKEA. IKEA also provides security for the park which is open from dawn until dusk. When you exit from the free (paid for by IKEA) water taxi service you walk through the park. flickr photo