Located in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, this Zoological Park has over 125 species of animals and birds from around the world. From a small menagerie, the park has grown into a large wildlife conservation center where living exhibits are housed in conditions similar to their natural habitat and endangered species are preserved.
In 1866, a plan for a zoo was made in the west of Prospect Park. At the time it consisted of a wild fowl pond and a sheep pen. In 1890 an informal menagerie was built that housed animals donated by prominent and wealthy individuals. A new zoo was dedicated based on the designs of Aymar Embury II in 1935 within red brick buildings depicting scenes from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. In 1988, the facility underwent major restoration and became a wildlife park providing natural habitats and comfortable environments for animals and birds.
Today, it is an education center for children and visitors can view animals from a winding outdoor trail. They can also view indoor exhibits in dioramas and visit a section where children are encouraged to observe wildlife by drawing what they see. There is a barn with domesticated animals to give children a farmyard experience. Conducted tours and education programs are provided by volunteers at the zoo.

Rated as one of the best botanical gardens in the US, this safe clean and manicured park is a quiet oasis in the middle of the bustling city. The best time to visit is late April when a cherry blossom festival is held every year.
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has many specialty gardens within a 52 acre area. It was declared open in 1910 and has over 10,000 species of plants placed in unique themed landscapes. There is a Cherry Tree walk and esplanade with over 200 species of Asiatic Cherry trees. Themed gardens include a Japanese Garden, a bonsai garden within the Steinhardt Conservatory, a rose garden with over 1500 species and a Plant Family garden where plants are grouped by family to show their evolution.
Other unique gardens within the botanical park include the Shakespeare garden with plants and flowers mentioned in his plays and poems, a fragrance garden for the visually impaired with signposts in Braille and a Children’s garden designed especially for the benefit of young visitors.
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has two gift shops and a garden reference center that serves as a resource to professional and amateur botanists. A Beaux Art style conservatory within the garden called the Palm House serves as a venue for weddings and events with space for over 300 guests.

The second largest museum in New York City, the Brooklyn Museum has a variety of collections ranging from historical objects to exhibits related to art and architecture. It has permanent objects from around the world and hosts themed temporary exhibitions that continue for over six months.
The Brooklyn Museum began as the Brooklyn Institute for Arts and Sciences. It was opened in 1897 and derived its funding from the New York City government. The Beaux Art building, covering 560,000 square feet was designed by a firm of architects called McKim Mead and White. In 2004, a new pavilion designed by James Stewart Polshek was added to the old structure.
The museum has the finest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the United States. There is also an impressive American art section, European art collection, African art exhibits, contemporary and decorative art collections and a section devoted to feminist art. . It has several historical rooms consisting of parts of old houses reconstructed to showcase art and architecture through the ages.
On the first Saturday of every month the Brooklyn Museum hosts a free evening of public entertainment. Guided tours by docents are available. Visitors can also browse at the bookstore or relax at the café located within the building.

The second highest point in Brooklyn, the Mount Prospect Park once offered sweeping views of New York City as far as New Jersey. It is small, with a large open field and a separate children’s play area.
The location of Mount Prospect Park was used in 1776 as a lookout point by the Continental Army. A reservoir was built at the top of the hill by the City of Brooklyn in 1856 and it was decided that the land around should be maintained as a park to preserve the purity of the water. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Mount Prospect Park around the reservoir. In 1996, major changes were made through the efforts of the City Council Member, Mary Pinkett and the playground was reconstructed with new play equipment, safety surfacing, picnic tables, swings, a new fountain and drainage system.
Mount Prospect Park does not command the view today as it did when it was a lookout post. It is now an enjoyable dog friendly recreation ground for the whole family. Tai Chi lessons are available every morning and the playground gives hours of entertainment for children. The park is located near important institutions like the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Designed to resemble an open book, the Central Library of the Brooklyn Public Library is one of the largest art deco buildings in the United States. The building also houses a large auditorium called the S. Stevan Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture where events like lectures, public readings and musical concerts are held.
The Brooklyn Public Library was originally designed in Beaux Art style by architect, Raymond Almirall. World War I and the Great Depression made the construction too expensive for completion. In the 1930s, architects Githens and Keally redesigned the structure in an art deco style removing all expensive ornamentation and demolishing the third floor of the Almirall building. The present building has two floors with a space of over 350,000 square feet.
Besides serving the public as a library, the Central Library is the administrative headquarters of the Brooklyn Public Library System. Over 300 staff members are employed by the library. About a million people use its services each year and online services where people can access newspapers, like editions of the historic Brooklyn Daily Eagle from 1842 to 1902, are also available. The Central Library building of the Brooklyn Public Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

The Grand Army Plaza forms the entrance of Prospect Park, Brooklyn. The ornate Arch of the Soldiers and Sailors is located at the entrance, and the plaza is named after the Grand Army of the Potomac, which was the name of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was the first traffic free parkway in the world that connected a park with the main roads.
When the laying of Prospect Park was commissioned in 1860, architect Calvert Vaux submitted a plan in 1865 with an elliptical space in front. When it was first built, the space was simply called The Plaza. The Arch of the Soldiers and Sailors was dedicated and the plaza was renamed in 1892 to honor the Union Army who were the victors in the American Civil War.
Today, Grand Army Plaza is divided into two by 59th Street. The northern half has a gilded bronze statue of one of the heroes of the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman. The Southern half has the Pulitzer memorial fountain, a gift from the Pulitzer publishing family. The Plaza is studded with busts and monuments dedicated to prominent American statesmen and war heroes.

Park Slope in Brooklyn is regarded as New York City’s most desirable neighborhood. It has many historic brownstone buildings and gets its name because of its location on the western slope of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park.
The Park Slope neighborhood runs from 15th street in the north to Flatbush Avenue in the south. Prospect Park lies on the Eastern border and 5th Avenue in the West. The location was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native American people. Before it became a peaceful residential location, it was the scene of the battle of Brooklyn in 1776. During the civil era, a lawyer and railroad developer Edwin Clarke Litchfield purchased the land that is now Park Slope and sold it to residential developers. The first residents were wealthy New Yorkers. In the 1950s, wealthy and upper middle class New Yorkers left for suburban locations and it became a working class neighborhood. In the 1960s and early 70s, it was home to hippies and artists. The neighborhood was given the status of a landmark district in 1973 and then saw an influx of upper middle class and wealthy residents once again.
Today, visitors enjoy walking down the leafy streets of Park Slope with its historic brownstones and eateries serving an array of menus. The American Planning Magazine rated it as one of the greatest neighborhoods of America because of its architectural and historic features, diversity of residents, local businesses and an active and involved citizenry.

Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Kings County, New York, now in Brooklyn. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Located in Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, it lies several blocks southwest of Prospect Park, between Park Slope, Windsor Terrace and Sunset Park.The cemetery was the idea of Henry Evelyn Pierrepoint, a Brooklyn social leader. It was a popular tourist attraction in the 1850s and was the place most famous New Yorkers who died during the second half of the nineteenth century were buried. It is still an operating cemetery with approximately 600,000 graves spread out over 478 acres (1.9 km²). There are several famous monuments located there, including a statue of DeWitt Clinton and a Civil War Memorial. The gates were designed by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival style. The main entrance to the cemetery was built in 1861 of Belleville brownstone.