Riegelmann Boardwalk and Ocean Parkway: Century-Old Ocean Promenade
Why is it significant?
Feel the resilient bounce of the wooden planks beneath your feet as you stroll eastward along the Riegelmann Boardwalk toward Ocean Parkway. Dedicated on May 15, 1923, and named for Brooklyn Borough President Edward J.
Key Facts
| Place | Riegelmann Boardwalk and Ocean Parkway: Century-Old Ocean Promenade |
|---|---|
| Address | Boardwalk at Ocean Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11224, USA |
| Geo Coordinates | 40.57480, -73.96800 |
| Part of Walk | New York: Coney Island Boardwalk and Vintage Amusements |
| Generated | Generated |
Feel the resilient bounce of the wooden planks beneath your feet as you stroll eastward along the Riegelmann Boardwalk toward Ocean Parkway. Dedicated on May 15, 1923, and named for Brooklyn Borough President Edward J. Riegelmann who championed its construction, this grand public promenade stretches nearly two and a half miles from West Thirty-Seventh Street to Brighton Beach. Built for three million dollars, the boardwalk democratized the Atlantic beachfront, converting private commercial beaches into a free municipal seaside playground for all New Yorkers.
The engineering behind the boardwalk was colossal. Over one hundred and twenty thousand cubic yards of sand were pumped from offshore ocean beds to create a wide public beach, supported by more than twenty-two hundred reinforced concrete piles sunk into the seabed. The walking deck was laid with millions of board-feet of dense, rot-resistant tropical hardwoods like ipé and Douglas fir, laid in a distinctive diagonal herringbone pattern designed to withstand decades of salt, sun, and pedestrian wear. The boardwalk remains an unshakeable democratic institution of New York life, welcoming millions of citizens of every background and income to stroll, jog, and socialize along the Atlantic shoreline free of charge.
At this intersection, the boardwalk meets Ocean Parkway, the nation's very first landscaped parkway, designed in the 1870s by Central Park creators Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Olmsted envisioned Ocean Parkway as a grand green pedestrian and equestrian boulevard connecting Prospect Park directly to the Atlantic Ocean, creating an unbroken ribbon of green from the heart of Brooklyn to the sea.
Look at the cast-iron dolphin-patterned public benches lining the boardwalk, where generations of Brooklynites have spent peaceful afternoons soaking in sea air.
Continue east along the boardwalk across the invisible boundary into Brighton Beach, stepping into the vibrant enclave of Little Odessa.