Burnet Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Burnet Park |
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Burnet Park c.1910
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| Location | Bounded by Grand Ave. on south, S. Avery Ave. on west, Coleridge Ave. on north and Wilbur Ave. on east Syracuse, NY |
| Area | 88 acres (36 ha) |
| Created | 1886 |
Burnet Park is the biggest park in Syracuse, New York, USA. It covers a large area of 88 acres (about 35.6 hectares). You can find it on the west side of the city, in a neighborhood called Tipperary Hill. It's a great place for people of all ages to enjoy nature and activities.
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Burnet Park: Syracuse's Big Green Space
How Burnet Park Started
Burnet Park has an interesting history that began over a hundred years ago. It's located in the Far Westside of Syracuse, in the Tipperary Hill area.
Major Burnet's Gift
In 1886, a nearby village called Geddes became part of Syracuse. At that time, a man named Major John P. Burnet owned a big farm on Tipperary Hill. He decided to donate 100 acres of his land to Syracuse. This land became what we now know as Burnet Park.
Major Burnet had one condition for his gift. He wanted the city to spend $6,000 to build roads and plant trees in the new park. The city agreed and worked hard to make the park beautiful.
A year later, in 1887, Major Burnet was happy with the city's efforts. He then gave them another piece of land. This area is still full of oak trees and is known as the Oak Grove. You can find it at the corner of South Avery Avenue and Whittier Avenue.
Growing the Park: New Homes and Designs
After donating the park land, Major Burnet divided the rest of his farm into lots for houses. This new neighborhood was called the Burnet Park Extension. A local architect from Syracuse, Charles Colson, designed the plans for these new streets. He also designed Syracuse's City Hall, which opened in 1892.
The new neighborhood offered 100 building lots. One of the main reasons people wanted to live there was how close it was to Burnet Park. It was advertised as having "the most beautiful building lots for residences in the city of Syracuse."
Fun Things to Do at Burnet Park
Burnet Park offers many different activities for people in the area. It has something for everyone, no matter the season!
Play a Round of Golf
The Burnet Park golf course is one of the oldest in the entire country. It was built way back in 1901. You can find the golf course at the corner of Avery and Coleridge Avenues. It's actually at the highest point in the city!
One special feature of this course is its first hole. It has the only "shamrock" shaped sand trap in the country. The course has been updated several times over the years, with a big renovation happening in 1988.
Meet Animals at the Zoo
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is a popular attraction located right inside Burnet Park. In its early days, the city of Syracuse ran the zoo. However, today it is managed by Onondaga County Parks.
The zoo is home to almost 1,000 animals across 43 acres. Some of the most popular animals you can see include Asian elephants, Humboldt penguins, Amur tigers, and African lions. The zoo also has a center for learning about animal conservation, an education center, a cafe, and a gift shop.
Explore the George Washington Forest
In 1935, a special area called the George Washington Memorial Forest was created. It had thousands of evergreen trees planted along the southern edge of Burnet Park, near Grand Avenue. These trees were meant to provide young trees for the park over many years as they grew.
The trees were donated by New York State through the Experimental Station of the College of Agriculture. Experts thought it would take 30 to 40 years for the small trees to grow into a full forest. By the mid-1960s, the forest had indeed grown into a thick wooded area, just as predicted. This forest is located south of the golf course.
Summer Fun and Games
Burnet Park is always busy, no matter the time of year. In the summer, you can enjoy many activities. There are softball games, golf, and swimming in the 50-meter pool. People also love to use the park for bicycling, jogging, and walking.
If it's a windy day, a great spot to fly a kite is Lover's Lane. This area is on the western edge of the park, on top of a hill next to South Avery Avenue. The park also has basketball courts, outdoor racquetball courts, and tennis courts. The picnic areas in Oak Grove are perfect for family get-togethers.
Winter Adventures
When winter arrives, Buffalo Hill becomes a favorite spot for sledding and tobogganing. Back in January 1917, people loved to go sledding and skiing there, and they even called the hill The Little Alps.
Ice-skating was also a very popular activity for many years. Every January, a temporary ice-skating rink would be built. Park staff would use a snowplow to make a big circle with snowbanks and then fill it with water using a fire hose. It would take about 24 hours for the ice to freeze.
In the mid-1960s, the city built a permanent outdoor ice-skating rink next to the clubhouse. However, this rink closed in 2003 because a new ice-skating rink opened in downtown Syracuse. Today, the old rink at Burnet Park is still used for broomball and roller hockey during the summer months, but it's not open to the general public.
