.489 Acre
Scholar and poet Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) is the namesake
of two New York City parks. The
first is a playground in Elmhurst,
Queens, known as the Clement Clarke
Moore Homestead. The second is
this playground, located on a former
farmstead purchased by Clement's
grandfather, Captain Thomas Clarke,
in 1750. A retired British Army officer,
Captain Clarke named his property
"Chelsea" after London's Royal
Chelsea Hospital for veterans. His
daughter and son-in-law extended
the boundaries to what are now
19th Street, Eighth Avenue, 24th
Street, and the Hudson River.
Born in New York City, Clement Clarke
Moore spent most of his life on the
Chelsea estate. He graduated from
Columbia College with a B.A. in 1798,
an M.A. in 1801, and an honorary
LL.D. in 1829. Moore donated land
for the nearby General Theological
Seminary, where he taught Oriental
and Greek literature from 1823 until
his retirement in 1850. Fluent in six
languages, he published numerous
scholarly works, including a Hebrew
lexicon, a biography, and several
treatises and addresses.
Moore is best known for having
penned the delightful children's
poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
He composed the poem for his wife
Catherine and their children in 1822.
A family friend had the poem published
anonymously in the Troy Sentinel
the
following year. The poem soon became
a classic, popularly known as "The
Night before Christmas." Moore died
in Newport, Rhode Island in 1863.
Ninety-nine years later, the West 400
Block Association 23-22-21 initiated the
improvement of neglected property at
the corner of Tenth Avenue and 22nd
Street. The City of New York acquired
the site in 1965 for use as a public park.
The playground opened on November
22, 1968 and was named for Clement
Clarke Moore by local law in 1969.
Renovations to Clement Clarke Moore
Park in 1995 included a new perimeter
fence, modular play equipment,
safety surfacing, pavements, and
transplanted trees. Community
members plant and maintain the
flower beds, and the West 400
Block Association holds a variety
of special events at the park. Every
Christmas time, residents gather to
read the poem that begins with the
familiar words:
Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
not even a mouse.
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