Originally an area used for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, the banks abut large vaults under the bridge’s anchorage that had been used as wine cellars in the 19th century and a
Cold War era bunker to store
emergency survival supplies in the case of a nuclear attack. After the removal of
trolley lines from the bridge in the 1950, land was cleared for additional exit ramps for cars to be constructed on the Manhattan end. In 1972, the space under the ramp supports was reclaimed as part of the larger
1 Police Plaza development project. Parks Commissioner
Henry Stern independently declared the area a park by installing a wooden sign that read "Red Brick Park." The distinctive wavelike banked surfaces were designed by landscape architect
M. Paul Friedberg, who later said of his design "it was not with the intent of creating a recreational area… but it’s interesting that it became that. What is fascinating to me is how we interpret our environment, how we use our imagination to do things, involve ourselves in activities that were not intended."
Justin Davidson, architectural critic for
Curbed, wrote that the banks were "bleak by design". ==Skateboarding==