Lincoln Park sits mostly in a large basin or ravine carved by the Beaver Kill, a stream that flowed from the west to the
Hudson River. In 1626 the commander of the
Dutch Republic's colonial outpost
Fort Orange along with a company of six soldiers accompanied their allies, the
Mohicans, in their war against the Mohawks. They were ambushed on the site of the future Lincoln Park near
Delaware Avenue, during the battle the commander and three of the soldiers died. As the city grew the
kill (
Dutch for creek) and the land in the area came to be owned by the
Dutch Reformed Church. Evert Wendell, perhaps illegally as a squatter, built saw and
grist mills and a brewery on that land prior to 1737, using the water power from the kill. By 1800 the mills were deteriorated and abandoned, and soon after were sold as pasture. Due to the fine natural clay banks along the gorge carved by the Beaver Kill several
brickyards came to be established in Lincoln Park during the 19th century, mostly along Morton Avenue between Hawk and Eagle. The Beaver Kill's natural waterfall, west of the intersection of Park Avenue and South Swan Street provided for waterwheel power for local industry. Industry continued to be located around the falls, especially breweries which would dump so much waste product into the Beaver Kill that the falls became known as Buttermilk Falls. What is today the southwestern corner of the park was once owned by
James Hall who owned an office built around 1852 and a house around 1880 along
Delaware Avenue. The first portion of the park to be opened was a children's playground that was built by the Mother's Club (today the
Women's Club of Albany), and this included Hall's land. It was Albany's first park that was more than passive, it was the city's first public playground and was called the Central Playground. Hall's office became the location of indoor children's activities, and the site of his house would later become the site of today's tennis courts. West of Hawk Street was the location of Martinville, an
Irish shanty town from the
American Civil War era, named for its builder James Martin. Through Chapter 449 of the Laws of 1890 the Commissioners of Washington Park received authorization to acquire land for Beaver Park, an irregular shaped area corresponding to the majority of present-day Lincoln Park east of Swan Street. Under plans drawn by
Charles Downing Lay and
Arnold Brunner, published in 1914 as
Stvdies for Albany the eastern section of the park was developed. The original plan was more elaborate and grand than what was actually built. But the basic plan for athletic fields, a swimming pool, bathhouse, and children's activities were kept. In 1982 a proposal was made to
Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd for a civic center in the eastern section of Lincoln Park. The mayor was receptive to the plan and inquired to the state about use of parking facilities at the
Empire State Plaza in conjunction with the civic center. The next year another group of investors proposed to the mayor regarding a civic center in Lincoln Park. The mayor, who would die four months later, responded with "Please discuss this with Jim Coyne", who was the
Albany County executive. Later that year Coyne announced plans for a county-owned civic center facility, and though the Lincoln Park site was proposed at public hearings, the first site chosen was in
Latham before finally settling on South Pearl Street in
Downtown Albany (today the
Times Union Center). In 1989 the prologue to the first
Tour de Trump featured a loop through Lincoln Park. In 1993 South Swan Street within the park, from Morton Avenue to Myrtle Avenue, was renamed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and a statue of King was erected at the corner of said boulevard and Morton Avenue. Martin Luther King III was in attendance at the unveiling as the guest speaker. The statue comprises an tall statue with panels of granite etched with images from throughout his life and of lines of his speeches. The Lincoln Park pool bathhouse was gutted and renovated in 2001 at a cost of $3 million. ==Festivals==