Photos by Paul Martinka for the Prospect Park Alliance
After being closed to the public for nearly seven years, the historic Concert Grove Pavilion in Prospect Park reopened this week following a restoration. Designed in 1874 by Calvert Vaux, who co-designed the Brooklyn park with Frederick Law Olmsted, the stunning structure features colorfully painted wood ceilings and iron columns, ornate wooden trim, and a star-patterned stained-glass dome.
The 19th-century pavilion draws on “Hindu, Chinese, Moorish, and Egyptian motifs”, a popular design trend at the time, according to the Prospect Park Alliance, which oversaw the $2 million restoration along with NYC Parks.
Located in the southeast section of the park next to the LeFrak Center and facing Prospect Park Lake, the structure was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1974. Its iron columns were saved and the pavilion last underwent a restoration in 1988. It closed to the public in 2014 because of structural damage.