Rochelle Park is a historic residential neighborhood in the city of

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

, in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

, New York. The area is bordered by Rochelle Heights on the east, Interstate 95 on the south, New Rochelle City Hall and civic center on the west and

Iona College Iona University is a private Roman Catholic university with a main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded in 1940 by the Congregation of Christian Brothers and occupies a campus of in New Rochelle and a campus of in Bronxville, ...

on the north. The Rochelle Heights and Rochelle Park neighborhoods together create the

Rochelle Park-Rochelle Heights Historic District Rochelle may refer to: Places in the United States *Rochelle, Florida *Rochelle, Georgia *Rochelle, Illinois * Rochelle, Texas * Rochelle, Virginia People * Rochelle (given name), including a list of people with this name * John of la Rochelle ( ...

History

Laid out in 1885, Rochelle Park is particularly distinguished as one of the first planned residential communities in the country. Its overall landscape plan was designed by the architect Nathan F. Barrett for the Manhattan Life Insurance Company. Rochelle Park epitomizes the suburban development design principles that

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...

advocated with the creation of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

: a landscape that provides urban dwellers with the restorative benefits of a picturesque natural environment. Incorporating open space, recreational areas, naturalistic settings, and broad boulevards for public interaction. The architecture of the homes is equally impressive, with many fashionable Shingle Style "cottages" designed with tall towers and attic porches to take advantage of the views towards Long Island Sound located a mile away. Rochelle Park is essentially rectangular in dimension, with the southeast corner having been clipped from it by the construction of the

New York & New Haven Railroad The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...

in the 1850s. In the original plan, the parcel was diagonally divided by a wide boulevard (The Boulevard) that entered the park at a stone gateway and ended at a circle ("The Court"). The Boulevard was intended to continue east through a tunnel under the railroad tracks and south to Long Island Sound. This planned connection gave the park the cachet of water access even though the development was a good distance away. This amenity lasted a very short time due to additional subdivisions of the property and the elimination of right-of-way. Rochelle Park-Rochelle Heights local historic district : design criteria guidelines, City of New Rochelle Department of Development (1998); page 11

Image gallery

Rochelle park 6.tif, Early map of Rochelle Park American homes and gardens (1905) (18148669992).jpg, Rochelle Park residence

References

External links

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NY HomeTownLocator Community ProfileRochelle Park map
{{New Rochelle, New York, collapsed Neighborhoods in New Rochelle, New York Historic districts in Westchester County, New York Planned communities in the United States