Prospect Park Nethermead

The Nethermead is a 30-acre meadow in the heart of Prospect Park, the second of Olmsted and Vaux's three great open landscapes in the park (after the Long Meadow to the north and the broad lawns near the Boathouse to the east).

The Nethermead's name, meaning 'lower meadow,' reflects its position in a valley between the wooded slopes of Lookout Hill and the Ravine. The meadow's enclosed feeling, surrounded by trees on all sides, creates an intimacy that the more expansive Long Meadow lacks.

The Nethermead Arches, a series of stone bridges and passages designed by Olmsted and Vaux, separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic and create dramatic transitions between the meadow and the surrounding woodlands.

The meadow hosts community events, informal sports, and the kind of unstructured outdoor relaxation that Olmsted believed was essential for the health of city dwellers. On warm weekends, families spread blankets and barbecue grills across the grass.

The Nethermead demonstrates Olmsted and Vaux's understanding that a great park needs multiple types of open space: not just one grand meadow but a sequence of landscapes, each with its own character, scale, and atmosphere.