Manhattan Square Park

Winter at Manhattan Square Park

The Manhattan Square park is located on Brown & Court streets downtown, across from the Strong Museum. Prior to the urban renewal demolition of the sixties and construction of the Inner Loop, the area occupied by Manhattan Square was a part of a residential neighborhood of houses and tenements that linked downtown to the Alexander/East area. Their demolition created the open space that is now occupied by the park. Constructed in the 1970s, the park's major features include a towering steel viewing platform and a sunken fountain area with a concert stage designed for free outdoor concerts. Each summer the park is the site for a wide variety of concerts highlighted by nationally known performers.

In winter months the Manhattan Square Park features a popular outdoor ice skating rink and sledding on its many small hills. The ice rink operates seven days a week and is open Thanksgiving through mid-March. Skate rental is $2.50 and many bring their own skates; the fee to use the ice is $3 for adults and $2 for children. Ice rental is also available for parties and community groups. Free open skate is Mon-Fri, 3:45-5:00 pm. The rink opens at noon daily and closes at 4:45pm Sun, 6:30pm Mon/Wed, and 8:15pm Tue/Thu/Fri/Sat. The ice rink has been closed through the 2005-2006 for major renovations. It is tentatively set to re-open on January 20, 2008. Call (585) 428-7541 or check the schedule first if you're planning on going.

There appears to be a good bit of construction going on in/around the park (as of December 2006), and a small but very cool playground is almost complete. (The city website says the park is closed and under construction, set to open Fall 2006.) The new playground has 2 big geometric rope/metal climbing frames, 2 long tube slides, 2 hills covered with super-grippy rubber for easy climbing, what looks like a sprinkler (shaped like a cattail plant) and a neat periscope (with audio!) on top of one hill. The playground is currently open for kids, but a climbing tower is still under construction.