Cobble Hill Park

This small park occupies a half of a secluded, oblong trapezoid of a block just steps from the commercial center of Cobble Hill. The utilitarian steel and concrete that featured in the park's original 1965 design are long gone, replaced in 1989 with granite entrance columns, herringbone-patterned brick paths, and cast iron. A modest lawn, off-limits to dogs, encircles a rose garden and lends the revamped layout—which won the Art Commission's 1988 Annual Award for Excellence in Design and the Parks Council's first Philip Winslow Award for Public Projects in 1990—a formal, European feel. Locals—who call it "Verandah Park" after Verandah Place, one of its bordering streets—enjoy their lunches and newspapers at the many benches and picnic tables near its Clinton Street entrance, while kids run around in the tiny playground or splash in the dolphin fountain at the rear. All of that, coupled with summer music concerts and an annual Halloween parade, make it a festive, and attractive, neighborhood haven. — Caroline Kinneberg