McGolrick Park Shelter Pavilion

The Shelter Pavilion is a crescent shaped architectural landmark built in nineteen ten that actually dictates the entire layout of this park. Most park structures in New York City are secondary additions, but here the path system radiates outward from the curve of this building, a technique of landscape design borrowed from French gardens that is rarely seen in American public spaces. Its architects, Helmle and Huberty, modeled the design after the Grand Trianon at the Palace of Versailles. While it possesses an air of European aristocracy, it was constructed as a functional public convenience, with two small buildings at the ends of the arcade originally serving as separate restrooms for men and women.