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The 141-acre park is situated on a high plateau that straddles Brooklyn and Queens. In 1856, the City of Brooklyn acquired the land to construct the Ridgewood Reservoir. The city purchased the adjacent land in 1891 for park purposes and initiated improvements to the property that would be known as Ridgewood Park. Between 1901 and 1905 several new structures were built, including a combined music stand and tool house, a shelter house, a rustic bridge, and two rustic arbors. Roads, footpaths, and a new lake with a fountain were installed and a swamp was reclaimed for the site of an extensive flower garden. The park was also extended to the south with the purchase of the Schenck estate in 1905 and took its present shape by 1908, when the city acquired a third parcel to the west. An aquatic garden was created in 1907. Today, the lower section of the park hosts active play areas including ball fields and courts, playgrounds, and the children’s farm gardens created in 1915. The Dawn of Glory World War I monument by sculptor Pietro Montana was dedicated in 1925.