10 Humble Brooklyn Landmarks That We Irrationally Love
- c/o prospectpark.org
Camperdown Elm in Prospect Park
Located near the boathouse in Prospect Park, this elm tree was planted in 1872 and is notable for growing horizontally rather than vertically, so that—as per the Prospect Park trees guide—”it resembles an oversized bonsai.” The tree’s branches are supported by a system of cables and it has been nursed back to health after suffering from pretty extreme decay, including having had ants and rats make homes for themselves in its trunk and suffering from an arboreal disease called “slime flux.” The tree is the subject of a poem by Marianne Moore, the poem closes with the words “We must save it. It is our crowning curio.” And we think that’s how we should treat all humble, quirky Brooklyn landmarks—they are, after all, what distinguishes this borough and makes it special for visitors and residents alike.
The Camperdown Elm
I think, in connection with this weeping elm,
of “Kindred Spirits” at the edge of a rockledge
overlooking a stream:
Thanatopsis-invoking tree-loving Bryant
conversing with Thomas Cole
in Asher Durand’s painting of them
under the filigree of an elm overhead.
No doubt they had seen other trees—lindens,
maples and sycamores, oaks and the Paris
street-tree, the horse-chestnut; but imagine
their rapture, had they come on the Camperdown elm’s
massiveness and “the intricate pattern of its branches,”
arching high, curving low, in its mist of fine twigs.
The Bartlett tree-cavity specialist saw it
and thrust his arm the whole length of the hollowness
of its torso and there were six small cavities also.
Props are needed and tree-food. It is still leafing;
still there. Mortal though. We must save it. It is
our crowning curio.
—Marianne Moore
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