Everything old is new again at Babylon park

A man reading under the shade of a tree. A couple taking a walk alongside the lake. Children splashing in the pool.

Clothing styles aside, one look at recent patrons of Phelps Lane Park and it would be difficult to tell them apart from the residents who flocked to the North Babylon park 50 years ago. Now, after seven years of renovations, the Town of Babylon is hoping to restore the luster of the park to when it first opened in 1960.

Saturday, the town will rededicate the park on the 50th anniversary of its original dedication and declare the site a historic property. The noon-to-2 p.m. event will include a jazz band, face-painting for kids, cotton candy, popcorn and Italian ices.

The land was originally bought by merchant Royal Phelps in 1863, according to town archivist Mary Cascone. The property became known as "The Reel" and the lake there was well-known for its trout fishing.

The property eventually passed into the hands of Hall of Fame baseball player John Montgomery Ward before being bought in 1941 by David Schnur, a doctor who had fled Nazi Germany. In the 1950s, it became a day camp, but when that failed, the town purchased it for a park.

The town paid $375,000 and made the Schnur mansion its Parks Department headquarters. Then supervisor, Arthur M. Cromarty, and Assemb. James R. Grover Jr., another park advocate, will both be at Saturday's event.

The park had slipped into decline by 2002 when Supervisor Steve Bellone took office. "It was old when I used to go here as a kid," Bellone said Friday.

In 2003, the town unveiled a new pool and spray park. A year later, a youth center was created, followed by a new turf field and playground. Connecting paths were created around the park.

In 2006, mansion renovations began, including a new roof and heating and cooling systems. Decoratively, the town sought a 1940s look. Touches include a three-tier chandelier and bathrooms in the bright blues and greens of the times.

Outside, a 6-foot tall chain-link fence that surrounded the lake was removed and chairs and benches put in.

The town spent more than $500,000 on the mansion and pathway renovations, Bellone said. The costs of the other park renovations was about $9.5 million he said, and came from bonds and state funds.

Bellone said he hopes to use the area behind the mansion for concerts, plays and other events.

"It's really just a beautiful, peaceful place here," he said. "And it's important because the park's been a center of life here in the town all these years."