Brooklyn Mirador: History of Grand Army Plaza

This is the story behind the beautiful view of the Empire State Building perfectly framed within the Arch in Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza.

The Mirador, the tip of the Tower and the keystone of the Arch form a precise three-point-alignment which bisects the Arch at a 90-degree angle.

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux planned the essential framework which led to this amazing vision.

“What artist so noble..directs the shadows of a picture so great that Nature shall be employed upon it it for generations, before the work he has arranged for her shall realize his intentions.” – Olmsted, 1852