Photo of the Day: Gatehouse, Mackay Park, Englewood NJ

Earlier today, walking slightly south of the main commercial district of my hometown, I came upon Mackay Park, which I had not visited since I was a freshman in high school. 

The park has undergone a number of changes over the years—nearly all, I would say, for the better—but it is good to see that one landmark hasn’t altered much, if at all: the gatehouse, which I photographed here in late afternoon.

This is one of the few structures left from the estate of 19^th-century banker, politician and art collector Walter W. Phelps. In 1888, his mansion—one of the most famous in the country at the time—was utterly gutted by fire.

Most of the 4,000 acres from the estate were sold and converted to other uses in modern Englewood and Teaneck. But early in the 20^th century, the present Mackay Park was donated to the city of Englewood by Mayor Donald Mackay.It remains a welcome link to the area's past.