TOM SAWYERS QUARRY by JACOB PTOLEMY

As the sprawl of the city appears endless as buildings tower, their purposes predictable ranging from offices to housing, and access to them remains limited - to a curious 10 year old, adventure becomes a matter of imagination and designation, until now.

Thinking back upon my favorite pastimes as a kid, the opportunity to climb something, anything, was something I sought out.

These chances presented themselves much more often as I lived in California, where access to the outdoors was a matter of stepping out your door. For the families and kids growing up in Fort Greene, Tom Sawyers Quarry becomes a destination whose purpose is solely adventure, where sight and texture combine to form an experience they don't often get living in an urban metropolis. Yet, the quarry remembers and honors its location with intentional design initiatives including the inclusion of 6 trees and 7 plinths in the water as a nod to PS67, a plaque with a quote from Walt Whitman which sits atop the quarry looking over the neighboring Walt Whitman Housing and Library, and another plaque which lies in the middle of the pool as an ode to Commodore Barry.

Everything at the quarry is 3-4 feet high, making it suited for climbing, not necessarily walking, requiring from those who enter it from its main point of entrance at the river path, a sense of unyielding courage and vigor. Movement is woven into the DNA of the quarry by multiple definitions of the word as it marks the passage of time - designed to age beautifully, with its slabs having fallen into the rubble, the moss growing in the crooks and crannies, and trees sprouting from the rubble river; and also the meanderings of its visitors who aren't prescribed a singular path to follow through its corridors and slopes, instilling a subconscious sense of freedom while ducking through its shadows, footsteps echoing from one's own wandering as well as those of a fellow adventurer just around the bend.