Green space and recreation don’t always come to mind when thinking about infrastructure. However, at New York State Parks, they go hand in hand. Across New York, our state’s infrastructure is getting a second chance at serving communities. What once was a factory, railroad, or hospital is now a space for New Yorkers to get outside, get some exercise, and disconnect from their electronic devices. In this series, we are highlighting a bit of the history from your favorite state parks and showing how they once served a very different but equally important purpose to our state. 

This second installment of the Second Act for Infrastructure series invites you to punch your timecards and learn about the state parks built from former industrial infrastructure! Including a landfill, quarry, mills and water treatment facilities, these sites served an important purpose in the development of their communities. Today, they continue to aid in their community’s development as places where residents can learn and play.  

This article highlights three locations with extensive histories as industrial centers. There are many other state parks and historic sites with similar stories not included in this article. You can learn a more about them and the featured parks in our interactive timeline, Blazing a Trail. 

Read on and see why green is the new gray!