During the American Revolution, Mount Prospect and its environs - including, perhaps the land that now hosts  61 Eastern Parkway - was a site of the Battle of Long Island. American forces attempted to hold Battle Pass, an opening in the terminal moraine where the old Flatbush Road passed from Brooklyn to Flatbush. It fell after some of the heaviest fighting in the engagement, and its loss contributed to George Washington's decision to retreat. Even though the Continental Army lost the battle, they were able to hold the British back long enough for Washington's army to escape to Manhattan.

 

In 1856, the City of Brooklyn built a reservoir on Prospect Hill, which served the people of Brooklyn until its demolition in 1940. . Preserving the Battle Pass area and keeping the lots around the reservoir free of buildings were two reasons for establishing a large park in the area.

Not much is known about the original owners of the land that now hosts 61 Eastern Parkway, though history has not lost track of their names: Mr Evans, and then Mr Glover. In the mid 1850s.

 

Prospect Park, meanwhile has earned accolades for its careful design and integration with the urban life around it. The original impetus to build Prospect Park stemmed from an April 18, 1859 act of the New York State Legislature, empowering a twelve-member commission to recommend sites for parks in the City of Brooklyn. This was due to Brooklyn becoming the world's first commuter suburb, which eventually became the third largest city in the country after New York and Philadelphia. During this time, concepts concerning public parks gained popularity. In 1858 Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux created Central Park in Manhattan. It became the first landscaped park in the United States. James Stranahan believed that a park in Brooklyn, "Would become a favorite resort for all classes of our community, enabling thousands to enjoy pure air, with healthful exercise, at all seasons of the year..." He also believed that a public park would attract wealthy residents. The park was ultimately designed by Vaux and Olmsted in 1866 - with construction finally completed in 1873.

Eastern Parkway, which runs along the North face of the adjacent, but distinct,  Mount Prospect Park, was designed by Olmsted and Vaux and is regarded as the world's first Park Way: a road designated for leisurely rides, with a restriction on commerce.