Day 392

This jungle gym, with its many allusions to the rotary printing press, is located within the former estate of the man who patented the first such press, Richard March Hoe. (The Hoe family was apparently fond of cheery nomenclature: Richard's house was named Brightside, while his brother Peter resided nearby in the still-standing Sunnyslope — which, as we've seen, is currently home to an African Methodist Episcopal church by the name of Bright Temple.)

Hoe's printing prowess also left its mark on the local street grid. According to the Parks Department:

"In 1904, a portion of the estate was divided into a series of city streets which were named after historic printers. Guttenberg Street (sic), named for Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the early 15th century printing press, was renamed East 165th Street in 1911. Aldus Street is named for Aldo Manuzio, a late 15th century Italian printer and editor who used the new printing press to revive dozens of Latin and Greek classics, and published contemporary writers such as Erasmus. Hoe Avenue refers to Richard March Hoe whose rotary printing press of the 19th century built upon the inventions of Gutenberg and Manuzio."