The iconic bench of New York City's Parks department was developed for use at the 1939 World's Fair, which was held in New York during 1938 and 1939. Robert Moses and Kenneth Lynch collaborated on the final design to maximize comfort and to take advantage of manufacturing processes. Over the years we have further improved on the design and are still a preferred manufacturer of the bench due to our accuracy to the original details. Over the years many variations of the design have been added to satisfy changing needs in park use.
Great thread. I really liked the short story. I miss park benches. We have a few here and there along the nature trails. Mainly at the parks here, there are picnic tables with benches instead of regular park benches, and I tend to sit on the tops of those, since the view is better.
Being a writer I observe people like when I ride the bus I me notice no one has the same shoes, clothes or accessories, so far when I'm there on the bus. We have lots of bus stop benches now turning into bus stop stools. This image is from Kauai, http://www.lyonassociates.com/hawaii-projects, but this is a typical bus stop bench across Hawaii. More and more bus stop benches are replaced by bus stop stools like this one. Image is from Oahu: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Oct/27/ln/hawaii810270333.html. Being a bus rider whether a bench or stool a place to sit is welcomed.
Claude Monet taking in the air and the water lilies in his garden at Giverny, circa 1910. Image: Getty