MANHATTAN — Who was Carl Schurz and why was an Upper East Side park named after him a century ago?
The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy produced a 15-minute film answering these questions in honor of the park name's centennial. It will be screened for an encore performance before crowds gather to watch Pixar's "Up" on Tuesday night to close out the park's film series.
The film was first shown to the public at the series' first and only other film, "Harold and Maude," screened last week.
Schurz didn't actually live in New York, but the German-born Missouri senator, Civil War Union Army general and Secretary of the Interior — famous for saying, "My country right or wrong" — was a hero to the German-dominated neighborhood of Yorkville at the time.
"He helped get [Abraham] Lincoln on the ballot," the conservancy's executive director, David Williams said, explaining locals' fervor for Schurz.
The documentary, filmed by the park's seasonal gardener Banford Weissmann, also traces the 15-acre park's history, including how the green space's landscape — which stretches from East 84th Street to East 90th Street between the East River ant East End Avenue — once reached the river's edge, with public and private ferry docks. It was remade after construction of the FDR Drive in the 1930s.
The conservancy also plays a big role in the park's development, according to the film, which is narrated by actor Dominic Chianese, who played Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos."
Chianese lives near the park and is a regular at the weekly Friday morning gathering of men who sing Neapolitan songs at Conte's Market, a butcher shop and grocery on East 89th Street and York Avenue, recently featured in the New York Times.
The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy — the city's oldest such group — has grown to more than 1,000 members from a small group of neighbors who got together in the 1970s to help upgrade the park and make sure its playground was safe.
"Parents back in the '70s were aghast at the quality of the playground," Williams said, "so they banded together to raise funds. We have an extremely committed group of volunteers and donors."
Many have remained dedicated to the park through the years.
"We're very grateful that everybody stays with us year after year and that they stayed with us through thick and thin," Williams said. "We've weathered the recession well."
But the conservancy, which has a budget of $500,000, keeps its movie series modest, since it wants to ensure it stays true to its mission of restoring and preserving the space, Williams said.
The group spends "a lot of money" on pruning trees and cutting its own grass, since the Parks Department doesn't have enough money "to cut the grass on a regular basis," Williams said.
The park, popular with local families and dog owners, is preparing for upcoming events such as its 39th annual Gracie Square Art Show on Oct. 1 and 2, and its Dog Halloween costume contest on Oct. 24.
The Carl Schurz Park Conservancy's film screening of "Carl Schurz Park at 100" and "Up" will take place on Aug. 23 at 8:30 p.m.
