Located within the historic Welwyn Preserve, once the estate of Harold and Harriet Pratt, the Children’s Memorial Garden at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County occupies a landscape shaped by an important legacy of garden design. The grounds were originally developed through the work of Martha Brookes Brown Hutcheson, James Leal Greenleaf, and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., whose firm prepared the master plan for the estate.

Inspired by Harriet Pratt’s original garden, the space today serves as a living memorial to the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of children who died during World War II. Throughout the garden, fourteen tablets present quotations intended to encourage reflection, remembrance, and dialogue.

As the Center’s educational programs expanded, the existing circular fountain within the garden increasingly served as an informal outdoor classroom. With more than 20,000 students visiting the Center annually, however, the fountain could no longer adequately support larger groups. Its exposure to direct sunlight also made extended use uncomfortable during the warmer months.

Completed in Spring 2024, the project transforms the former fountain into a functional outdoor amphitheater designed to support education, performances, community programming, and quiet reflection. The reconfigured seating allows students and visitors to gather more comfortably while preserving the contemplative character of the surrounding garden.

A new shade canopy was introduced as an integral part of the design, allowing the amphitheater to remain usable during the summer months. The cable-supported sailcloth canopy is also anchored to perimeter light stanchions for evening illumination and use.

The completed amphitheater gives new purpose to an existing element of the historic landscape, creating a shaded and accessible place where remembrance, learning, and community can continue to come together.