Central Park New York is a large public, urban park (843 acres, 3.41 km², 1.32 mi²; a rectangle 2.6 statute miles by 0.5 statute mile, or 4.1 km × 830 m) in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. With about twenty-five million visitors annually, Central Park is the most visited city park in The United States, and its appearance in many movies and television shows has made it famous.
The park is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization that manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, in which the president of the Conservancy is ex-officio Administrator of Central Park.
Central Park is bordered on the north by West 110th Street, on the south by West 59th Street, on the west by Eighth Avenue. Along the park's borders however, these are known as Central Park North, Central Park South, and Central Park West respectively.
Fifth Avenue retains its name along the eastern border of the park. Most of the areas immediately adjacent to the park are known for impressive buildings and valuable real estate.
The park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Calvert Vaux, who went on to collaborate on Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
Central Park has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963.
While much of the park looks natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped.
It contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds, extensive walking tracks, two ice-skating rinks, the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre no longer accepts sqkm as code.
A billion gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and an outdoor amphitheater called the Delecorte Theater which hosts the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals. Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel. In addition there are numerous major and minor grassy areas, some of which are used for informal or team sports, some are set aside as quiet areas, and there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for children.
The park has its own wildlife and also serves as an oasis for migrating birds, especially in the fall and the spring, thus it is a significant attraction for bird watchers.
The 6 miles (10 km) of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters, especially on weekends, and in the evenings after 7:00 p.m., when automobile traffic is banned.
Early history Central Park New York:
The park was not part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811; however, between 1821 and 1855, New York City nearly quadrupled in population.
As the city expanded, people were drawn to the few open spaces, mainly cemeteries, to get away from the noise and chaotic life in the city.
Before long, however, New York City's need for a great public park was voiced by the poet and editor of the then-Evening Post (now the New York Post), William Cullen Bryant, and by the first American landscape architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, who began to publicize the city's need for a public park in 1844.
A stylish place for open-air driving, like the Bois de Boulogne in Paris or London's Hyde Park, was felt to be needed by many influential New Yorkers, and in 1853 the New York legislature designated a 700 acre (2.8 km²) area from 59th to 106th Streets for the creation of the park, to a cost of more than US$5 million for the land alone. The park is the largest on Manhattan Island.
Initial development Central Park New York:
The State appointed a Central Park Commission to oversee the development of the park, and in 1857 the commission held a landscape design contest.
Writer Frederick Law Olmsted and English architect Calvert Vaux developed the so-called "Greensward Plan," which was selected as the winning design.
According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century, a democratic development of the highest significance," a view probably inspired by his stay, and various trips in Europe in 1850.
During that trip he visited several parks, and was in particular impressed by Birkenhead Park near Liverpool, England, which opened in 1847 as the first publicly funded park in the world.
Several influences came together in the design. Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount Auburn (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Green-Wood (Brooklyn, New York) had set an example of idyllic, naturalistic landscapes.
The most influential innovations in the Central Park design were the "separate circulation systems" for pedestrians, horseback riders, and pleasure vehicles. The "crosstown" commercial traffic was entirely concealed in sunken roadways screened with densely planted shrub belts, so as not to disturb the impression of a rustic scene.
The Greensward plan called for some 36 bridges, all designed by Vaux, ranging from rugged spans of Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy neo-gothic cast iron, no two alike. The ensemble of the formal line of the Mall's doubled allées of elms culminating at Bethesda Terrace, whose centerpiece is The Bethesda Fountain, with a composed view beyond of lake and woodland was at the heart of the larger design.
During the construction of the park, Olmsted fought constant battles with the Park Commissioners, many of whom were appointees of the city's Democratic machine. In 1860, he was forced out for the first of many times as Central Park's Superintendent, and Andrew Haswell Green, the former president of New York City's Board of Education took over as the chairman of the commission. Despite the fact that he had relatively little experience, he still managed to accelerate the construction, as well as to finalize the negotiations for the purchase of an additional 65 acres (26 ha) at the north end of the park between 106th and 110th Streets, which would be used as the "rugged" part of the park, its swampy northeast corner dredged and reconstructed as the Harlem Meer.
Between 1860 and 1873, the construction of the park had come a long way, and most of the major hurdles had been overcome. During this period, more than 500,000 cubic feet (14,000 m³) of topsoil had been transported in from New Jersey, as the original soil wasn't good enough to sustain the various trees, shrubs, and plants the Greensward Plan called for. When the park was officially completed in 1873, more than ten million cartloads of material, including soil and rocks which were to be removed from the area had been manually dug up, and transported out of the park.
Also included were the more than four million trees, shrubs and plants representing the approximately 1,500 species which were to lay the foundation for today's park.
20th century Central Park New York:
Following the completion of the park, it quickly slipped into decline. One of the major reasons for this was the lack of interest of Tammany Hall, the political machine which was the largest political force in New York at the time.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the park faced several new challenges. Cars had been invented and were becoming commonplace, bringing with them their burden of pollution. Also, the general mental view of the people was beginning to change. No longer were parks to be used only for walks and picnics in an idyllic environment, but now also for sports, and similar recreation. Following the dissolution of the Central Park Commission in 1870 and Andrew Green's departure from the project and the death of Vaux in 1895, the maintenance effort gradually declined, and there were few or no attempts to replace dead trees, bushes and plants or worn-out lawn. For several decades, authorities did little or nothing to prevent vandalism and the littering of the park.
All of this changed in 1934, when Republican Fiorello LaGuardia was elected mayor of New York City and unified the five park-related departments then in existence, and gave Robert Moses the job of cleaning up. Moses, then about to become one of the mightiest mighty men in New York City, took over what was essentially a relic, a leftover from a bygone era.
1960-1980 Central Park New York:
The 1960s marked the beginning of an Events Era in Central Park that reflected the widespread cultural and political trends of the period. The Public Theater's annual Shakespeare in the Park festival was settled in the new Delacorte Theater (1961) and summer performances were instituted on the Sheep Meadow and then on the Great Lawn by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera.
Increasingly through the 1970s, the Park became a venue for events of unprecedented scale, including political rallies and demonstrations, festivals, and massive concerts.
At the time, the City of New York was in the throes of economic and social crisis. Residents were fleeing the City and moving to the suburbs. Morale was low and crime was high. The Parks Department, suffering from budget cuts and a lack of skilled management that rendered its workforce virtually ineffective, responded by opening the Park to any and all activities that would bring people into it regardless of their impact and without adequate management oversight or maintenance follow-up. Some of these events became important milestones in the social history of the Park and the cultural history of the City. Many were positive experiences fondly remembered by the individuals who participated.
But without essential management and enforcement of reasonable limitations, and combined with a total lack of park maintenance and repair, they also did an incredible amount of damage.
Several citizen groups had emerged intent upon reclaiming the park by fundraising and organizing volunteer initiatives.
One of these groups, the Central Park Community Fund, commissioned a study of the park’s management that concluded by calling for the establishment of a single position within the Parks Department responsible for overseeing the planning and management of Central Park, and for a board of guardians to provide citizen oversight.
In 1979 Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis established the office of Central Park Administrator, appointing to the position the executive director of another citizen organization, the Central Park Task Force.
The Central Park Conservancy was founded the following year to support the office and initiatives of the Administrator and to provide consistent leadership through a self-perpetuating, citizen-based board that would also include as ex-officio trustees the Parks Commissioner, Central Park Administrator, and mayoral appointees.
1980-present Central Park New York:
The Park's transformation under the leadership of the Central Park Conservancy began with modest but highly significant first steps toward reclaiming the Park, addressing needs that could not be met within the existing structure and resources of the Parks Department.
These included an initial focus on hiring interns and establishing a small restoration staff to reconstruct and repair unique rustic structures, undertaking horticultural projects, and removing graffiti, under the broken windows premise.
By the early 1980s the Conservancy was engaged in design efforts and long-term restoration planning, using a combination of its own staff and consultants.
Through this work, the Conservancy provided the impetus and leadership for several early restoration projects funded by the City, while at the same time preparing a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the Park.
With the completion of this plan in 1985, the Conservancy launched its first capital campaign. Through the campaign, the Conservancy assumed increasing responsibility for funding the comprehensive restoration of the Park, and full responsibility for designing, bidding, and supervising all capital projects in the Park.
The restoration of Central Park has been accompanied by a crucial transformation of its management.
As the Conservancy rebuilt the Park beginning in the mid-1980s, it instituted a revolutionary new zone-management system, in which Central Park was divided into territories, in which a designated supervisor was held responsible for maintaining restored areas; and as citywide budget cuts in the early 1990s resulted in attrition of the Parks Department staff responsible for routine maintenance, the Conservancy began to hire staff to replace these workers.
Sports Central Park New York:
Central Park is perhaps cherished most by athletes.
The Park Drive, just over 6 miles (9.7 km) long, is a haven for runners, joggers, bicyclists, and inline skaters. Nearly every weekend, races take place in the park, many of which are organized by the New York Road Runners.
The New York City Marathon finishes in Central Park outside Tavern on the Green.
Many other professional races are run in the park, including the recent USA Men's 8k Championships.
Entertainment Central Park New York:
Each summer, the Public Theater presents free open-air theatre productions, often starring well-known stage and screen actors, in the Delacorte Theater, summer performing venue of the New York Shakespeare Festival. Most, though not all, of the plays presented are by William Shakespeare, and the performances are generally regarded as being of high quality since its founding by Joseph Papp in 1962.
The New York Philharmonic gives an open-air concert every summer on the Great Lawn and the Metropolitan Opera presents two operas. Many concerts have been given in the park including Elton John, 1980; the Simon and Garfunkel reunion, 1981; Diana Ross, 1983; Garth Brooks,1997; Dave Matthews Band, 2003.
Climbing Central Park New York:
Another offering of Central Park is its boulders.
Climbers, especially boulderers, use Manhattan's bedrock, a glaciated metamorphic schist, which protrudes from the ground frequently and quite considerably in some parts of Central Park.
There are about 5 - 10 spots where climbers congregate and tackle problems.
The two most renowned spots are Rat Rock and Cat Rock, both of which sit on the south end of the park. Additionally, there are boulders spread throughout all the way up to 110th Street.
Sculptures Central Park New York:
A number of sculptures have crept in over the years, most of which have been donated by individuals or organizations (and not the city itself).
Much of the first statuary to appear in the park was of authors and poets, clustered along a section of the Mall that became known as Literary Walk.
The better-known sculptors represented in Central Park include Augustus Saint-Gaudens and John Quincy Adams Ward. The "Angel of the Waters" at Bethesda Terrace by Emma Stebbins (1873), was the first large public sculpture commission for an American woman.
The 1925 statue of the sled dog Balto who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska is very popular among tourists, reflected in its near polished appearance as the result of being patted by countless visitors.
The oldest sculpture is "Cleopatra's Needle," actually an Egyptian obelisk of Tutmose III much older than Cleopatra, which was donated to New York by the Khedive of Egypt.
The largest and most impressive is equestrian King Jagiello bronze monument on the east end of Turtle Pond.
Paralumun New Age Village