It’s hard to imagine that before the creation of Central Park in the 1850s the area on the island of Manhattan was a swampy terrain of bluffs and rock outcroppings. It was home to around 1,600 people, mainly Irish pig farmers and German gardeners, who lived in shanties, plus an African-American settlement called Seneca Village that had three churches and a school. All were eventually moved elsewhere, and Central Park was inaugurated in the winter of 1859, reaching its current size, a total area of 843 acres (3.41 Km2), four years later.
Today, Central Park is the most famous park in the world and a major tourist destination that receives up to forty-two million visitors annually. For local residents it’s a natural haven, an escape from New York City’s noisy and cluttered streets.
NATURE
For a taste of the wild in the midst of Manhattan, one can venture into several wooded areas in the park; The Ramble, for example, is a 38-acre (150,000 m2) wild garden, or the North Woods is a 90-acre (364,000 m2) woodland area filled with trees, wildflowers, a ravine and a waterfall, where one might even forget for a moment that nature here is landscaped: ducks inhabit its pool and hundreds of turtles reside in Turtle Pond. For morning people, birdwatching can be a gratifying experience, with up to 230 species present in the park at different times of the year. Sometimes there might even be special visitors, like Barry the Snowy Owl, who was spotted and photographed last November and became a local celebrity. And if you want to see animals bigger than grey squirrels or the occasional racoon, you can visit penguins, leopards or grizzly bears at the seven-acre Central Park Zoo, first opened in 1861.
culture
Since the original goal of Central Park was to recreate the countryside, no monuments or statues were included in the initial design. Except, that is, for one: the Angel of the Waters, also known as the Bethesda Fountain. However, New Yorkers began proposing a number of additions and have donated works of art over the years that have included animal statues and others inspired by fairy tales. Now there are twenty-nine sculptures, twenty-two of which are of historical figures. They include, among others, Lewis Carroll’s Alice, Romeo and Juliet, the abolitionist leader Frederick Douglass, the Italian politician Giuseppe Mazzini, and Balto the sled dog; a heroic Siberian Husky who raced across Alaska to deliver a serum to prevent a deadly diphtheria outbreak in 1925.
Central Park also houses the largest art museum in the city. Located near the Obelisk, also known as Cleopatra’s Needle, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most famous art institutions in the world, with its huge collection of artefacts dating back to ancient Greek and Roman times, as well as Islamic art and works from Sub-Saharan Africa. Music concerts and festivals are also an integral part of life in Central Park during the warm season, while the annual Shakespeare in the Park festival is a world-famous open-air event that only stages plays by the great English playwright.
SPORTS
Working out is a fundamental part of Central Park life, and jogging is probably the number one activity done every day along its numerous paths, dirt tracks and trails. The track looping around the huge Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir is 1.58 miles long, and jogging around the entire park covers 6.1 miles (9.8 km). In its first edition in 1970, the New York City Marathon was run entirely within the confines of the park. Today it begins in Staten Island, one of New York’s five boroughs, and finishes in the park. Cycling is another great way to work out or explore. Tennis players can enjoy thirty clay and hard surface courts, and baseball fans have twenty-six ballfields available. However, there is no more memorable experience than skating across the ice with the New York City skyline in the background. Two rinks are open from October to April, offering rentals and lockers, and when it’s cold enough and the ice is thicker than six inches (15.24 cm), ice skaters can use the Conservatory Water at no cost. And when all that exercise has tired you out, you can rest on one of nine thousand park benches.
PICNICKING
To recover energy, the park is a fine place for a picnic. Spending time on any of the lawns and meadows is a favourite pastime for locals and visitors. When it’s warm and sunny, lying down on the grass under the sun in the company of friends or a good book becomes a delightful experience. But be prepared to either run or get wet should a summer storm start without warning, as can happen. No time to prepare food? Ready-to-go picnic bags and baskets are available on the Central Park website: they range from $12 for a kid’s picnic to $500 for a luxurious romantic picnic that could include caviar, prosecco and roses.
Among the 230 or so species that inhabit the park are ducks, geese (below), robins, blue jays (below), orioles, great egrets, woodpeckers, kestrels and falcons.
From October to April, ice skating can be practiced at the Wollman Rink or Lasker Rink. When the temperatures drop and the ice is at least six inches thick the Conservatory is open free of charge.
There are around thirty bridges and arches in the park. The Bow Bridge is the longest, a cast-iron pedestrian walkway 87 feet (27 m) long that was built in 1862. It’s one of the most romantic spots in the park, and the site of numerous wedding proposals.
The Bethesda Fountain celebrates the opening of the an aqueduct, which brought fresh water into New York City and ended a cholera epidemic in 1842. Next to it, the Bethesda Terrace Arcade features an impressive tiled ceiling.
Founded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational and cultural institutions. The AMNH is a must-visit for those with a passion for history and science. It houses an impressive collection of over thirty-four million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, human remains and cultural artifacts.
A guided tour can help you discover the park’s many secrets and famous landmarks such as Belvedere Castle. From the top of the Vista Rock elevation, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view in almost every direction. Designed in 1865, this castle is a folly, a decorative building with no specific purpose.
In Central Park there is a Marionette Theatre in an authentic Swedish pine and cedar cottage. Since 1947, a resident troupe of puppeteers has put on productions of Peter Pan, Cinderella and other classic tales.
Visitors to the Met can trace the global evolution of art and culture across millennia, from Ancient Greece or Egypt to the European Masters like Raphael or Rembrandt to Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky or Jackson Pollock.
At three thousand years old the Egyptian Obelisk, better-known as “Cleopatra’s Needle,” is the oldest outdoor monument in New York. Last August a new monument dedicated to pioneering women’s rights advocates Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton was added.
John Lennon (1940-1980) was shot dead in front of his home just across from Central Park on December 8th 1980. In the days after, the nearby streets were filled with mourners and a massive silent vigil took place in the park just across from his home, an area that was named Strawberry Fields. In 1985 local artists crafted a circular black and white mosaic into the pavement with the word “Imagine” included in it, the title of Lennon’s most famous song. Every year on his birthday, on October 9th, and on the anniversary of his killing, hundreds of people gather to honour his life and music, and to sing Beatles and John Lennon songs.
Originally used to keep the sheep that grazed on the Sheep Meadow,the 15-acre (6 hectares) lawn is ideal for relaxing and picnicking. The sheep slept in a building known as the Sheep Fold, now home to the restaurant Tavernon the Green, very popular among local artists, actors and politicians.