CENTRAL PARK’S FIRST MONUMENTS Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s original design for Central Park did not include any monuments. The designers broke from the European precedent of formal parks and gardens embellished with statues and monuments and conceived of the Park as an idealized rural landscape. Their goal was to create the experience of […]
“[The beauty of the park] should be the beauty of the fields, the meadow, the prairie, of the green pastures, and the still waters. What we want to gain is tranquility and rest to the mind.” FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, 1870 New York’s Central Park is a world-famous public park, created beginning in 1858 […]
Did you know one of Central Park’s most popular statues was created by a woman? Or that more than 100 women work in the Park today as architects, gardeners, groundskeepers, and more? In celebration of Women’s History Month, we highlight some important contributions by women who have helped make the Park a welcoming and thriving […]
The Central Park Conservancy is commemorating its 40th anniversary this September. A lot has changed since our founding in 1980, but as we take this opportunity to reflect on our past, we’re also celebrating an important constant throughout our history. From day one, our community has worked hand-in-hand with us in the care of Central Park. […]
New York is a city of discovery, so it’s only fitting that you’re bound to come across something new and marvelous in Central Park. Even the Park entrances harbor historic treasure. An observant visitor might notice chiseled words near certain entryways that evoke the richness of the City’s human fabric: Scholars’ Gate, Mariners’ Gate, Engineers’ […]
In 1853, all of Manhattan’s dedicated green space added up to fewer than 200 acres—a pittance compared to London’s 6,000 acres and unfitting for a quickly growing city with dreams of being one of the world’s great metropolises. The solution was Central Park. Today, Central Park is such an iconic part of New York that […]
