Central Park: The Green Icon in the Heart of New York

Location: Central Park lies in the heart of Manhattan and stretches from 59th Street in the south to 110th Street in the north. Between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West, it covers around 3.4 million square metres. This makes it an exceptionally large green space in the middle of the densely built-up city.

Significance: One of New York’s most recognisable landmarks, Central Park is among the best-known urban parks in the world. It is considered the first major public landscape park in the United States to be designed according to a comprehensive plan and became a model for many later city parks. Today, it receives more than 42 million visits each year. For locals, it is an important place for recreation, while for visitors it is also one of the city’s most famous attractions.

Origins: In the mid-19th century, New York was growing rapidly, but large public green spaces were lacking. For this reason, the State of New York approved the creation of a large park in Manhattan in 1853. A design competition was held, which Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won in 1858 with their “Greensward Plan”. Their design was intended to create the impression of a natural landscape, even though almost the entire park was deliberately planned and shaped. It included broad meadows, lakes and wooded areas, as well as a carefully designed network of paths and roads.

Expropriations: The land designated for the park was by no means uninhabited. Around 1,600 people lived there and had to leave their homes after the city acquired the land through expropriation in 1856. Property owners received compensation, but many residents were tenants and lost their homes when the area was cleared. Particularly significant was Seneca Village, a predominantly African American community established in 1825 with around 225 residents, three churches and a school. Many African American families owned their own land there. After the clearance, the buildings were demolished and the area was incorporated into the new park landscape.

Construction history: Construction began in 1858 and lasted around 15 years. The rocky and partly swampy terrain had to be extensively reshaped. Workers moved large quantities of earth and rock, created lakes, meadows and paths, and planted numerous trees, shrubs and other plants. The park area approved in 1853 originally extended only as far as 106th Street. However, an extension to 110th Street was approved as early as 1859. In 1863, the city acquired the additional land, giving Central Park its present-day boundaries.

Hooverville: Many decades later, the Great Depression also left its mark on Central Park. In the early 1930s, a makeshift settlement for people who had become homeless was established in the basin of the disused Croton Reservoir. Such shantytowns were derisively known as “Hoovervilles”. The name referred to then US President Herbert Hoover, whom many Americans blamed for the handling of the crisis. After the settlement was cleared, the former reservoir site was redesigned. In the following years, the present-day Great Lawn was created there and completed in 1937.

Modernisation in the 1930s: In 1934, Robert Moses took over as head of New York City’s parks department and launched a comprehensive renewal of Central Park. With support from government employment programmes, 18 playgrounds were created, the zoo was rebuilt and the Conservatory Garden was redesigned. The Great Lawn was also completed in 1937. Many of the sports and recreational facilities that still shape the park today were created during this period.

Restoration of the park: After decades of intensive use, Central Park’s condition deteriorated significantly, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s. Lawns were badly worn, paths and facilities fell into disrepair, and parts of the infrastructure were barely functioning. In response, the non-profit Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980. Together with the city, it has since restored and maintained large parts of the park. Over the following decades, landscapes, bodies of water, paths and historic structures were extensively renewed.

Layout: Anyone crossing Central Park today encounters a wide variety of landscapes. The south is relatively busy and characterised by ponds, meadows and numerous facilities. Farther north are large open spaces, the wooded Ramble and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. At the northern end, the landscape becomes quieter and more wooded. The network of routes is particularly carefully designed. Pedestrians, horse riders and vehicles were originally intended to move through the park on separate routes wherever possible. For this reason, the four roads crossing Central Park from east to west were lowered into cuttings and are barely visible from many parts of the park. Stone and cast-iron bridges and arches provide additional crossings without the different routes meeting directly. Since 2018, the main park drives have also been permanently closed to public motor traffic. Today, they are used mainly by pedestrians, runners and cyclists. Only the four sunken transverse roads at 65th, 79th, 86th and 97th Streets remain open to motor vehicles.

The South: Some of Central Park’s best-known and most heavily used areas lie in its southern section. The approximately 60,000-square-metre Sheep Meadow is particularly popular and is now used for sunbathing, picnics and relaxation. The meadow takes its name from a flock of sheep that grazed here from 1864 to 1934. The animals kept the grass short while also reinforcing the impression of a rural landscape that the park’s designers deliberately wanted to create. The flock was housed in a nearby sheepfold that is now home to the Tavern on the Green restaurant. Also in the south are the well-known Wollman Rink and Central Park Zoo, which reopened in 1988 after an extensive renovation. Much quieter is the Hallett Nature Sanctuary by the Pond. The small woodland area was closed to the public for decades, underwent extensive restoration and is now accessible again.

The Mall and Bethesda Terrace: Farther north, The Mall runs as a broad promenade beneath an impressive avenue of American elms. Its southern section is known as Literary Walk because several statues of notable writers stand there. The promenade ends at Bethesda Terrace, one of the park’s best-known locations. At its centre stands Bethesda Fountain, unveiled in 1873 and crowned by the bronze statue “Angel of the Waters”. The angel refers to the biblical story of the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda. At the same time, the fountain commemorates the Croton Aqueduct, which supplied New York with large quantities of clean drinking water from 1842 onwards.

The Lake and Ramble: Directly below Bethesda Terrace lies The Lake, one of the park’s largest artificial lakes. Visitors can explore it by rowboat or walk along the surrounding paths by the shore. Particularly striking is Bow Bridge, which spans The Lake and is now one of Central Park’s best-known landmarks. On the northern shore lies the approximately 150,000-square-metre Ramble. Winding paths, rocks, small streams and dense vegetation create the impression of a natural woodland landscape. In fact, this seemingly wild area was also deliberately planned and designed.

Great Lawn and Belvedere Castle: Farther north, the Great Lawn opens up as one of Central Park’s largest open green spaces. Today, it is mainly used for sports, picnics and recreation. On its southern edge, Belvedere Castle stands on Vista Rock. Completed in 1872, the small castle-like structure was originally created as a viewpoint and now houses a visitor centre. Its terraces offer views over Turtle Pond, the Great Lawn and large parts of the park.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir: North of the Great Lawn, Central Park’s largest body of water dominates the landscape. The approximately 430,000-square-metre reservoir was built between 1858 and 1862 as part of New York’s water supply system and was taken out of service in 1993. Since 1994, it has borne the name of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who frequently jogged along its shore and campaigned for the preservation of historic buildings in New York. A running track approximately 2.5 kilometres long circles the reservoir. From there, there are wide views across the water towards the Manhattan skyline.

The North: North of the reservoir, Central Park becomes quieter and more wooded. Covering around 160,000 square metres, the North Woods form the park’s largest woodland area and were designed to resemble wild landscapes in New York State. In the middle of this area stands the Blockhouse, built in 1814 and the oldest surviving building in Central Park. The small stone structure formed part of a defensive system intended to protect New York from a feared British attack during the War of 1812. However, that attack never came. In the northeast lies Harlem Meer, an artificial lake on the site of a former wetland. Its Dutch name means “lake” and also recalls Harlem’s Dutch past. The Conservatory Garden, with its carefully arranged flower beds, fountains and seasonal flowers, provides a striking contrast to the more natural landscapes.

Monuments and memorials: Numerous monuments with very different stories can be found throughout the park. One of the most unusual is Cleopatra’s Needle, an approximately 3,500-year-old Egyptian obelisk. It was erected in Central Park in 1881 and is considered New York’s oldest outdoor monument. Strawberry Fields, by contrast, commemorates John Lennon and is best known for its “Imagine” mosaic. Another well-known statue is dedicated to Balto. In 1925, the sled dog was part of a relay that transported urgently needed diphtheria serum almost 1,100 kilometres to Nome, Alaska. A total of 20 teams took part. Balto and his musher Gunnar Kaasen led the final team into Nome.

Nature: Despite its location in the middle of Manhattan, Central Park is an important habitat for animals and plants. More than 18,000 trees shape its woodlands, meadows and avenues. The area is particularly important for birds because it lies along a major migration route on the Atlantic coast. More than 200 bird species use the park as a habitat or resting place over the course of the year. Turtles, fish, squirrels and bats are among the other animals that live here.

Leisure and sports: For many New Yorkers, Central Park is an integral part of everyday life. Its paths are used for running and cycling. Sports facilities are used for activities including tennis, baseball and football. Visitors can hire rowboats on The Lake, while ice skating is one of the most popular activities in winter. At the same time, the large meadows offer plenty of space for relaxation and spending time together.

Culture and events: Alongside sport and recreation, culture also plays an important role in Central Park. Since 1962, free summer performances have been held at the Delacorte Theater under the name “Shakespeare in the Park”. The park’s large open spaces have also repeatedly been used for concerts. Particularly famous was Simon & Garfunkel’s performance on the Great Lawn in September 1981. The duo appeared on stage together there again after a long break.

The Gates: One of the most unusual art projects in the park’s history was “The Gates”. In February 2005, Christo and Jeanne-Claude installed a total of 7,503 gates along around 37 kilometres of park paths for 16 days. A saffron-coloured fabric panel hung from each gate. More than four million people visited Central Park during the exhibition. After the event ended, the entirely temporary installation was removed.

New York City Marathon: Central Park is also closely associated with New York’s largest marathon. The first edition took place on 13 September 1970 entirely within the park. Of the 127 registered runners, only 55 reached the finish line. In 1976, the course passed through all five boroughs of New York for the first time. Today, the marathon begins on Staten Island, runs through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, and still finishes in Central Park.

Film location: Central Park also owes part of its worldwide fame to film and television. Its lakes, bridges, meadows and the skyline rising directly behind them provide a wide variety of settings within a compact area. Scenes from films such as “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” and “When Harry Met Sally…” were filmed here. As a result, the park’s appearance is familiar even to many people who have never been to New York themselves.