Thursday, April 19, 2012

Central Park

Before 1850 the notion of a park taking up land that could be used for commerce or houses seemed wrong-headed. After all if people wanted fresh air and a break from their congested surroundings all they had to do was head to the edge of Manhattan Island which was never far away and they could be satisfied. However, more liberal thinkers would contend that if the United States wanted to be a great nation in the European mold, then its great cities would need to have parks that rivaled those of the great cities of Europe.

Frederick Law Olmsted was appointed superintendent of the park, and along with Calvert Vaux designed a plan. The area for the park would erase the established grid from the plan for New York City from 59th Street to (eventually) 110th Street between 5th and 8th Avenues.  Olmsted and Vaux made the plan that was used. New Yorkers were amazed at how Olmsted, in an age of rampant corruption was able to build the park without giving in to corrupt influences. The hills and lakes of Central Park are man-made with the exception of Haarlem Meer at the north end. Its hard to imagine New York City without Central Park, an attraction for residents and visitors.
Bow Bridge where a Dutch man proposed to his girlfriend just as our tour walked through. The folks in the rowboats may have been heading back to the boathouse on the far side of the bridge.

The Lake with the towers of The Dakota in the distance.

The path meanders under rustic arch. The bedrock on the left is schist, the same type of rock that the towers of the Brooklyn bridge are anchored into.

Belvedere Castle is an attraction for park visitors. It sits on a site that previously had a fire tower. The people on the left are looking toward the Great Lawn, a site that used to be the city's reservoir.

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