NYC Central Prak

Central Park is a large public, urban park (843 acres orthe Convent of the Sisters of Charity. The roughly
3.41 km²; a rectangle 2.5 statute miles by 0.51,600 working-class residents occupying the area at
statute mile, or 4 km × 800 m) in the borough ofthe time were evicted under the rule of eminent
Manhattan in New York City. With about twenty-fivedomain during 1857, and Seneca Village and parts of
million visitors annually, Central Park is the most visitedthe other communities were torn down and removed
city park in the United States,[1] and its appearance inin order to make room for the park. The person
many movies and television shows has made itresponsible for carrying out the evictions was the
among the most famous city parks in the world. It isgreat-great grandfather of future New York Yankee
run by the Central Park Conservancy, a private,Joe Pepitone.
not-for-profit organization that manages the park underDuring the construction of the park, Olmsted fought
a contract with the New York City Department ofconstant battles with the Park Commissioners, many
Parks and Recreation.of whom were appointees of the city's Democratic
Central Park is bordered on the north by West 110thmachine. In 1860, he was forced out for the first of
Street, on the west by Central Park West, on themany times as Central Park's Superintendent, and was
south by West 59th Street, and on the east by Fifthreplaced by Andrew Haswell Green, the former
Avenue. Along the park's borders, these streets arepresident of New York City's Board of Education took
usually referred to as Central Park North, Central Parkover as the chairman of the commission. Despite the
West, and Central Park South, respectively. (Fifthfact that he had relatively little experience, he still
Avenue retains its name along the eastern border.)managed to accelerate the construction, as well as to
The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmstedfinalize the negotiations for the purchase of an
and Calvert Vaux, both of whom later createdadditional 65 acres (26 ha) at the north end of the park
Brooklyn's Prospect Park. While much of the parkbetween 106th and 110th Streets, which would be used
looks natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped andas the 'rugged' part of the park, its swampy northeast
contains several artificial lakes, extensive walkingcorner dredged and reconstructed as the
tracks, two ice-skating rinks, a wildlife sanctuary, andnatural-seeming Harlem Meer.
grassy areas used for various sporting pursuits, as wellBetween 1860 and 1873, the construction of the park
as playgrounds for children. The park is a popular oasishad come a long way, and most of the major hurdles
for migrating birds, and thus is popular with birdhad been overcome. During this period, more than
watchers. The 6-mile (10 km) road circling the park is500,000 cubic feet (14,000 m³) of topsoil had been
popular with joggers, bicyclists and inline skaters,transported in from New Jersey, as the original soil
especially on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00wasn't good enough to sustain the various trees,
p.m., when automobile traffic is banned.shrubs and the plants the Greensward Plan called for.
HistoryWhen the park was officially completed in 1873, more
The park was not part of the Commissioners' Plan ofthan ten million cartloads of material, including soil and
1811; however, between 1821 and 1855, New York Cityrocks which were to be removed from the area had
nearly quadrupled in population. As the city expanded,been manually dug up, and transported out of the park.
people were drawn to the few open spaces, mainlyAlso included were the more than four million trees,
cemeteries, to get away from the noise and chaoticshrubs and plants representing the approximately 1,500
life in the city. Before long, however, New York City'sspecies which were to lay the foundation for today's
need for a great public park was voiced by the poetpark.
and editor of the then-Evening Post (now the New20th Century
York Post), William Cullen Bryant, and by the firstFollowing the completion of the park, it quickly slipped
American landscape architect, Andrew Jacksoninto decline. One of the major reasons for this was the
Downing, who began to publicize the city's need for adisinterest of Tammany Hall, the political machine which
public park in 1844. A stylish place for open-air driving,was the largest political force in New York at the time.
like the Bois de Boulogne in Paris or London's HydeAround the turn of the century, the park faced several
Park, was felt to be needed by many influential Newnew challenges. Cars had been invented and were
Yorkers, and in 1853 the New York legislaturebecoming commonplace, bringing with them their
designated a 700 acre (2.8 km²) area from 59thburden of pollution. Also, the general mental view of
to 106th Streets for the creation of the park, to a costthe people was beginning to change. No longer were
of more than US$5 million for the land alone.parks to be used only for walks and picnics in an idyllic
Initial developmentenvironment, but now also for sports, and similar
The State appointed a Central Park Commission torecreation. Following the dissolution of the Central Park
oversee the development of the park, and in 1857 theCommission in 1870 and Andrew Green's departure
commission held a landscape design contest. Writerfrom the project and the death of Vaux in 1895, the
Frederick Law Olmsted and English architect Calvertmaintenance effort gradually declined, and there were
Vaux developed the so-called "Greensward Plan",few or no attempts to replace dead trees, bushes and
which was selected as the winning design. Accordingplants or worn-out lawn. For several decades,
to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as theauthorities did little or nothing to prevent vandalism and
first real Park made in this century—athe littering of the park.
democratic development of the highestAll of this changed in 1934, when Fiorello LaGuardia
significance…", a view probably inspired by hiswas elected mayor of New York City and unified the
stay, and various trips in Europe in 1850.[2] During thatfive park-related departments then in existence, and
trip he visited several parks, and was in particulargave Robert Moses the job of cleaning up. Moses,
impressed by Birkenhead Park near Liverpool, England,then about to become one of the mightiest men in
which opened in 1847 as the first publicly funded parkNew York City, took over what was essentially a relic,
in the world.a leftover from a bygone era.
Several influences came together in the design.According to historian Robert Caro in his 1974 book
Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount AuburnThe Power Broker,
(Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Green-WoodLawns, unseeded, were expanses of bare earth,
(Brooklyn, New York) had set an example of idyllic,decorated with scraggly patches of grass and weeds,
naturalistic landscapes. The most influential innovationsthat became dust holes in dry weather and mud holes
in the Central Park design, were the "separatein wet…. The once beautiful Mall looked like a
circulation systems" for pedestrians, horseback riders,scene of a wild party the morning after. Benches lay
and pleasure vehicles. The "crosstown" commercialon their backs, their legs jabbing at the sky….
traffic was entirely concealed in sunken roadwaysIn a single year, Moses managed to clean up not only
screened with densely planted shrub belts, so as notCentral Park, but also other parks in New York City;
to disturb the impression of a rustic scene. Thelawns and flowers were replanted, dead trees and
Greensward plan called for some 36 bridges, allbushes replaced, walls were sandblasted and bridges
designed by Vaux, ranging from rugged spans ofrepaired. Major redesigning and construction was also
Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy neo-gothic castcarried out; for instance, the existing Croton Lower
iron, no two alike. The ensemble of the formal line ofReservoir was filled-in so the Great Lawn could be
the Mall's doubled allées of elms culminating atcreated. The Greensward Plan's intention of creating
Bethesda Terrace, with a composed view beyond ofan idyllic landscape was combined with Moses' vision
lake and woodland was at the heart of the largerof a park to be used for recreational
design.purposes—nineteen playgrounds, twelve
Before the construction of the park could start, theballfields, and handball courts were constructed. Moses
area had to be cleared of its inhabitants, most ofalso managed to secure funds from the New Deal
whom were quite poor and either freeprogram, as well as donations from the public, thus
African-Americans or immigrants of either German orensuring that the park got a new lease of life,
Irish origin. Most of them lived in smaller villages, suchprospering under the wings of a powerful and new
as Seneca Village, Harsenville, the Piggery District ordefender.