Central Park

Highlights

The Bridges of Central Park - Playmates Arch

When Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) designed Central Park in 1858 they developed an innovative, interwoven transportation system of… Read More

The Bridges of Central Park: Balcony Bridge

When Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) designed Central Park in 1858, they developed an innovative, interwoven transportation system of… Read More

The Carousel

When the Board of Commissioners of Central Park organized the competition to design Central Park in 1857, they did not stipulate that the plans include any specific… Read More

The Casino and Rumsey Playfield

In the original 1858 Greensward Plan for Central Park, the designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux intended for this site an… Read More

The Dairy

When the Board of Commissioners of Central Park organized the design competition for a new park in 1857, the rules did not stipulate that the plans include any features… Read More

The Falconer

This elegant bronze statue is the work of British sculptor George Blackall Simonds (1844-1929). Born in Reading, England, Simonds's family had a partnership in the… Read More

The Great Lawn

In the 1830s New York City was under tremendous pressure to develop a pure water system for its citizens. It was decided in 1838 to dam up… Read More

The Indian Hunter

This striking bronze statue by John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) demonstrates the technical mastery of an artist later dubbed “the dean of American… Read More

The Mall

When landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Central Park in 1858, their Greensward Plan included a grand formal area that they called the… Read More

The Obelisk

The oldest man-made object in Central Park is this Obelisk, located directly behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Nicknamed Cleopatra’s Needle soon after its… Read More