Central Park - New York

Central Park - Manhattan - New York

The  New York Central Park was established in 1857 on 778 acres of land acquired by the city of New York. In 1858, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and architect/landscape designer Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they titled the "Greensward Plan". Construction began the same year, and the park's first area was opened to the public in the winter of 1858. Construction north of the park continued during the American Civil War in the 1860s, and the park was expanded to its current size in 1873. 

After a period of decline in the early 20th century, Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park. Another decline in the late 20th century spurred the creation of the Central Park Conservancy in 1980, which refurbished many parts of the park during the 1980s and 1990s.

Here come some views of the park. All the pictures have been taken by Elena.

Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1963, which in April 2017 placed it on the tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The park is frequented by various migratory birds during their spring and fall migration on the Atlantic Flyway. 

In 1979, Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis established the Office of Central Park Administrator, appointing to the position the executive director of another citizen organization, the Central Park Task Force.

Pond. The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially by damming natural seeps and flows.

Medieval Fight.

Arch under a bridge.

Rocks in the park.

Simon Bolivar.

Lonely trails.

 There is a large area of woods in addition to seven major lawns, the meadows.

There is an all-volunteer ambulance service, the Central Park Medical Unit, that provides free emergency medical service to patrons of Central Park and the surrounding streets.

The 6 miles (9.7 km) of drives within the park are used by joggers, cyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters, especially when automobile traffic is prohibited, on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00 pm.

The park has many minor grassy areas; some of them are used for informal or team sports and some set aside as quiet areas; there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for children.

Flowers-blue-and-white on the roof.

While planting and land form in much of the park appear natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped. 

Monument to Jose Marti, the Cuban prophet.

An enchanted forest. A beautiful landscape at dark purple sunlight or moonlight.

The Central park has its own New York City Police Department precinct—the Central Park Precinct—which employs both regular police and auxiliary officers.