Central Park

By Edward J. Levine

Harper's Weekly reported in 1857 that no engineer had yet been able to present a feasible plan for Central Park and that "it may not ever happen." Their pessimism was misplaced, as Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's Greensward Plan was approved in May 1858. By 1860, visitors were enjoying the magnificent new park's naturalistic splendor. Central Park quickly became one of New York's premier attractions, featuring the menagerie, the mall, Bethesda Fountain, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the music pavilion, the casino, and the original Croton Reservoir. The northern section of the park was more reminiscent of an untamed wilderness than of an urban park. Through historic postcards, Central Park highlights this man-made green oasis at the center of a teeming metropolis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Oct 23, 2006
• ISBN: 9781439618127

Edward J. Levine

Edward J. Levine, historian and collector of Central Park ephemera, is the author of Central Park in Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series.

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INTRODUCTION

In Central Park, a History and a Guide, Henry Hope Reed and Sophia Duckworth wrote, Despite the conspicuous site of Central Park, it is astonishing how little of its history is known, and how few have appreciated the amount of money and work, not to mention genius, behind its creation. Many otherwise well-informed persons believe that one day in the [19th] century the city fenced off 840 rocky acres of Manhattan Island and declared them ‘park.’ Nothing could be further from the truth.

The desire to develop a green, public space in Manhattan dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. By the time Manhattan’s north–south street grid was implemented in 1811, there were already many New Yorkers who wanted a respite from the city’s urban environment. The wealthiest New Yorkers enjoyed their second residences, known as country seats, in the far reaches of upper Manhattan; however, as is still true today, the average city resident could not afford a summer home. Their best option was to take a ferry across the Hudson River and head for Hoboken’s lyrically-named Elysian Fields.

Driven by immigration and a high birth rate, the city was expanding quickly. In 1844, William Cullen Bryant cautioned that if we would rescue any part of [New York] for health and recreation, we must do it now. He added, There are unoccupied lands on the island which might . . . be procured for the purpose, and which, on account of their rocky and uneven surfaces, might be laid out into surpassingly beautiful pleasure-grounds.

Establishment of a park was an issue in the 1851 mayoral election. By 1853, a committee had been appointed to buy the 624-acre site from 59th to 106th Streets (106th to 110th Streets would be added later), between Fifth and Eighth Avenues. Part of the land, including the arsenal at the southwest corner, and the Croton Reservoir farther uptown, was already owned by the state. After a predictable amount of political maneuvering, work began in August 1857 to prepare the land for the construction of a new park.

The builders faced a daunting prospect, since much of the area, as described by Reed and Duckworth, was overrun with squatters’ shacks, bone-boiling works, ‘swill-mills’ and hog farms. Interspersed among the swamps, creeks, which were open sewers, and bramble-covered grounds were no less than three hundred hovels. In the words of Frederick Law Olmsted, who, with partner Calvert Vaux (pronounced vawks) would soon emerge as the genius behind the park’s design, the site was a pestilential spot, where rank vegetation and miasmatic odors taint every breath of air.

In September 1857, Harper’s Weekly reported that no engineer had yet been able to present a feasible plan for Central Park and that it may not ever happen. Their pessimism was misplaced, as Olmsted and Vaux’s Greensward Plan was approved just eight months later, and, by 1860, visitors were enjoying the magnificent new park’s naturalistic splendor.

Central Park quickly became one of New York’s premier attractions. The park’s southern half included many fine architectural features, while the northern half was more reminiscent of an untamed wilderness. At the center of a teeming metropolis, the park was, and is, a green oasis. By 1895, Central Park was in only its third decade of existence, but had long since become an object of journalistic affection. Munsey magazine, a popular monthly of the day, printed an article entitled The Playground of the Metropolis, whose anonymous author wrote, Wrapped and still in the snows of winter, budding into new life with the coming spring, blossoming with fragrance and color and heavy with the foliage of summer, or mellow and ripe in the russets and browns of autumn, Central Park is always a garden of varied and beautiful landscapes, and its gates are always open. More than a century later, the gates are still open. Do not wait for an invitation; come on in, and stay awhile!

This volume presents an illustrated tour of the park, organized geographically from south to north and then clockwise around the perimeter. The first chapter, The Southern Half, includes many of the lower park’s familiar features, such as the Sheep Meadow, the long-demolished Central Park Casino, Tavern on the Green, the old Croton Reservoir, the Great Lawn, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cleopatra’s Needle, and many of the southern half’s statues, sculptures, bridges, and arches.

The second chapter, The Northern Half, includes the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, the Tennis Center, the blockhouse, the defunct McGown’s Tavern, the Conservatory Garden, Harlem Meer, more of the park’s splendid bridges and arches, and the untamed northern environs.

The third chapter, entitled On the Move, addresses the issue of transportation in Central Park over the years. It focuses on the park’s roadways, walkways, and bridle paths, featuring the ubiquitous drivers, pedestrians, runners, bicyclists, and equestrians.

Next comes Around the Perimeter, which takes the reader on a tour of some of the city’s most expensive and famous real estate. It starts at Central Park North, or 110th Street, heads downtown along Fifth Avenue, proceeds west along Central Park South, and works its way back uptown along Central Park West.

The final chapter, Central Park’s Good Name, illustrates how Central Park and its most familiar images have been featured in advertising, marketing, and entertainment during the park’s century-and-a-half existence.

As a postcard history of the park, this volume does not claim to provide a complete picture of every aspect of Central Park’s splendor. The great majority of the 217 images that comprise the book are postcards; regrettably, some of the park’s features were never captured in that medium. Thus, even when augmented by a selection of photographs and posters—and a pair of memorable menus—from the author’s collection, it would be impossible to include every single one of the memorable images the park has to offer.

Over the years, there have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of books featuring images of the park and its perimeter. Since the development of the Internet, hundreds of Web sites have made park images available.