The History of Central Park
Joe on February 19th, 2010 | Filed under Travel
Central Park in Manhattan was the first public park in the country of the United States to be designed and landscaped. Early advocates of the park were some of the wealthiest families in the city at the time, the land owners and the merchants, who wanted a beautiful park in the city, one that would rival the parks of Paris and London. Not only for the people of the city to enjoy, but one that would put New York on the International map so to speak. After three years of preparation and plans, the state awarded the city the seven hundred plus acres that we all now know, as Central Park.
At the time they began to work on the park, the terrain was rough, with marshes and swamps filled with rock, an area considered to be totally undesirable. At that time, and in current times, the populations that surround the park are diverse and culturally varied, as many of the ancestors of the early immigrants still call this area their home. There are hotels that surround the park, there is the Metropolitan Museum of Art bordering the park, and many people do find a bit of a respite from the hectic life led in New York City.
In the mid 1930′s the famous and well loved Parks Commissioner Robert Moses, set about renovating and updating all of the city parks, adding playgrounds, and hiring landscapers to tend and manicure the gardens of many of the parks, which at the time had fallen into a bit of disrepair. Now many find peace bird watching or running through the park. Families picnic and lovers stroll the paths or take midnight carriage rides. It would be really difficult to imaging the city without that park today. And whether it is ice skating in the winter, or paddle boat rides in the summer, Central Park is the heart that keeps the city of New York alive.
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