Central Park

Central Park is going car-free

Photo via Jeffrey Zeldman/Flickr

April 20, 2018

Central Park is going car-free

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Last night Mayor de Blasio teased us by tweeting, “We're making a BIG announcement tomorrow on the future of Central Park. Stay tuned.” This morning he announced, “Central Park goes car-free in June. 24/7, 365 days a year — because parks are for people, not cars.” That is BIG news. After banning cars north of 72nd Street three years ago, the city will now prohibit them south of 72nd.
All the details right this way
City orders Central Park statue of ‘hero’ M.D. who performed experiments on slaves be removed

Statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims in Central Park. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

April 17, 2018

City orders Central Park statue of ‘hero’ M.D. who performed experiments on slaves be removed

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New York City’s Public Design Commission voted unanimously Monday in favor of removing a statue of 19th century surgeon J. Marion Sims from its Central Park pedestal, the New York Times reports. It was recommended that the statue of the controversial doctor, who conducted experimental surgeries on female slaves without their consent (and without anesthesia), be removed from its spot at 103rd Street in East Harlem after Mayor Bill de Blasio asked for a review of “symbols of hate” on city property eight months ago. 6sqft previously reported on the request by Manhattan Community Board 11 to remove the East Harlem statue of Sims, who is regarded as the father of modern gynecology. The statue, which will be moved to Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery where the doctor is buried, represents the city's first decision to make changes to a prominent monument since the review.
Find out more
Central Park’s Ladies Pavilion and the disappeared ice skating cottage

Photo via Wikipedia

March 15, 2018

Central Park’s Ladies Pavilion and the disappeared ice skating cottage

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To get to Central Park's Ladies Pavilion, it is necessary to go on, by New York City standards, a bonafide nature hike. Perched at the edge of the Lake, in a far corner of the Ramble, the cottage-like, open-air, Victorian-style structure was built in 1871 to serve as a "shelter for the horsecar passengers" near Columbus Circle, according to the New York Times.
It was once destroyed
Central Park’s Belvedere Castle will close for restoration next week

Photos via Central Park Conservancy

February 23, 2018

Central Park’s Belvedere Castle will close for restoration next week

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The Belvedere in Central Park was conceived as a miniature castle by Calvert Vaux, co-designer of the park, in 1869. It opened with some of the best views of the city's prized green space--the name Belvedere was chosen as it is Italian for "beautiful view." But the years have taken their toll on the stone structure, which has not been renovated since 1983. Now the Central Park Conservancy will close it to address issues like cracked pavement, a leaky roof, and plumbing issues. Starting this Monday, February 26th, Belvedere Castle will be off-limits to the public for its restoration, and will not reopen until 2019.
More details of the reno
Parks Department approves Central Park’s first monument to historic females
November 6, 2017

Parks Department approves Central Park’s first monument to historic females

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On the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in New York state, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation will make an announcement today that it's moving ahead with a proposal to erect a monument to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in Central Park. First reported by West Side Rag, the statue of the two suffragists will be Central Park's first monument to historic women and only the sixth in the entire city. It will be placed on the mall, which runs from 66th to 72nd Streets in the middle of the park, and will be unveiled on another important date--the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote nationally on August 26, 2020.
Get the full story
MAP: The best loops and trails for running in Central Park

Joggers in Central Park, via Wikimedia

November 2, 2017

MAP: The best loops and trails for running in Central Park

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If you're suddenly feeling inspired to start running with all the talk of the New York City Marathon, a map created by the Central Park Conservancy will help you get moving. While Central Park no longer serves as the only spot marathon contestants race through as it did during the city’s first marathon in 1970, it remains an oasis for runners of all experience levels. The conservancy's guide maps out the many loops and trails of the park to help you hit the ground running in preparation for next year's marathon, or even just starting a new hobby.
Find out more
In 1917, a German U-Boat submarine ended up in Central Park

Photo via Library of Congress

October 25, 2017

In 1917, a German U-Boat submarine ended up in Central Park

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On October 25th, 1917, New Yorkers were celebrating "Liberty Day," a holiday invented by the federal government to finance the massive effort of entering World War I. One-third of the war's funding would come from the imposition of progressive new taxes, while two-thirds would come from selling "Liberty Bonds" to the American people. The holiday was part of an unprecedented publicity campaign to convince the public to buy the bonds. New Yorkers are notoriously hard to impress, so it's no surprise the government rolled out all the punches: a three-engine Caproni bomber plane flew low among the skyscrapers, a parade of military motorcycles traveled up 5th Avenue, and a captured German U-boat submarine lay festooned with American flags inside Central Park.
Read more about the day's events
MAP: Find the colorful fall foliage of Central Park’s 20,000 trees

Central Park in Autumn, photo via Anthony Quintano on Flickr

October 5, 2017

MAP: Find the colorful fall foliage of Central Park’s 20,000 trees

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Central Park's most dazzling and vibrant season has arrived. With over 20,000 trees and 150 species of trees spread across 843-acres, Central Park in autumn remains a cannot-miss spectacle for New Yorkers. Thankfully, the Central Park Conservancy created a fall foliage map making it easy to find the leaves with the brightest shades of gold, yellow, red and orange this season.
Check it out
712-foot observation tower proposed for Central Park would also clean the reservoir

Rendering via DFA

September 14, 2017

712-foot observation tower proposed for Central Park would also clean the reservoir

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Local creative studio DFA is proposing a 712-foot public observation tower in Central Park that would double as a sustainable filtration system to clean the decommissioned and hazardous Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and turn it into a non-toxic, useable freshwater pond. The firm says their idea is "in response to [the] growing demand for public bird’s eye views in the world’s tallest cities and an increasing need for innovative environmental cleanup strategies." Though meant to be temporary, the prefabricated tower would be the world's tallest timber structure if completed, featuring a 56-foot-wide viewing platform and a glass oculus that showcases the tower's functional elements.
All the details and renderings ahead
EVENT: Attend free movie screenings at Central Park and Marcus Garvey Park this week

Photo of the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival via Shinya Suzuki’s Flickr

August 21, 2017

EVENT: Attend free movie screenings at Central Park and Marcus Garvey Park this week

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Celebrate the end of summer with the 2017 Central Park Conservancy Film Festival, which kicks off Monday night with the showing of the 2014 remake of “Annie.” In addition to Central Park screenings, the film festival will include free outdoor screenings in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park and Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways. This year’s lineup features movies filmed in New York, including “The Wiz,” The Great Gatsby,” and “The Godfather.” All of the movie screenings are free to attend and tickets are not necessary.
More details here
The Urban Lens: Fantastical photo manipulations reimagine Central Park and its surroundings

Image © Dionisio González

August 11, 2017

The Urban Lens: Fantastical photo manipulations reimagine Central Park and its surroundings

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6sqft’s series The Urban Lens invites photographers to share work exploring a theme or a place within New York City. In this installment, Spanish artist Dionisio González presents two series of digital photos showcasing Central Park. Are you a photographer who’d like to see your work featured on The Urban Lens? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. Architect and photographer Dionisio González has made a name for himself with his surrealist photo manipulations, which typically combine existing buildings and urban spaces with digitally drawn structures and landscapes. His latest two series take on Central Park and how the city's giant "void" relates to its surrounding skyscrapers. In his "Thinking Central Park" series, González fills the space with futuristic shelters. Conversely, in the black-and-white series "Dialectical Landscape" he adds empty spaces as aerial extensions of the park for recreation and transportation.
See them all right here
Camp out in Central Park for free next weekend

Camping in Central Park, photo via Downtown Traveler

August 10, 2017

Camp out in Central Park for free next weekend

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Connect with nature under a Manhattan starry night with a camping trip in Central Park next Saturday, August 19th. This usually illegal activity is totally lawful through a free event hosted by the city’s Urban Park Rangers. The family camping program happens every summer at select venues, like Central Park in Manhattan, Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, Mccarren Park in Brooklyn and Fort Totten Park in Queens.
Find out more
A rejected design for Central Park from 1858 shows colorful, whimsical topiaries

John Rink’s rejected design proposal for Central Park, via NY Historical Society

July 24, 2017

A rejected design for Central Park from 1858 shows colorful, whimsical topiaries

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Central Park, which celebrated its 164th anniversary this month, required elaborate planning to make it what it is today: the most visited urban park in the country. New York City launched a design competition in 1857 for the development of the open space between Manhattan’s 59th and 110th Streets. Most New Yorkers know that out of 33 total entrants, the city chose Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux's "Greensward Plan." However, just five of the losing designs survived and can be seen at the New York Historical Society. One particularly unique design was submitted by park engineer John Rink, who planned Central Park to be highly decorated with whimsically shaped sections dominated by topiaries (h/t Slate).
Find out more
Controversy builds over proposed elevated path in Central Park
June 12, 2017

Controversy builds over proposed elevated path in Central Park

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Central Park’s Belvedere Castle will undergo major renovations beginning this summer and early fall, to fix the 146-year-old structure’s cracked pavement, leaking roof and plumbing issues. While the plan to give the castle a face-lift was approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission last month, the plan to make its path handicap-accessible has not yet been approved. According to the New York Times, preservationists are concerned about the Central Park Conservancy’s proposal to build a ramp-like elevated walkway to the castle’s entrance, saying it would alter the experience of Central Park.
Find out more
Central Park lampposts bear ‘secret codes’ to help you find your way

© Miesha Agrippa for 6sqft

June 6, 2017

Central Park lampposts bear ‘secret codes’ to help you find your way

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We can think of worse fates than getting lost in Central Park. With its winding pathways, lovely bridges, stunning gardens, and a magical lake, it’s the most visited urban park in the United States. But a few of those visitors are bound to take a wrong turn every now and again, and if you find yourself in that predicament, Central Park's 1,600 lampposts bear a secret code that will help you get your bearings and find your way.
Find out how to use the numbers to find out where you are
Central Park’s Belvedere Castle and two playgrounds to close for renovations this summer
April 12, 2017

Central Park’s Belvedere Castle and two playgrounds to close for renovations this summer

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While the outside of the Belvedere Castle looks strong, the inside of the 146-year-old fortress is actually crumbling. The cracked pavement, leaking roof, and plumbing issues encouraged the Central Park Conservancy to start a 10-year $300 million campaign last summer to renovate its structures, as well as surrounding playgrounds. As DNAInfo reported, beginning at the end of this summer and early fall, the castle, the Bernard Family Playground, and the Billy Johnson Playground will be closed for reconstruction.
Find out more
Suffering From Decay, Central Park Seeks $300M for Repairs and Restoration
July 14, 2016

Suffering From Decay, Central Park Seeks $300M for Repairs and Restoration

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If you've walked through Central Park on a recent weekend, you've likely noticed lush grass, blooming flowers, and hordes of tourists and locals alike enjoying the city's unofficial backyard. But a closer look reveals "the debilitating effects of time and modern use," according to the Times, which is why the Central Park Conservancy is embarking a 10-year, $300 million campaign to fund repairs and restorations in the 843-acre open space. "Forever Green: Ensuring the Future of Central Park" will address issues such as a leaking roof at the 144-year-old Belvedere Castle, plumbing issues and cracked pavement at the Conservatory Garden, and insufficient infrastructure at the Naumburg Bandshell. It will also restore arches, bridges, gazebos, and waterways to Olmsted and Vaux's original Adirondack- and Catskills-inspired vision.
But where will the money come from?
Forgotten Four Acres of Central Park Reopens to Visitors After Almost 90 Years
May 10, 2016

Forgotten Four Acres of Central Park Reopens to Visitors After Almost 90 Years

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After being closed off to the public since the 1930s, The Hallet Nature Sanctuary on the lower east side of Central Park is once again open to all, writes The Times. The lush four-acre peninsula has for the last decades been used as a bird sanctuary, reclaimed and then tended to by the Central Park Conservancy in 2001 as part of their Woodlands Initiative. Under the project, $45 million was directed towards revitalizing and restoring the wooded areas of Central Park to their original glory.
More on how to visit here
Skyscraper Proposal Digs Out Central Park and Surrounds It With 1,000-Foot Glass Structure
March 24, 2016

Skyscraper Proposal Digs Out Central Park and Surrounds It With 1,000-Foot Glass Structure

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Evolo has announced the winners of its 2016 Skyscraper Competition, and, somewhat ironically, the number-one spot goes to a proposal that doesn't build up at all, but rather digs down. New York Horizon was imagined by Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu as a means to "reverse the traditional relationship between landscape and architecture, in a way that every occupiable space has direct connection to the nature." The idea is to dig down, exposing the bedrock beneath Central Park and thereby freeing up space to build a horizontal skyscraper around its entire perimeter. The resulting structure would rise 1,000 feet and create seven square miles of interior space, 80 times that of the Empire State Building.
The rest of the specifics, this way
See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos
December 24, 2015

See How Much Central Park Has Changed Since the ’80s in These Before-and-After Photos

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In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy was formed as a nonprofit organization to manage the park under a contract with the City of New York and the Parks Department. As 6sqft noted in a previous interview with the Conservancy, they're made up of "gardeners, arborists, horticulturists, landscape architects, designers, tour guides, archeologists, a communications team, and even a historian," all of whom help to maintain the park as the gorgeous urban oasis we know and love today. But before this, the park faced countless political and economic stressors, and without a central body to oversee it, entered a state of disrepair and neglect. It culminated in the '80s (as the Conservancy worked on a plan for its rehabilitation) with barren patches of land, graffiti tags, and dead plants. Since it's hard to imagine Central Park in such a state, the Conservancy has provided these incredible before-and-after photos that show just how far the beloved space has come.
See all the photos here
Why Is the Face of This Clock in Central Park Rotating Backwards?

GIF created from a video by Scott Beale for Laughing Squid

December 18, 2015

Why Is the Face of This Clock in Central Park Rotating Backwards?

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At first glance, it looks like an ordinary 19th century street clock, but when you notice its movement, things get a little weird. Located at Central Park's Doris C. Freedman Plaza, the clock's face rotates backwards, while the second hand appears to remain upright and stationary at all times (h/t Laughing Squid). What'll really throw you for a loop is that the clock is displaying the correct time, but because of how accustomed we are to the regular rotation, it's almost impossible to read. Titled "Against the Run," the clock was created by Alicja Kwade for the Public Art Fund. The Polish-born, Berlin-based artist wanted to challenge "the systems we invent to make sense of our lives," thereby forcing us to "see 'reality' from a new perspective."
More about the trippy clock
City Defends Supertalls, Won’t Limit Size of Midtown Towers
August 20, 2015

City Defends Supertalls, Won’t Limit Size of Midtown Towers

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The Department of City Planning announced that although it shares residents' concerns about the effects of the new crop of supertall towers rising near Central Park, it does not intend to lower the size limits on buildings in the dense Midtown district. Crain's reports that department director Carl Weisbrod said in a written response to elected officials on August 12 that the slender structures may actually preserve historic buildings nearby and that they enhance the city's iconic skyline.
Read more on the city's response
Shhhhh…Secrets of Your Favorite NYC Landmarks
May 27, 2015

Shhhhh…Secrets of Your Favorite NYC Landmarks

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Sure, pretty much everyone living in New York City is familiar with Grand Central Station, Central Park and some of our other more notable landmarks, but these well-known locations still hold secrets that even born-and-bred New Yorkers may be surprised to learn. We’ve gathered together just a few to get you started, but in a city this size, with a history this long, there are many more that await your discovery. How many of these secrets were you aware of?
Find out all about these hidden gems here
Community Board Wants Moratorium Placed on Central Park Skyscrapers Taller than 600 Feet
May 19, 2015

Community Board Wants Moratorium Placed on Central Park Skyscrapers Taller than 600 Feet

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Those looking to build a behemoth along Central Park may have to look elsewhere. The Manhattan Community Board Five's Sunshine Task Force has voted in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate, temporary moratorium on any new construction of 600 feet or taller that is not already undergoing public review, particularly with those threatening to cast shadows over Central Park in an area bounded by 53rd Street and Central Park South, and Fifth Avenue to Eighth Avenue. The board voiced their concerns and outlined the ban in a policy brief (via DNA Info) which made its way to the desks of the Department of City Planning and the mayor last week.
FInd out more here
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