MHC 200: Power of Parks Does Central Park work?

Part 1:

How did Central Park originally come to exist?

How has the perceived purpose of the park changed over time?

In the mid-nineteenth century, following three years of public debate, the city of New York utilized eminent domain to take over about 700 acres of land in the center of Manhattan, displacing approximately 1600 mostly poor residents. Inspired by the beautiful public spaces in Europe such as the massive Hyde Park in London, the aristocracy of New York City had demanded the creation of a comparable large, aesthetic public area to be built in their own city in order to gain in international standing. Following the acquisition of the land in 1853, the Central Park Commission was instated to organize the creation of the park. A contest was held for the best park design and Frederick Olmstead and Calvert Vaux won the right to build the park with their Greensward Plan. The plan, in accordance with Olmstead’s ideas on the utilization of urban parks as a means to promote public health while being aesthetic, followed the tenets of the picturesque movement. The construction of the park was undertaken by over 20,000 city workers and involved massive terraforming of the area. The park was opened for public use in 1859.
Originally, the park had many restrictions on allowed activities. It’s purpose was for relaxation and picturesque walks and carriage rides. In the winters people would skate on the frozen ponds. Group picnics were not allowed and only schoolboys with notes from their principal were allowed to play ball on the meadows. Over time, New Yorkers objected to these restrictions and the park became an area of active recreation for the middle and lower classes. Over time, playgrounds, swimming pools, and other attractions such as the carousel and zoo were added to the park.

Part 2:

Choose a particular feature in the park (hill, lake, region in the park, monument, building, bridge, famous trees/stands of tree, etc… Examples could include the Sheep Meadow, the Ramble, Belvedere Castle, one of the reservoirs, one of the lakes, the Zoo or the Delacorte theatre).

How has that feature changed over time?

What does that case tell us about the current concept of parks today?

Belvedere Castle was designed in 1865 by Calvert Vaux as a beautiful structure designed to resemble a Victorian castle and provide for good views and a pleasing backdrop. Beyond this, the castle had no real purpose. However, in 1919 the National Weather Service installed scientific instruments for weather observation and the castle has since been used for this purpose. The castle was also renovated in 1983 and now houses the Henry Luce Nature Observatory. This shows that over time the concept of parks has departed from being purely for leisurely recreation. Now parks are being incorporated as important areas in the city for observational sciences and other necessary aspects of city life.

Works Cited:

Platt, Rutherford H. The Ecological City. From Commons to Commons: Evolving Concepts of Open Space in North American Cities. 1994.

Olmstead, Fredrick Law. Public Parks and the Enlargement of Towns. 1870.

“Belvedere Castle | Your Complete Guide to Central Park.” Your Complete Guide to New York City’s Central Park | CentralPark.com. Web. 21 Sept. 2011..

“History | Your Complete Guide to Central Park.” Your Complete Guide to New York City’s Central Park | CentralPark.com. Web. 21 Sept. 2011..