New York abounds in countless landmarks and landscapes that keep amazing visitors. One of them is Central Park, a public park in New York City, located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan.

New York’s Central Park is a known world-famous park and one of the most-visited urban parks in the United States, with 42 million visitors a year as of 2020. As New York’s City landscape had grown rapidly, wealthiest New Yorkers had the idea of creating a park in the center of Manhattan in the early 1850s. They were inspired by the admired public facilities of London and Paris and urged to conceive one that could make international reputation too. The main purpose of the park was to create more of a cultural and recreational project, so that fellow New Yorkers could run away from everyday stress of urban life and enjoy a countryside experience. Beyond that, the park aimed to prove Europeans – who assumed Americans lacked a sense of civic duty and appreciation for cultural aesthetic and charm – wrong.

Built in the property of Seneca Village.

The Park was designed during a competition run by the commissioners of Central Park from 1857 to 1858. Having successfully completed the competition’s plan design requirements, out of 33 competitors, the Greensward plan won the first place. The plan’s designers were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. They were first inspired by the open fields of the English countryside and that is the main reason for the naturalistic design of the park.

The park project spanned more than a decade and 10 million dollars have been at stake to undertake the project. After years of debate over the location, since it was built upon the property of the Seneca Village, the construction of the park finally began in 1857. Historically, the Seneca Village is a community of predominantly African-Americans, many of whom owned property. The village was made up of approximately 225 residents which include African-Americans and immigrants. The Seneca Village once served as a place where residents could live away from downtown Manhattan where unhealthy living conditions and violence persisted.

The construction of park – covering the same surface of 843 acres (341 ha) as today – was completed in 1876. However, the park first opened for public use in the winter of 1859 and by 1865, the park started to receive more than seven million visitors a year. Central Park’s 843 acres include sweeping lawns, picturesque woodlands, meandering streams, and brad lakes. Over time, more extra features were added to the park, such as baseball and soccer fields, a carousel, two skating rinks, a zoo, formal gardens, commemorative monuments, and concert and theatre venues. Thanks to its influence in the development of the world’s urban parks, Central Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and a Scenic Landscape of the City of New York in 1974.

Central Park is still a major tourist destination, but also a place for New Yorkers to get together and to take advantage of the amusement attractions and recreational activities in the park. Since it also accommodated sport facilities, the number of cyclists, joggers, and riders has noticeably increased.

As a sport lover, if you feel the need to run in the park, it is better to do it in the morning, alone or accompanied, for your security.

Sources: Central Park Web / Central Park Conservancy.