| What makes it historical? |
Central Park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who won a competition in 1857 to make America’s first major landscaped public park a reality! It was designed as a pleasure ground, modeled after European parks, and catering to the middle and upper classes, though it was constructed by over 20,000 native and immigrant workers, who blasted boulders, planted trees, and filled reservoirs!
It only took a year before the park was ready to welcome its first ice skaters and ban picnicking, which was mostly practiced by German and Irish immigrants. There were separate pathways for pedestrians, carriages, and horses! A zoo and carousel were later added, drawing in even more visitors! Today, they, along with the Bethesda Fountain and the Lake, are still among the park’s most recognizable features. Even if you haven’t visited, you probably recognize them from tons of movies and TV shows, because it barely costs anything to get a film permit in New York! |
