A History Lover's Guide to New York City

In the second half of the nineteenth century, a prescient few in this country began to realize that in the American haste to settle the land, we were cutting down too many trees, destroying too much wildlife and leaving precious little of our natural resources for future generations. The outline of the United States had filled in. It also seemed in danger of filling up.

A notable few called for a return to and respect for nature. Henry David Thoreau wrote Walden: Life in the Woods, published in 1854, moving many to contemplate our fundamental values. Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran and Frederic Edwin Church were part of the Hudson River School of painters who depicted large, lush, romantic landscapes that inspired dreams of a pristine environment. John Wesley Powell sent back popular reports of his expeditions down the Colorado River. John Muir made a stand for the redwoods of California, trees that were thousands of years old and at risk.

Congress responded to an awakened public demand to preserve the wilderness. In 1872, it passed a bill signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant to create Yellowstone as the first American National Park. Congress created five more parks in 1900 legislation. Today, the American national park system has more than four hundred areas in every state of the Union and the District of Columbia.

The first to call for a large park in New York City was William Cullen Bryant, the influential editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post. By mid-century, the city was experiencing growing congestion and diminishing open space. Unless there were a commitment of vacant land to a park in the the very near future, the opportunity would disappear in the accelerating urban development. Responding to citizens’ pressure, city leaders considered several locations for a park. The one they selected was at a central location and so became known as Central Park. It was at a site largely undeveloped because the land was particularly rocky. To determine the exact layout and design of the park, in 1857, the city announced a competition. The winners were Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted. There is no doubt that their proposal “Greensward” was a masterpiece. The park that they proposed and built has endured to this day, offering relief from concrete and crowds to tens of millions each year.

From 1858 to 1873, 3,600 workers moved millions of cubic feet of earth to create the 843-acre park. Central Park is half a mile wide from 5^th Avenue to 8^th Avenue—now called Central Park West. The park is two and a half miles long from 59^th Street to 110^th Street. Vaux and Olmsted designed a park that looked natural. Although the park has features that appear as though they were always there, they are man made. Other entrants in the competition had suggested multiple buildings and elaborate structures. Vaux and Olmsted kept these to a minimum. Instead, they focused on a large parade ground and playing field that offered green, open space to the city. This area is Sheep Meadow.

They designed the Ramble, a thirty-seven-acre wilderness area in the park that serves as a haven for birds and small wildlife. They met the requirement that four or more streets cross the park. To enhance the natural aspect of the park, they laid the streets in trenches eight feet deep so that the roads would be visibly less intrusive for park visitors.

The ornamentation is minimal but brilliant. One of the most arresting aspects of their design is the Mall, placed at an angle, to give it a long visual reach in the relatively narrow park. The focal point at the northern end of the Mall is the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain. Jacob Wrey Mould designed the lovely double staircase leading to the fountain with its statue, Angel of the Waters by Emma Stebbins. The Book of John in the Bible tells the story of an angel who gives healing powers to the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. Gazing at the Bethesda Fountain today away from the hubbub of the city similarly soothes visitors.

In addition to Central Park, New Yorkers pressed on in their support for the environment. In 1869, a group of prominent city leaders gathered in the home of Theodore Roosevelt, the father of the future president, at 28 East 20^th Street to create the charter for the American Museum of Natural History. Excitement about the many scientific discoveries of the age, the exploration of the West by Louis and Clark and the growing interest in understanding and appreciating the natural world generated the impetus to raise the funds for a new museum. President Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone for the American Museum of Natural History in 1874, and President Rutherford B. Hayes opened it in 1877. The first exhibits for the museum were stuffed birds and mammals from the collection of German naturalist Prince Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwiebl.

There was a demand to view living as well as stuffed animals. The result was the creation of the zoo. After the first zoo in the United States opened in Philadelphia, other cities that boasted of a zoo by 1900 included Buffalo, Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. It was, however, the New York Zoological Park, opening in 1899, that defined for the future what a zoo would be. More than a collection of exotic animals on display, a true zoo would also be an institution for research and conservation. Modern zoos take this mission very seriously. The New York Zoological Park has been commonly known as the Bronx Zoo because of its location. Today, the formal name—the International Wildlife Conservation Park—emphasizes the purpose of the modern zoo.

YOUR GUIDE TO HISTORY

Images

Literary Walk in Central Park. Courtesy of James Maher.

59^th or Central Park South to 110^th Streets, 5^th Avenue to Central Park West www.centralparknyc.org

Central Park is a wonderland of natural vegetation, open spaces, broad expanses of water, beautiful sculpture and bridges and plentiful activities. Or it is just a place to chill. See the website for a wide offering of these activities and also for guided tours of Central Park that begin at various locations (free or fee). The website is also extremely useful in providing information for self-guided tours and for background on all aspects of Central Park.

There are five visitor centers in Central Park run by the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that manages Central Park for the City of New York. During the 1960s and ’70s, like much of the city, the park experienced a serious decline, with vegetation at risk and buildings in disrepair. The Central Park Conservancy, beginning in 1980, stepped in to maintain and improve the park. Today, it raises funds from private sources to provide 75 percent of the park’s annual operating budget. Thanks to the Central Park Conservancy, the park is a restorative and enjoyable place for the forty-two million visits it receives each year. It is the most visited urban park in the United States. Central Park is a National Historic Landmark.

In addition to the attractions noted below, Central Park has twenty-one playgrounds for children. Improvements to the playgrounds, including for accessibility, are ongoing. Walkways make the park easy to enjoy. On Central Park South, there are horse-drawn carriages that offer a pleasant option for seeing the park. There are also pedi-cabs. These rent by the minute with varying rates, so it’s important to note and confirm with the driver before getting into the pedi-cab. Citibikes and bike rentals on Central Park South are also available to visitors. Bicycling in Central Park is very popular.

In warmer months, there are also umbrella stands at many locations in the park with staff ready to provide information and directions.

This stone bridge across the Pond dates to 1896. It replaced an original wooden bridge designed by Jacob Wrey Mould that had rotted. The clean lines and gentle arc of the Gapstow Bridge make it look as though it always belonged here.

Olmsted and Vaux created this water feature that is just steps away from 5^th Avenue. There is a constantly changing floral spectacular near the Pond that makes for a visual treat each season of the year. The Pond adjoins the Hallett Nature Sanctuary.

This four-acre woodland near the southern end of the park is closed to human visitors most of the time in order to protect many wildlife species that make Central Park their home. From time to time, the Central Park Conservancy opens up the sanctuary, named for George Harvey Hallett Jr. (1895–1985), an avid birdwatcher and political activist.

This is the headquarters of New York City’s Department of Parks & Recreation and the Central Park Zoo. The building predates Central Park. Completed in 1851, it was originally used for ammunition storage by the New York State National Guard. There is a gallery open to the public with free exhibitions of fine art and photography with a nature theme.

Visitors may stop by for information and to play a game of chess or checkers. Players bring their own games or borrow pieces from the park to play on site.

Calvert Vaux designed this Victorian cottage, which offered milk for visiting children in nineteenth-century New York. Olmsted and Vaux concentrated many features designed to appeal to children in the area of the park below 65^th Street.

When Central Park first opened, visitors could ice skate on the lake. After that practice was deemed unsafe, Wollman Rink opened to ice skaters in 1950.

An odd collection of animals—most of which were cast-off pets and circus animals, including one elephant and a tiger—went on display in New York in 1861 as the Central Park Menagerie. Today, this small and very attractive zoo is under the umbrella of the Wildlife Conservation Society. One of its most popular features is the sea lion pool where sea lions entertain the public with their food-inspired antics. Elsewhere in the zoo, it is worth waiting for the moment on the hour or half hour when the George Delacorte Musical Clock with its bear, hippopotamus and friends dance and play musical themes. Delacorte, a New York philanthropist, provided funding for the clock. Children may pet and feed goats, sheep and a cow at the Tisch Children’s Zoo, which also offers an Enchanted Forest and two theaters for performances for the very young.

A carousel has been a popular feature of Central Park since 1871. This is the fourth to stand here after earlier carousels were lost to decay or fire. This 1908 carousel moved to Central Park from Coney Island in 1950. It is a work of art with fifty-seven hand-carved horses from the Stein & Goldstein factory in Brooklyn. Operation of the carousel is seasonal and weather dependent.

A mall is a traditional place to stroll. This quarter-mile-long path offers visitors a lovely place to promenade under a canopy of rare American elms on either side of the pathway. Near 66^th Street, the Mall is called the Literary Walk because of the statues of writers and poets, including Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott. There is also a statue of Christopher Columbus by the Literary Walk.

This large, open, green space for lounging about, picnicking or grabbing some peace and quiet originally hosted a flock of sheep when Central Park opened. The intent was to create a pastoral setting in the busy city. The sheep remained in the meadow until 1934. There are wonderful views of the New York City skyline from Sheep Meadow.

This 1925 statue by Frederick G.R. Roth honors the heroic Siberian husky named Balto that led sled teams across frozen turf to bring medicine to the children of Alaska threatened by a diphtheria epidemic. The statue is a favorite of children today.

This twenty-acre lake was part of the original Olmsted and Vaux plan. It has a lovely natural feel to it, although it is man-made. One of its most attractive features is the Hernshead, a rocky outgrowth that borders the lake near 75^th Street. “Hern” is a corruption of “heron,” a bird found here in abundance. On the lake near 75^th Street on the west side is the Ladies’ Pavilion, designed by Jacob Wrey Mould in 1871.

Visitors can rent bicycles or rowboats to take out on the lake. There is also a restaurant, café and grill.

Sculptor Emma Stebbins created the iconic Angel of the Waters statue that tops the fountain. The fountain represents the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda from the Book of John in the Bible. This is one of the most photogenic and visited sites in Central Park. The Bethesda Fountain sits on the Bethesda Terrace designed by Olmsted and Vaux. While here, be sure to admire the beautiful English Minton tiles designed by Jacob Wrey Mould in the ceiling of the Terrace Arcade.

Admired for its simplicity and harmony with nature, this is the second-oldest cast-iron bridge in the United States, dating to 1862. The bridge takes its name from its graceful arch, which is similar to the shape of a violin bow. Olmsted and Vaux designed the bridge to connect the lake and the Ramble with Cherry Hill. This is a good place to pause for a moment and appreciate the tranquility of Central Park.

In the spring, this is a favored spot for its blooming cherry trees, forsythia and azaleas. Visitors enjoy lying on the ground and gazing at the blossoms.

Thirty-six acres of vegetation and deep undergrowth provide a wildlife habitat that offers bird-watching enthusiasts and picknickers alike a place to escape the city and to enjoy nature. The rugged beauty found here is unique in the park.

In the summer, children (and adults) enjoy sending their model boats across Conservatory Water. Bring your own boat or rent a sailboat here from a cart near the water. Kerbs Boathouse on the Conservatory Water has an array of model yachts, some of which are very impressive, stored by their owners over the summer months. In good weather, there is a café with tables overlooking the water. In the winter, the water turns to ice and offers free skating.

Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish author of children’s stories, was an amazing storyteller. His statue is the site of the summertime storytelling program in Central Park. The statue of the author was a gift to the park by the Danish American Women’s Association. Children are welcome to climb on the author, cast in bronze, who has opened his book The Ugly Duckling to read.

Benefactor George Delacorte commissioned Spanish-born artist Jose de Creeft to sculpt this statue of the Lewis Carroll figure that has been in the park since 1959. Children love to climb on the bronze statue of Alice sitting on a large mushroom while the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit join her in undoubtedly zany conversation.

English singer-songwriter John Lennon came to New York City to make it his home. He lived at the Dakota apartment building at 1 West 72^nd Street. It was in front of the Dakota that he died on December 8, 1980, shot by a deranged stalker. John Lennon was forty years old. His wife, Yoko Ono Lennon, dedicated this memorial to her husband in 1985. It consists of a mosaic embedded in the ground created by Italian artists and donated by the City of Naples, Italy. With the Beatles, Lennon wrote and recorded the song “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which speaks to peace and harmony. Visitors to the park can seek that peace here. Benches at the memorial are dedicated to others who have come to this site for reflection.

The Swedish Cottage was Sweden’s exhibit in the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Charmed by it, Frederic Law Olmsted brought the structure to Central Park in 1877. Today, it provides the setting for regular performances for children by the Marionette Theater.

In 1913, this four-acre garden was dedicated to famed English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. The plants in the garden are those Shakespeare noted in his works, while bronze plaques appear throughout the garden with quotes from Shakespeare’s writings.

This castle with an Italian name for “beautiful view” offers just that—lovely views of Central Park and the New York City skyline. Belvedere Castle, designed by Calvert Vaux, was built in 1869 from the natural stone, called Manhattan schist, found in the park. Temperatures and other indicators of New York City weather are recorded for the National Weather Service at Belvedere Castle. Belvedere Castle serves as a visitor center for the park. If Belvedere Castle looks familiar to children and their parents, it may be because it serves as the home for Count von Count of the television show Sesame Street.

In the summer, there are productions of plays by William shakespeare, often starring notable actors and actresses. The tickets are free but require standing in line to obtain them. Information is on the website. The large amphitheater was the gift of philanthropist George Delacorte Jr.

This sixty-nine-foot-high granite monument, nicknamed Cleopatra’s Needle, is the oldest monument in New York City. It dates to 1450 BC. Its original location was on the Nile River in Egypt. In 1880, the leader of Egypt offered this obelisk to the United States. It has stood in Central Park since 1881.

When Central Park opened, this was at the site of the Croton Reservoir, used to provide water to New York City. After the reservoir was eliminated in the 1930s, this area was filled in to create a vast open space often used for major concerts. Today, its fifty-five acres provide a great place to lounge on the grass or enjoy a game of baseball on one of the several baseball diamonds.

This beautiful body of water, once used as a reservoir for the city, is now strictly ornamental. There is a popular 1.58-mile running track around the reservoir that is named in honor of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

Hiking along a path in the North Woods, it is possible to forget that you are even in New York City. This is an area favored by bird watchers and those seeking real solitude. Because it is so isolated, it is best for new visitors to take a guided tour of this area rather than attempt it on their own. Key landmarks within the North Woods are the Ravine (103^rd Street, Center Park), the Loch (102^nd Street, Center Park) and the Glen Span Arch. Olmsted and Vaux built dams in three areas along the Loch—Scottish for lake—to create small waterfalls whose sounds are as delightful as their appearance. The Glen Span Arch stands at the Loch at its southern point, and the Huddlestone Arch stands at the northern point of the Loch. Olmsted and Vaux dammed up a natural stream in the North Woods to create the Pool, with its man-made grotto and waterfall.

In a park of wide-open lawns and natural foliage, this is Central Park’s only formal garden. The six-acre garden has three parts: the English garden, the French garden and the Italian garden. In the English garden is the Frances Hodgeson Burnett Memorial Fountain in honor of the woman who wrote the children’s book The Secret Garden. The sculptor was Bessie Potter Vonnoh. The principal entry to the Conservatory Garden is at 105^th Street through a beautiful wrought-iron gate. Designed by architect George B. Post, the gate originally stood in front of the 1883 Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion, also designed by Post, at 5^th Avenue and 58^th Street. This Vanderbilt house was once the largest single-family home in the United States. It was demolished in 1926.

Meer is the Dutch word for “lake.” Harlem is named for the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands. Olmsted and Vaux designed this body of water to honor and remember the Dutch and the role they played in founding Manhattan. Today, the Harlem Meer provides a wonderful setting for many activities and community programs.

This charming small building on the edge of the Harlem Meer dates to 1993. In addition to serving as a visitor center, it offers special events such as summer performances, a small flotilla of lighted Halloween pumpkins in the fall and December holiday decorations. Charles A. Dana was a twentieth-century New York businessman and philanthropist who had a home near Central Park.

Central Park West at 79^th Street • Manhattan/Upper West Side
212-769-5100 • www.amnh.org • Admission Fee

If you are traveling with children, make this museum a priority. The American Museum of Natural History includes forty-five permanent halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, as well as rotating exhibits. For an additional fee, there is an IMAX theater that features changing films on science and the universe. Some of the perennial favorites at the American Museum of Natural History are the ninety-four-foot-long fiberglass blue whale suspended overhead in the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life. In addition to this oceangoing mammal, there is an exhibit of the largest living land mammal: the African elephant. The Hayden Planetarium Space Theater projects the galaxy and beyond overhead and all around. Dinosaurs and diamonds are also on display in the museum. The mission of the museum is to inspire visitors to learn more about our world and to do more to protect its wonders. In addition to museum tours and regular gallery talks, there are bird walks in Central Park just across the street and extensive educational programs for children of all ages. There are also popular sleepover programs for children and parents on certain weekends.

Visitors enter the museum through the enormous and impressive Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall. The walls display quotes from President Theodore Roosevelt on youth, manhood, nature and the state. Roosevelt wanted to be remembered as our “Conservation President.” What immediately grabs visitors’ attention are the two large dinosaurs cast from real specimens: a barosaurus and an allosaurus. The museum has the world’s largest collection of real fossils of dinosaurs, mammals and other vertebrates. In front of the museum is a statue of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback, by John Russell Pope.

This small park behind the New York Public Library was named in honor of William Cullen Bryant in 1884, six years after his death. It is a fitting tribute to the man who, as editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post, used his considerable influence to promote the creation of Central Park in New York. Today, Bryant Park is a pleasant place to take a break and relax on the grass. There is a 1911 William Cullen Bryant Memorial, which is the work of sculptor Herbert Adams. An iron-and-glass structure attached to the back of the library houses several restaurants. The structure is reminiscent of the iron-and-glass Crystal Palace that existed here from 1853 to 1858, hosting the first World’s Fair in the Western Hemisphere in 1853. A fourteen-animal carousel, “Le Carrousel,” entertains children in Bryant Park. In the colder months, there is an ice-skating rink in the park. In warmer months, there are organized tours and outdoor movies.

Near Park Slope, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Windsor Terrace • Brooklyn
718-965-8951 • www.prospect.org • Free

The Prospect Park website provides a map of the park with its multiple entrances and attractions marked. Take your dog for a swim, organize a baseball game, pedal a boat on the lake in the summer, ice skate at Wollman Rink in the winter or simply stroll the large and varied grounds of this important 585-acre park that is a centerpiece of Brooklyn. Like Central Park, Prospect Park was the work of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. Work began in 1866. Many consider the Ravine the centerpiece of Prospect Park and the extensive waterway to be the most masterful piece of urban park planning in the country.

The Prospect Park Zoo (admission fee) at 450 Flatbush Avenue in the park with over six hundred animals on display is a popular attraction for both children and adults. Another extremely popular feature with children is the 1912 carousel (admission fee) carved by Charles Carmel. Its animated horses, lion, deer and dragons charm children and enthrall adults. The Grand Army Plaza described in Chapter 5 is at the Eastern Parkway entrance to Prospect Park.

The Prospect Park Audubon Center is near the Lincoln Road entrance to the park and the boathouse. It offers free public programs to explore nature in the park. Also in Prospect Park is the Lefferts Historic House, described in Chapter 2.

990 Washington Avenue • Brooklyn
718-623-7200 • www.bbg.org • Admission Fee

The fifty-two-acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden dates to 1910. Each year brings an enhancement or restoration to this beautiful urban oasis in the heart of Brooklyn. Guided tours of the garden are offered during the summer months. Whether visitors are strolling through the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, the Lily Pool Terrace, the Fragrance Garden or one of the many other gardens within the garden, the experience is delightful.

602 Surf Avenue at West 8^th Street • Brooklyn
718-220-5100 • www.nyaquarium.com • Admission Fee

The New York Aquarium is the oldest aquarium in continuous operation in the United States. It opened in Castle Garden in the Battery in 1896. It has been at its current fourteen-acre site on the Coney Island Boardwalk since 1957. In recent years, the aquarium has undergone extensive renovation and enlargement with new exhibits planned, including Ocean Wonders: Sharks! The aquarium is part of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is also responsible for the zoos in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Central Park in Manhattan. Its mission is to conduct research on aquatic life in addition to public education.

53–51 111^th Street, Corona • Queens
718-271-1500 • www.queenszoo.com • Admission Fee

Wildlife from the Americas, a domestic animal petting zoo, a waterfowl marsh and many other exhibits, experiences and programs make the Queens Zoo, a branch of the Wildlife Conservation Society, a real treat to visit.

2900 Southern Boulevard • The Bronx
718-817-8700 • www.nybg.org • Admission Fee

This 250-acre site of beautiful gardens and Beaux-Art buildings, such as the elegant library, is both inspirational and restorative. The NYBG is much more than a pretty walk down a garden path. Its mission is plant research and conservation. The garden dates to 1891, when Dr. Nathaniel Lord and his wife, Elizabeth Britton, opened the gardens after their visit to Kew Gardens in England. The centerpiece is the magical 1902 glass-and-steel crystal palace Haupt Conservatory.

During the Christmas season, the Haupt Conservatory houses the Holiday Train Show. Visitors experience the wonder of New York in miniature as model trains wind their way along a track that takes them by 150 small replicas of famous New York landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and the Empire State Building. Most impressive is the fact that the garden’s miniatures are all made of leaves, bark, twigs and other natural materials. The site is a National Historic Landmark.

2300 Southern Boulevard • The Bronx
718-367-1010 • www.bronxzoo.com • Admission Fee

Originally known as the New York Zoological Park when it opened in 1899, this zoo has always been commonly known as the Bronx Zoo because of its location. Today, the formal name, the International Wildlife Conservation Park, reinforces the mission of the modern zoological park. The zoo has over four thousand animals on display in an area encompassing 265 acres. The Bronx Zoo features natural, open-air settings such as Jungle World and the Congo Gorilla Forest. There is also a wonderful recently renovated Children’s Zoo. The Wildlife Conservation Society is an umbrella organization denoting the important mission undertaken by the modern zoo. Included in this group is not only the Bronx Zoo but also the Central Park Zoo, the New York Aquarium, the Prospect Park Zoo and the Queens Zoo.

Images

The Statue of Liberty. Courtesy of James Maher.