Central Park

Nothing in the park is natural. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the 1858 competition and the ground was rebuilt wholesale: swamps drained, more explosive used than at Gettysburg to move the rock, roughly ten million cartloads of material shifted, and every lake, meadow and wood placed. The transverse roads were sunk below sight line so crosstown traffic would not break the illusion. Seneca Village, a community of about two hundred and twenty-five people, the majority Black landowners, stood on the west side and was cleared by eminent domain to make way; the park has acknowledged this and marked the site. Bethesda Terrace, the Ramble, the Reservoir and Sheep Meadow are the set pieces.

What you actually see

• A wholly constructed landscape - every lake and hill placed by design.
• Sunken transverse roads - hiding crosstown traffic from the park.
• The Seneca Village site - a Black community cleared to build it, now marked.
• Bethesda Terrace and the Ramble - the designed set pieces.

When to go

April to October; spring blossom and autumn colour are the peaks. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is large - crossing it end to end is over four kilometres. Weekends are crowded, especially the southern end. Some paths are confusing by design. Horse carriage rides remain contested locally.

Nearby

The Met is on the east edge; the American Museum of Natural History on the west.