Metropolitan Oasis

Light and Dark—Best of Photography, Second Place, Third Place

In February 2005, Christo and Jeanne-Claude erected 7,500 free hanging saffron colored fabric panels on twenty-three miles of walkway in New York City’s Central Park. They were called the Gates of Central Park and were in place for 16 days, attracting millions of visitors. When the Gates were removed, all the materials were recycled—5,390 tons of steel, 315,491 feet of vinyl tubing, 99,155 square meters of fabric, and 15,000 sets of brackets and hardware.

The artists first proposed the idea for the Gates of Central Park in 1979, but it was not embraced by the city until 2004 when Mayor Bloomberg got behind the idea. The event drew thousands of foreign tourists and pumped an estimated $254 million into New York City’s economy.

The project was paid for by the artists completely on their own, using no public or corporate money. Although unsubstantiated, Christo and Jeanne-Claude publicly said the Gates of Central Park cost $21 million.

Jeanne-Claude died at age 74 from a brain aneurysm November 18, 2009.

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Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields in Central Park was named in 1981 by a New York City Council law introduced by Council member Henry J. Stern and signed by Mayor Edward I. Koch. The black and white mosaic, just inside Central Park at 72nd Street, was fashioned by Italian craftsmen and given as a gift from Naples, Italy. A nearby bronze plaque lists the 121 countries that endorsed Strawberry Fields as a Garden of Peace. Rarely a day goes by without a remembrance appearing on the mosaic.

The 2.5 acre memorial is a tribute to Beatle John Lennon who lived across the street in the co-op known as the Dakota. On the evening of December 8, 1980, Lennon and wife Yoko Ono were returning home. As they walked toward the archway entrance to the building, Mark David Chapman fired five hollow-point bullets from a .38 special revolver, four of which hit Lennon in the back.

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Behind the Fence

Thousands sunbath where sheep once grazed. In 1934, Robert Moses had the sheep removed from Sheep Meadow, under the guise of health reasons. This ended the presence of sheep in Central Park after 60 years. The sheep and a shepherd were housed in a fanciful Victorian building - part of what once was the Tavern on the Green restaurant – on the western perimeter of the Park. Twice a day the shepherd stopped traffic on the west drive so that the flock could travel to and from their meadow.

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Central Park Yacht Club

It was here that Stuart Little piloted his brother George's boat the "Wasp" to victory in the Central Park Boat Race. Racing regattas are held between members of the Model Yacht Club at the site of the Conservatory Water.

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, builders of Central Park, planned a huge conservatory on the east side of the park. However during the original construction, city budget cuts forced rethinking the original plans. Instead, they created a shallow pond inspired by the model boat ponds of Paris, France.

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Ice Cream

So great is the demand for pretzels and sodas, a company bid a total of $536,100 in a New York City Parks Department auction for the right to have a pushcart for a year at two choice spots in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Within Central Park, a pushcart can sell $4,000 a day in food and drink. Some carts gross more than $400,00 a year.

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Bethesda Sunset

The Angel Of The Waters. The New York City Central Park fountain, designed by Emma Stebbins, was unveiled in 1873 and is the only sculpture commissioned as part of the original design of Central Park. Ms. Stebbins was the first woman to receive a commission for a major work of art in New York City.
The winged female figure symbolizes the purity of the city water supply when the Croton Aqueduct opened in 1842 bringing fresh water to all New Yorkers. In her hand she holds a lily, the symbol of purity, and extends her other hand outward to bless the water below.

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Row Row Your Boat

The Loeb Boathouse in Central Park rents row boats, which seat four people, for $20 per hour. Cash only. Or, if you prefer, you can schedule a Venetian Gondola ride on the lake at $50 per hour.

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Three Dancing Maidens

Drei tanzende Mädchen (Three Dancing Maidens) a nymph fountain is a sculpture by Walter Scott. Three full-size versions of the sculpture exist: New York City’s Central Park, Antwerp’s Dan Brandt Park and the courtyard of Burg Schmitz castle grand hotel in northern Germany. The version in Central Park is known as Untermeyer Fountain since it was donated to the park in 1947 by the Untermeyer family. The version in northern Germany is believed to be the original, which was looted by the Nazi Party in 1933. However, its provenance is disputed and as of 2022 the owner has withheld permission for investigators to test the plinth the sculpture stands.

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Water Clouds

It is hard to believe the Turtle Pond was not part of the original Central Park design. It is located at the base of Belvedere Castle, and is a watery complement to the Great Lawn.

The Great Lawn was also not original to Central Park. The Great Lawn began life as the Croton Reservoir and was filled in with building rubble from Manhattan in the 1930s.

The Turtle Pond is located mid-park between 79th and 80th streets in a park quiet zone: no running, rollerblading, bike riding, or sports allowed.

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The Still Brook

Between 73rd and 78th streets in Central Park is 38 acres of winding trails described by the park’s creator, Frederick Law Olmsted as the “wild garden”. The official name is the Ramble. Birdwatchers come to get a chance to see some of the approximately 230 species in the woods. A man-made stream meanders the Ramble and often a small animal such as a raccoon can be spotted near it.

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Bird Bowl

Sparrows enjoy the cooling splash of water from the Burnett Fountain while the young girl holds high the birdbath. Unseen, a boy playing a flute reclines behind the girl. The figures represent main characters Mary and Dickson from The Secret Garden. The fountain is a memorial to Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of children’s books: The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and A Little. The fountain is located in the water lily pool on the East Side at 104th Street.

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Central Park Night

Even for longtime Manhattan residents, navigating one’s way in Central Park can be tricky. It is fairly easy to get turned around and in certain parts of the park landmark buildings can be obscured.

Some New Yorkers know the nineteenth-century cast-iron lampposts in Central Park are stamped with a with a four digit code to identify the location in the park. The first two digits on the lamppost are the nearest cross street. The last two digits indicate east and west. An even number means closer to Central Park West, an odd number closer to 5th Avenue.

The last two digits increase as one moves toward the center of the park. For example, 9703 indicates a location on the West side aligned with 97th Street while 9746 indicates the East side close to the middle of the park.

This numerical system was originally designed to help park employees locate lamps in need of servicing, but it is also a subtle method used by visitors to know where they are in the park—at least those who know the secret.

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Bridge to Red Tree

The original Gapstow Bridge in New York City's Central Park was built in 1874—a unique wooden bridge with ornamented cast iron railings. However, Jacob Wrey Mould’s design only lasted slightly more than twenty years before wear and tear took its toll.

That bridge was replaced in 1896 with a simple stone structure bridge, based on a design by Howard & Caudwell.

During the summer months, the bridge is covered with green ivy.

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Rest Stop

Just east of the stone steps leading down to Bethesda Terrace in Central Park, there is a little noticed footpath meandering north through the trees and shrubs. The footpath leads to a wooden bench, which sits on the crest of a knoll hidden among the trees. Although hundreds of park visitors can be observed around Bethesda Fountain and on the walkway along the lake, few ever venture up the lesser-traveled path to discover the waiting bench. 

What they miss is a secret resting place to hear the melody of the birds, see the squirrels scamper about, and smell the fresh scent of pine in the midst of New York City.

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Cleopatra's Needle

There are three Cleopatra's Needles. London, Paris and New York each have one. However, Cleopatra's Needle actually has little to do with Cleopatra. It was built around 461 B.C. by Thutmosis III as a tribute to himself. The inscriptions were added 200 years later by Ramses II to commemorate his military conquests. Cleopatra moved the obelisks to Alexandria where she built a temple in honor of Mark Anthony. The obelisks were toppled by order of Augustus Caesar, and lay buried in the sand for centuries.

On July 20, 1880, a ship carrying the obelisk, as a gift from Egypt after the opening of the Suez Canal, arrived in New York City. Using a special railroad track, it took 16 pairs of horses four months to move the obelisk to its Central Park resting place behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Autumn Trail

Come fall, the 18,000 or so trees in Central Park become vibrant shades of yellow, orange and red. Leaves begin to change when trees “turn off photosynthesis”, letting the always present chemicals of carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins become visible. Photosynthesis creates a bright green chemical (chlorophyll) into sugar. However without sufficient sunlight on short winter days trees lack the energy to power the process. Trees survive winter using moisture and sugar stored in the tree trunk for nutrients.

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