July 21, 2003
Marked The 150th Anniversary Of Central Park.
Park History
Official Anniversary Web Site
Through the Tree Trust and Adopt-A-Bench , the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy has created a special gift opportunity. You can endow a tree and neighboring bench as a pair at the 100th Street Pool for $11,000, which is $1,500 less than if they were endowed separately. The usual contributions would be $5,000 for a tree and $7,500 for a bench.
Adopt-A-Bench programs
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Central Park
Frederick Olmstead aimed for a "pastoral ideal," hoping Central Park visitors would feel as if they were in the countryside, not the city.
Frederick Law Olmstead designed Central Park in the mid-1800s as a getaway from city life, a place where people could go to relax, mingle and enjoy nature. Today, New York's skyscrapers loom larger than they did in Olmstead's day, but the picturesque park retains its pastoral charm for the millions who take advantage of it each year.
Situated in the heart of New York City between 59th street and 110 streets , Central Park is the most well known of all the parks that Frederick Law Olmsted designed.
Although he was the park's superintendent, he had no hand in the call for a park. Andrew Jackson Downing was the original force behind the park. He and his partner, Calvert Vaux were to submit a design for the park. In 1852 Downing died in a riverboat accident and Vaux asked Olmsted to take his place. In 1858 they entered the competition to design the park, with an entry they called Greensward, which was chosen as the park's design.
Other Facts
Central Park is 843 Acres.
Central Park celebrates its 150th birthday on 21 July 2003. © GettyImages
©fredericklawolmsted
The Pond At Central Park
©centralparknyc
Central Park, An American Masterpiece: A Comprehensive History of the Nation's First Urban Park Buy The Book At Amazon.com
$31.50
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19 July, 2003
By SARA KUGLER
Associated Press Writer
July 19, 2003, 1:13 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- Central Park celebrated its 150th birthday on Saturday with a giant cake in the shape of its most famous fountain, two renowned tenors singing "Happy Birthday" and activities from pet parades to croquet.
Gathered around the cake at Bethesda Fountain, its inspiration, hundreds of park enthusiasts belted "Happy birthday Central Pa-ark," led by tenors Marcelo Alvarez and Salvatore Licitra.
The nation's first major public park was born 150 years ago in 1853 when the Legislature set aside the 843 acres, to be designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
Portions of the park's southern and northern ends opened to the public in 1861. The rest of the park's hills, paths and ponds were under construction for 16 years. Ten million cartloads of soil replaced a landscape of swamps and bedrock, while an underground drainage system was installed to create ponds and lakes.
The birthday party drew New Yorkers from all corners, celebrating their own special memories _ lovers who once snuggled in a carriage ride, runners who crossed the marathon finish line there, families who sprawl on picnic blankets each summer, children who beg parents for a ride on the carousel.
"It's sort of our own backyard," said Donald King, walking hand-in-hand with his 5-year-old daughter, Cameron. "We find it amazing that this remarkable stretch of ground has been maintained to be a playground and haven for New Yorkers for so many years."
Central Park draws 25 million visitors annually to its 58 miles of pedestrian paths and 150 acres of water bodies. No official count on the number of dogs that sniff its trails.
From dachshunds to Great Danes, the park's canine visitors were included in the celebration on Saturday. Hundreds trotted along with their owners in a dog parade, led by a woman holding a giant balloon bouquet and sign that read "150 years of dogs."
Jim Giglio and his family watched the procession from atop a grassy knoll, munching on French bread and brie. The Giglios come to Manhattan from their home in Albany, N.Y., about twice a year _ and never miss a visit to the park.
"There's always something going on," said Lori Giglio, Jim's wife.
The park's actual birthday is Monday, but organizers thought more people would enjoy a weekend birthday party.
The activities spanned the full day, taking advantage of the lush, green surroundings _ an oasis for city dwellers accustomed to an urban life of pavement and skyscrapers. From 59th Street to 110th, the park's north-south borders, New Yorkers and tourists listened to live music, played croquet, sat for a storytelling and basked in sun and shade.
"It's an escape from a small Manhattan apartment," said Larry Wasserman, who used to take his girlfriend, Erica, on dates to summer concerts in the park.
Then they married, and had daughter Jolie. Now the Upper East Side 2-year-old is a regular at the park's zoo and playgrounds.
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press
On the 150th anniversary of the creation of New York's Central Park, LIFE takes a look back at what made this urban oasis so famous for city dwellers and tourists alike. July, 1951 ALFRED EISENSTAEDT / TIMELIFEPICTURES
Life.com
Central Park Classic Pictures
Bird's Eyes View
©cipanp2003.bnl.gov
©www.wirednewyork.com
The Strawberry Fields in Central Park. It is named after the song Strawberry Fields Forever in honor of John Lennon (1940-1980). www.wirednewyork.com
History Of Central Park
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were 60,000 people living in New York City, mostly congregated in lower Manhattan. A wave of immigration that began in the 1830s caused the population to grow to more than 300,000 in the 1840s and swell to over 500,000 by 1850. By mid-century, however, most New Yorkers still lived below 38th Street in crowded, chaotic quarters. The volume of street noise from carriage wheels alone challenged the sanity, much less serenity, of these early residents. To escape the press of bodies and the din of city life, people sought refuge in.
Visit History Of Central Park Site
Central Park In The Movies
Central Park is the most filmed public park in the world. Since 1908, more than 170 movies containing scenes in Central Park have been released. Check out the list below, sorted alphabetically by title, of the movies shot in Central Park. Movie Title Year Alice 1990 A Man's Castle 1933 American Taxi Driver 1987 An Affair to Remember 1957 And Then You Die 1985 A New Life 1987 Anna 1987 Annie Hall 1977 Antz 1998 Arthur II: On the Rocks 1987 Autumn in NY 2000 Baby Boom 1987 Balto 1995 Barefoot in the Park 1967 Beginners 1982 Belle of New York 1952 Big Business 1987 Big Daddy 1999 Blindfold 1966 Blue Jean Cop 1987 Born to Dance 1936 Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961 Breeders 1985 Brewster's Millions 1984 Broadway Danny Rose 1982 Broadway Melody of 1938 1937 Bullets Over Broadway 1994 Bum Rap 1988 Carnal Knowledge 1971 Cat People 1942 Central Park 1933 Charing Cross Road 1986 Cocktail 1987 Crimes and Misdemeaners 1989 Crocodile Dundee II 1987 Daniel 1982 Dead End Kids 1985 Death Wish 1974 Deconstructing Harry 1998 Desperately Seeking Susan 1984 Die Hard with a Vengeance 1995 Double or Nothing 1937 Everyone Says I Love You 1996 Exterminator II 1983 Eyes of Laura Mars 1978 Eyewitness 1981 F/X 1985 Fatal Attraction 1987 Father Gets in the Game 1908 Fingers 1978 Forever Lulu 1986 Fuzz 1972 Ghostbusters 1983 Godspell 1973 Godzilla 1998 Gold Diggers of 1933 1933 Green Card 1990 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Hair 1979 Hallelujah I'm a Bum 1933 Hang Tough 1985 Hard to Get 1938 Hello Again 1987 Highlander 1985 Home Alone 2 - Lost in New York 1992 I Love New York 1986 I Miss You Aunt Jenny 1985 I The Jury 1981 I'm Not Rappaport 1996 Imagine 1986 It Should Happen to You 1954 Jenny 1970 Key Exchange 1984 Kramer vs. Kramer 1979 Laser Man 1987 Last Days of Disco 1998 Little Murders 1971 Little Old New York 1923 Love em or Leave em 1926 Love Story 1970 Lovesick 1982 Made in Argentina 1986 Manhattan 1979 Manhattan Murder Mystery 1993 Marathon Man 1976 Married to the Mob 1987 Melanie Rose 1988 Mighty Aphrodite 1995 Miracle in the Rain 1956 Molly-O 1985 Moscow On the Hudson 1983 My Demon Lover 1986 My Favorite Year 1981 New York Stories 1988 Night People 1981 No Small Affair 1981 Offbeat 1985 Oliver's Story 1978 On The Town 1949 One Fine Day 1996 One More Spring 1935 One Trick Pony 1980 Orphans 1986 Paternity 1982 Politician's Love Story 1909 Popi 1969 Portrait of Jenny 1948 Ransom 1996 Return of Billy Jack 1985 Rich and Famous 1981 Romeo and Juliet 1908 Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers 1972 Scared Stiff 1986 Scrooge 1987 Shadows 1960 Shall We Dance 1937 Shootout 1984 Six Degrees of Separation 1993 Six Weeks 1982 Skates 1981 Someone to Watch Over Me 1987 Soup for One 1981 Space Avenger 1987 Splash 1983 Staying Alive 1983 Strawberry Blonde 1941 Stuart Little 1999 Stuart Little 2 2002 Sweet Charity 1967 Symbiopsychotaxiplasm 1967-1991 Take the Money and Run 1969 That's Me 1968 The Bandwagon 1953 The Believers 1986 The Big Blue 1987 The Brothers McMullen 1995 The Bostonians 1983 The Clock 1945 The Devil's Advocate 1997 The Fan 1981 The Fisher King 1991 The Hunger 1983 The January Man 1988 The Lady from Shanghai 1948 The Manchurian Candidate 1960 The Marrying Kind 1952 The Mirror Has Two Faces 1996 The Missioner 1982 The Muppets Take Manhattan 1983 The Night We Never Met 1993 The Object of My Affection 1998 The Out of Towners 1970 The Out of Towners 1999 The Owl and the Pussycat 1970 The Pickup Artist 1986 The Prince of Central Park 1999 The Producers 1967 The Spanish Prisoner 1998 The Way We Were 1973 The World of Henry Orient 1964 Three Men and A Baby 1987 Thursdays Game 1974 Tootsie 1983 Top Hat 1935 Traces 1981 Two of A Kind 1983 Up in Central Park 1948 Wall Street 1987 When Harry Met Sally 1989 Where's Poppa 1968 Wolfen 1981 You're a Big Boy Now 1961 You've Got Mail 1998 |
REFERENCES:
• Official Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
• St. Petersburg Times
• St. Petersburg Times - Photos
• Frederick Law Olmsted
• Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park
• Central Park
LINKS:
• Central Park Oasis
• New York Photos Menus
LATEST NEWS
Hi-tech halo to mark Central Park's birthday.
Pyrotechnic pixels position huge ring of fireworks.
19 July 2003
HELEN PEARSON
Last year pyrotechnic pixels made a rainbow over New York's East River. © Fireworks by Grucci
The pyrotechnic highlight of most birthdays is a ring of candles. But in honour of Monday's 150th anniversary of New York's Central Park, more than 1,000 microchip-controlled fireworks will explode together into a spectacular halo of light - on September 15.
Light Cycle will begin at 7.45 pm on 15 September 2003.
• Hi-tech halo to mark Central Park's birthday
• Reason To Celebrate Central Park
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