21 Jul:Let’s Build Central Park
New York City’s iconic green space, Central Park – larger than Monaco and Vatican City combined – was legislated for on 21st July, 1853. Over 750 acres of Manhattan were allocated for America’s first major landscaped public park; a grand plan which aimed to rival European cities.
Rocky and swampy land, previously home to small farms and settlements, was bulldozed – at a cost that exceeded the purchase of Alaska. A competition produced Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s winning design, a version of an English pastoral landscape that reflected the natural beauty of New York State. Their design included a parade ground, fountains, skating arena, and ladies’ ‘refreshment salon’.
In this episode Arion, Rebecca and Olly question just how inclusive this ‘park for everybody’ truly was; consider how the upper classes benefited from the property opportunity presented by its construction; and check out the latest park’s trend: pizza box recycling bins…
Further Reading:
• ‘Almanac: On July 21, 1853, hundreds of acres of land in the center of Manhattan were set aside for Central Park, one of the world’s most glorious public spaces’ (CBS News, 2019): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-central-park-new-york-city/
• ’12 Secrets of New York’s Central Park’ (Smithsonian Magazine, ): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/12-secrets-new-yorks-central-park-180957937/
• ’How Central Park Was Created Entirely By Design and Not By Nature’ (Architectural Digest, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AVymQ-SU3A