10 things you didn’t know about Central Park

You already knew that Central Park receives around 37.5 million visitors a year, that it is crossed by 93 km of trails and that there is something to do there in summer and winter, morning and afternoon. . Did you also know that Central Park has appeared in over 240 films? That it was once populated by sheep? That you can adopt a bench there? We knew it! (that you didn’t know). But that’s not all…

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1 / And Man created the Park

Central Park was America’s first entirely man-made public park. And yes, its 341 hectares (an area larger than the Principality of Monaco) covered with 25,000 trees, 9,000 benches and 36 small bridges were carefully chosen by Frederik Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, and the parc was born after 15 years of hard work.

2 / Known once, known always

Since 1908, Central Park appeared in 240 films, raising it to the rank of the most filmed park in the world. It was also in this park that country singer Garth Brooks performed in 1997 to an audience of 980,000 fans, at the end of one of the most watched concerts in the world.

3 / Our animal friends

Rats, cockroaches, pigeons, and crocodiles inhabit New York City? Impossible is not New Yorker, and a caiman once haunted the murky waters of one of the Central Park lakes. From ” gator wrestlers “, those ” Crocodile Dundee Capable of controlling an alligator with their bare hands, were even dispatched from Florida to catch the beast. And they succeeded, rest assured.

4 / When nature rhymes with culture

Central Park contains cultural treasures at every corner of the road, like around thirty beautiful sculptures, most of which come from private collections and represent writers, poets or fictional characters. We also find in Central Park the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which has around 2 million works of art. So you have something to take care of.

5 / Where are we going?

Whether you are local or not, it has happened to you to get lost in this Manhattan green lung. Failing to find your way around the moss in the trees, you just have to look up at the lampposts which are a very good way to find your way around. Indeed, there are 1,600 of them, and they are all numbered, letting you know where you are in relation to the neighboring streets: the 8316 lamppost tells you for example that you are near 83rd St., on the east side. The first 2 digits refer to the street number, the last two where you are east or west level, with the even digits representing east, and the odd ones, west.

6 / Before, there was that …

In the early days of Central Park, sheep grazed serenely in the middle of what is now aptly called ” Sheep Meadow “, And they remained on the premises until 1934. Likewise, the beautiful lawn,” The Great Lawn “, On which you picnic was previously submerged, and the water which was contained there was used to feed New York City in water for many years.

7 / And even before … there was that

Thousands of years ago, Central Park was covered with glaciers, the most important of which, Wisconsin Glacier, disappeared 12,000 years ago. Evidence of this icy presence can still be seen in the huge rocks that dot the park.

8 / You can choose your family

Between your morning jog, your relentless frisbee session and your long stroll where you felt lost (that was before you were lit by the street lights), you really need to sit down. What if your illustrious posterior could find refuge on your own bench? In Central Park, you can indeed “ adopter »One of the 9,000 benches, ie having your name engraved on it, against a check for $ 10,000. And if you don’t have time to sit down, you can adopt a tree, to enjoy its shade.

9 / A very quiet fishing trip

This may not necessarily be the activity that comes to your mind first when you think about Central Park, but know that it is accessible to you: fishing. From April to October, you can plan to laze around Harlem Meer, after registering at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, where you will also be given a small fishing rod for free. You will have to plan something other than a catfish on the grill for lunch because you have to release all your catches.

10 / The small and the giant

The very visited Central Park Zoo once hosted the famous Gus, the polar bear infamous for being the first captive animal to be put on Prozac. Unlike this giant of nature, the park is also home to one of the smallest centipedes in the world, discovered in 2002 by a team of scientists, and which measures just over 12 millimeters.

Practical information

Central Park New York, NY 10024