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Date: Built between 1857 and 1859.
Architects: Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux.
Central Park in History: The city's mid-nineteenth-century
upper class is primarily responsible for hatching the idea for Central
Park: They desired a public space on a par with those found in Europe.
The poverty-stricken population who lived on the park's site in
shanties was presumably less thrilled with the notion. Still, the
project went forward, and within a few years, the park was visited
by more than five million people annually.
Central Park Today: In 1980, the Central Park Conservancy
was founded; since then, the group has raised more than $300 million
for the park, insuring that Central Park remains the preeminent
public space in the country.
Trivia tidbits: Six percent of the total acreage in Manhattan
belongs to Central Park. The upper loop is 5.2 miles. The lower
loop is 1.7 miles. To walk all of the pedestrian paths in the park
would cover 58 miles!
Address: 59th (Between 5th Avenue and Central Park West)
to 110th Streets
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