The Ranger Desk

POW: Central Park

Welcome to the Park of the Week Newsletter for May 2, 2024. This week we’re featuring the most visited urban park in the United States.

Central Park

a large block of green space ringed by many buildings
Central Park is located between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan. (Photo by Jermaine Ee on Unsplash)

Location

Manhattan, New York City, United States

Claim to fame

One of the top tourist attractions in New York City, Central Park is visited by an estimated 42 million visitors every year. Designed in 1858 by Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux, Central Park is world-famous as a masterpiece of urban landscape architecture.

Reason to visit

With 843 acres (341 hectares) of green and blue set amid a gray desert of buildings and congestion, Central Park is an oasis of calm and natural beauty in one of the busiest cities in the world. The park hosts countless events, has rolling green meadows, glassy ponds and lakes, tree-lined walks, and recreational fields and facilities. 

Wild Fact

Central Park is entirely overseen and maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit funded mainly by individual donations. The Conservancy hires its own staff of park employees and generates its own funding of almost $100 million annually, allowing the city to spend its money on its many other parks. The Conservancy was created over 40 years ago by concerned citizens after the park had been neglected, helping restore Central Park to its former glory.

Want to learn more about Central Park? Visit the park’s website.

Thanks for reading. Each Thursday, we send out an image and description of a unique natural or cultural treasure like the one above. Learn new things, explore special places, and find your inspiration: sign up for the free newsletter today.