New York Central Park Map

Description:
This map shows streets, roads, subway stations, pedestrian zones, bridle path, reservoir path, drinking fountains, public washrooms, and call boxes in Central Park

About New York Central Park

Central Park is an urban park in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Fifth Avenue to the east, Central Park West to the west, Central Park South (59th Street) to the south and Central Park North (110th Street) to the north. Covering 843 acres (341 ha), it is the fifth-largest park in the city and the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually.

The New York State Legislature authorized the acquisition of land for the park in 1853. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition with their "Greensward Plan". Construction started that same year, and the first areas opened to the public in late 1858. The park was largely completed by 1876. Building it meant displacing about 1,600 residents, among them the inhabitants of Seneca Village, a settlement founded mostly by free African Americans.

After decades of decline in the mid-20th century, the Central Park Conservancy was founded in 1980. The nonprofit now manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Central Park became a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and was designated a New York City scenic landmark in 1974.

Its best-known features include the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, Bow Bridge, the Mall, Sheep Meadow, the Great Lawn, Belvedere Castle, Strawberry Fields and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. The park also contains the Central Park Zoo and the Delacorte Theater, which hosts the annual Shakespeare in the Park festival.