I am writing this from an internet cafe in New York. I am on holiday, but I still feel the need to use the computer! That' s because I have just visited Central Park and felt that I must share it with people back at home who are thinking of going there...
...From almost any high point in Manhattan, what holds the eye the most is not the Empire State building or the Chrysler building or even the Statue of Liberty, but this huge rectangular green park right in the heart of this urban jungle. Central Park fills 843 acres and runs for about 50 city blocks between the Upper East and Upper West sides.
The park was built on the decision way back in 1850 by the mayor because he felt that the only other thing New York needed was a large public park. This was a much talked about idea of the time as everyone felt it was appropriate.
So, in 1856, the city paid $5 million for the piece of land which is well to the north of the city. This piece of land that was to become one of the most famous parks in the world was,at the time, littered with pig farms and used as a garbage dump. 2 years later, work began on the park.
The parks design emphasised the natural form of the land: copses and rock outcrops were developed, and about 5 million trees were planted. Bridges were built to link the park with different places in the city.
There were tree lined driveways for the wealthy to parade up and down with their horse drawn carriages, and footpaths for the working class to stroll along. The park was described as 'a specimen of God's handiwork'.
Though now enclosed by buildings and with many monuments in it, Central Park is still a great escape from the busy city streets. The fifth avenue and upper west side apartment buildings that tower above the park simply add to the park's in-the-city effect.
Getting lost inthe park is very easy, so make sure you pick up a map from one opf the many shops and stalls that surround it; there are plenty of information desks along the outsides of it.
From the south of the park, the first place to go to, as i did, is the Diary. This is a very romantic gothic style hut type place which was originally built in 1870 as a place where milk maid would serve up milk to mothers and young children, as this was a luxury at the time. This building is now used as the park's main visitor centre, which has some displays and examples of park walks.
North of the diary, across the 65th Transverse, there is a place called the Sheep Meadow, which as its name suggests did once hold sheep during the park's earliest years. Here, you'll find numerous displays about the history of this place and its purposes.
Now, if you walk just east of the Sheep Meadow, you'll find the beginnign of the Mall, which was one of the first completed sections of the parkand its only formal area. This is a tree lined avenue which is really popular for promenading along and will often be quite full of people. There is also some donkey riding and go-carting if you feels inthe mood for doing something a bit more active.
If you go to the south of the Mall from here, you will find the Literary Walk, which has statues and information about Shakespeare, Robert Burns and sir Walter Raleigh as well as loads of others.
Going north, the Mall leads to the COncert ground and the Numberg Bandshell, which are the places where live music and shows take place on most summer weekends, although there was nothing there this weekend, which was a shame.
If you cross over the 72nd street transverse, you enter Bethesda terrace. Athte heart of this lies the elegant Angel of the Waters statue, which is probably the most famous statue inthe park. This statue was unveilled to commemerate the opening of the park way back in 1873. This also gave New York its first regular supply of fresh water.
If you like water, there is more of it directly north of the the terrace in hte form of a beatiful lake, appropriatley named The Lake. It is permitted to paddle inthe lake which is the perfect way to cool down on a hot summer's day such as yesterday! The lake is very big and boats are available for hire on the waters edge for about $5 for half an hour.
If you want to do something more enrgetic, cross the lake over Bow bridge (an original cast iron bridge and one of seven) to the Ramble. This 33 acre part of the park has bird houses and beehives, and good for bird watching if you like that sort of thing.
Across from the ramble, there is a replica Scottish cast called Belvedere castle. It was apparently build for no reason other than for fun, altough it used to be used as a weather station.
To the left theres a path leading to the Shakespeare garden and the Great Lawn which are full of many varieties of trees and flowers, but which also has concrete sports grounds, where people were playing basketball and inline skating.
For other things to do, you can hire bikes, and skates from one of the kiosks spread around the park from $20 and you can also take horse drawn traditional carrige rides aroud the park if you dont want to walk- these are also with tour guides.
Be prepared to use up a whole day just on Central Park alone as it is so big and there are so many things to see and do! There are a few places to eat and even a bar on the park for lunch.
One last thing which has to be mentionned is that the park can be unsafe, especially in the woodlands and at night time. It is recommended that tourists do not go there at night as there have been many reportings of muggings and even more serious crimes. There are a lot of strange characters and gangs hanging around the park at night so it would be in your own best interests not to go risk a night time visit.
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