Central Park’s varied lawns, water, woods, and curving routes were designed to offer a countryside experience inside Manhattan. Beneath its pastoral scenery lies a planned civic landscape and the history of communities displaced to create it.
Guide preview
The shifting scenery around you is part of the design. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux shaped Central Park with meadows, woodland, water, and winding routes that let visitors move through changing landscapes rather than follow the rigid city grid.
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Quick facts
- Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Central Park.
- The park was created beginning in 1858.
- About 1,600 residents were displaced from the site, including residents of Seneca Village.
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