It is almost time for the kaleidoscopic leaf show in Central Park.
The Conservtaory Garden
North Woods
Glen Span Arch
The Loch
For a more complete list of what to see in autumn at Central Park, see: https://centralparknyc.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/fall-foliage-self-guided-tour-of-central-park/
Last week, I spent the day in New York City, at the Metropolitan Museum, which is in the center of Central Park.
Horses and Carriages run through Central Park all year; and regardless of the season, when I see the horses & carriages I always think of the line from Sleigh Ride: “It’ll nearly be like a picture print of Currier & Ives.”
It will be nearly like a picture print of Currier & Ives
Central Park still has the outdoor skating pond which was painted by Charles Parson and lithographed by Currier & Ives in 1862.
I grew up in the South and until I was almost 60, I never visited NYC–I was almost 65 before I visited Central Park. Like many other people, my vision of NYC was that of Law & Order SVU. Especially in Central Park, I envisioned that predators were lurking behind every lamp post; and that human remains were buried beneath each bush. Having lived most of my life in Mississippi, I am well familiar with the evil tricks that the media can play upon a state. Yet, until I actually visited Central Park, I had no idea that states’ discrimination was a two-way street.
My research tells me that Central Park has been dirty and even dangerous during past times; but my recent visit there can attest to the fact that it is neither now. My research does advise the visitor to leave by dark; but that is true of many places. Personally, I am cautious when walking through any citiy alone– especially after dark.
.
In New York City, no place is more central to art than Central Park
The Metropolitan Museum is on the East — almost in the center of Central Park; and across the way lies the Historical Society Museum [just beyond a row of trees].
The Metropolitan Museum is actually inside Central Park; but it also has a facade on 5th Avenue and 82nd Street.
Just a few blocks up 5th Avenue, at about 89th Street, is the Guggenheim. Although the Guggenheim is not actually in Central Park, when walking along the Eastern side of the park [on a path between the Reservoir and 5th Avenue], the Guggenheim Museum is clearly visible.
South of the Metropolitan Museum, on 70th Street, and East of 5th Avenue, the Frick Collection is located. The Frick Collection building cannot be seen from Central Park; but it is just a few feet away.
South of Central Park itself, on 53rd Street– between 5th Avenue and 6th — the Museum of Modern Art [MOMA] is located.
Matisse: The Cut Outs is on View at MOMA until February 8, 2015
For an excellent overview of Matisse and the exhibit:
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/matisse/
To see a list of pieces included in the exhibit:
Click to access matisse-cut-outs-artworks.pdf
Toulouse-Lautrec Posters & Prints is on view at MOMA until March 22, 2015
Madame Cezanne – A Collection – will open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art November 19, 2014 through March 15, 2015.
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/madame-cezanne
Kandinsky Before Abstraction is on view at the Guggenheim through Spring, 2015
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view/kandinsky-before-abstraction-1901-1911
Although not a special exhibition, the New York Historical Society houses an impressive collection of Hudson River Painters. As the crow flies, it is less than a mile from the New York Historical Society Museum to the actual Hudson River; having the paintings housed here is appropriate. Upon returning from the Hudson River Paintings’ tour in 2012, the following was said about their collection at the New York Historical Society Museum:
“NEW YORK, NY, August 28, 2012 – After a national tour, forty-five iconic works in the New-York Historical Society’s Hudson River School Paintings collection will return to the museum. The display will feature masterworks by Thomas Cole, John F. Kensett, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Church, Jasper F. Cropsey, and Asher B. Durand, with highlights to include Cole’s renowned five-part series The Course of Empire.
The Hudson River School emerged during the second quarter of the nineteenth century in New York City, when a loosely knit group of artists and writers forged the first self-consciously American landscape vision and literary voice. That American vision—still widely influential today—was grounded in a view of the natural world as a source of spiritual renewal and an expression of national identity. This vision was first expressed through the magnificent scenery of the Hudson River Valley region, including the Catskills, which was accessible to writers, artists, and sightseers via traffic on the great river that gave the school its name.
Louise Mirrer, President and CEO of New-York Historical, commented, “The New-York Historical Society houses one of the oldest and most comprehensive collections of landscape paintings by artists of the Hudson River School, and we are excited to have these works back on view in New York for our visitors.”
Because Central Park’s 58 miles of walking trails continuously ascend and descend, the nougats within it are tucked into nooks and crannies that are easy to miss. In most cases you can enjoy one attraction and be unaware that just around the bend–and/or up a flight of steps–there lie 2 or 3 others.
Before I visited the park, I had done hours of researh and mapping; and I still had difficulty finding what I knew was somewhere close
.
Definitely buy a Central Pak Map [it only costs $2.00]; but more importantly download the FREE, interactive, GPS, Central Park App before you leave your house.
I did all of the above; and I still missed a great deal of what I knew [from research] was actually nearby. The Agony and the Ecstasy of the park’s layout is that its jewels are secluded–hidden from sight.
Like Central Park itself , a massive, Secret Garden that is within one of the world’s largest cities, the treasures within are carefully enfolded into the landscape itself. The visitor often has no idea of the throngs of peope that are just around the corner–just behind a narrow row of trees. This allows the viewer the feeling of privacy, while visiting many of the park’s features–once he/she actually finds them; yet, actually finding those features can be a bit tricky.
Belvedere Castle
Yesterday, October 25, 2014, I visited Central Park in NYC. I expected things to be as brilliant as Rapunzel’s room of gold; yet,that is simply not the case. There are tinges of color here and there; but the park is still basically green.
The good news is that if you want to catch Autumn in Central Park, you still have plenty of time. Check out this posting to see what you have in store:
Cautionary Note: Wear comfortable shoes and/or bring a pocket full of cash. Yesterday in the park, I walked over 6 miles and did not tip the iceberg of what there is to see. Looking for Belvedere Castle, I wandered around in the wilderness for miles.
There are 58 miles of walking trails in Central Park. A bicycle cab costs $3.00 a minute [and I walk faster than they ride]. A 20-minute ride in horse and carriage costs $50.00.
View tumbling cascades, rustic bridges, and picturesque pools in the Park’s largest woodland area, a landscape designed to offer a forest retreat right in Manhattan. Route involves many hills and stairs. 75 minutes. Free, registration not required. For directions, please call 212-860-1370, Monday through Friday, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Tours take place rain or shine, except in extreme weather conditions (heavy rain, sustained winds of 30mph or more, snowstorms, and a wind chill below 25 or heat index above 95 degrees).
Groups of seven or more must schedule a Custom Tour three weeks in advance at tours@centralparknyc.org.
1. The Pool
2. Glen Span Cascade
3. Glen Span Arch
4. The Loch –
The Loch
Winding through the Ravine, the Loch, Scottish for “lake,” is partially fed by a natural watercourse, known in the 17th and 18th centuries as Montayne’s Rivulet. It flows under Glen Span and Huddlestone arches before connecting to the Meer. The stream, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is dammed in several places to create three magnificent cascades, some of the greatest features of engineering and art.
Harlem Meer
The Rustic Bridge
The second of the Loch Cascades is next to the Rustic Bridge
7. Manhattan’s Adirondacks
8. Huddlestone Arch
The Loch runs beneath Huddlestone Arch
10. Huddlestone Cascade
1. Conservatory Garden
The Conservatory Garden is Central Park’s six-acre formal garden. It is divided into three smaller gardens, each with a distinct style: Italian, French, and English. The Garden’s main entrance is through the Vanderbilt Gate, on Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets. This magnificent iron gate, made in Paris in 1894, originally stood before the Vanderbilt mansion at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street.
Vanderbilt Gate Entrance to the Conservatory Garden
The Italianate center garden is composed of a large lawn surrounded by yew hedges and is bordered by two exquisite allées of spring-blooming pink and white crabapple trees. A 12-foot high jet fountain plays on the western end of the lawn, backed by tiered hedges and stairs that lead up to a wisteria pergola. On the walkway under the pergola are medallions inscribed with the names of the original 13 states.
Wisteria in the Italianate Garden
The northern, French-style garden showcases parterres of germander and spectacular seasonal displays of spring tulips, and Korean chrysanthemums in autumn, all within an ellipse of Japanese holly. In the center is the charming Three Dancing Maidens fountain by German sculptor, Walter Schott.
To the south is the very intimate English-style garden. There are five mixed borders of trees, shrubs and perennial plants, and five seasonal beds featuring spring bulbs that are followed by annual flower displays. A slope of woodland plants lines the western edge of this garden. At the center is sculptor Bessie Potter Vonnoh’s lovely Frances Hodgeson Burnett Memorial Fountain, a tribute to the author of the children’s book, The Secret Garden. The children — a girl and a boy, said to depict Mary and Dickon, the main characters from the classic — stand at one end of a small water lily pool.
The Conservatory Garden is an officially designated Quiet Zone and offers a calm and colorful setting for a leisurely stroll, and intimate wedding, or an escape with a good book.
For many years the garden was tended by volunteers from the Garden Club of America and in 1983 it was restored by the Central Park Conservancy.
2. The North Woods
Perhaps the most secluded and peaceful area of Central Park, the North Woods (located at Central Park’s northwest corner) offers a taste of the Adirondack Mountains just a few subway stops away from Times Square.
The North Woods is one of the Park’s three woodlands (along with the Ramble and Hallett Nature Sanctuary), offering people and wildlife an oasis of nature in the middle of New York City. The heart of the North Woods is the Ravine. Fallen trees, or snags, are left where they land (unless hazardous or obscuring paths), providing nutrients to surrounding plants, homes to wildlife and a natural look to the landscape.
Once entering through the magnificent rustic Glen Span Arch at the eastern edge of the Pool (between 100th and 103rd Streets), Park visitors are treated to a view of the Loch, a stream rebuilt by the Conservancy in the 1990s. The North Woods is a favorite spot of birdwatchers and hikers. Free guided tours are available regularly. You can learn more about the North Woods, and the Park’s other woodlands (the Ramble and the Hallett Nature Sanctuary), through one of our Woodland Discovery Programs.
http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/north-woods.html
3. The Pool
The Pool
Waterfall at Pool
With its grassy banks, weeping willows, and rushing waterfall, the Pool is one of the most idyllic spots in the Park. Central Park’s designers, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, constructed the Pool by damming up a natural stream that was known as Montayne’s Rivulet. They sent the water along a northeastward course to form both the Loch and the Harlem Meer. Today, the water that gushes out of a grotto on the Pool’s southern shoreline is in actuality New York City drinking water that comes from a pipe hidden deep in the rocks. Many species of birds, fish, and amphibians can be seen at the Pool. In 2003, Central Park Conservancy completed a restoration of the Pool, protecting it as a healthy environment for wildlife and a picturesque landscape for Park visitors.
Glen Span Arch is in the North Woods
The Loch is in the North Woods
Winding through the Ravine, the Loch, Scottish for “lake,” is partially fed by a natural watercourse, known in the 17th and 18th centuries as Montayne’s Rivulet. It flows under Glen Span and Huddlestone arches before connecting to the Meer. The stream, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is dammed in several places to create three magnificent cascades, some of the greatest features of engineering and art.
The Rustic Bridge is in the North Woods
The second of the Loch Cascades [Waterfalls is next to the Rustic Bridge
The Wildflower Meadow is north and west of the Rustic Bridge.
The Huddlestone Cascade is beneath the Wildlower Meadow; and the Huddlestone Arch is west of that.
Huddlestone Arch
Huddlestone Cascade
Manhattan’s Adirondacks [Number 7 on the Above Map] is in the North Woods
Huddlestone Arch is in the North Woods
The Ramble is South of the North Woods
Tupelo Meadow is in the Ramble. During fall, a giant, 3-trunked Tupelo turns brilliantly red [Number 1 on the Ramble Map]
Bonfire Rock is near the Tupelo Meadow
The Head of the Gill [Stream] is in the Ramble [Number 2 on the Ramble Map].
“The Gill is the main stream that bisects theRamble from its source at 77th Street just east of Azalea Pond and travels down the rocky slope of the Gorge where it trickles beneath Gill Bridge 21 into the Lake.
Following the path of the Gill is the true adventure of the Central Park Ramble.
With its circuitous route over a rocky rustic terrain it unveils to the traveler a unique habitat embodying the romance of nature and the excitement of the City skyline, which is never far from view.
Yet here in the Ramble wandering along the edge of the Gill it is easy to forget that a city exists beyond its waters.
With the rushing sound of three cascades along the way from its source at a high grouping of bedrock mass to the Gorge where the stream drapes the edges of a steep rocky incline it is a magical path through a magical wilderness.”
Gill Bridge 21
Gill Bridge 21
Azalea Pond Bridge
“Azalea Pond Bridge is a small rustic bridge beneath which waters from the Gill feed the habitat of Azalea Pond.“
Azalea Pond
“Fed by the Gill, Azalea Pond in the Central Park Ramble is a small pond centerpiece of a well-preserved natural habitat frequented by bird watchers and nature lovers alike. Its blooming azaleas in the spring are a spectacle to view and the many species that frequent this area can always be found with enough perseverance.” This is on the northern part of The Ramble.
Bow Bridge
The Gorge
“With its rocky incline and rushing cascade the Gorge provides the Gill’s final descent to the Lake. Aside from the opportunity for the best climb in Central Park the summit of the Gorge also provides an incredible view of all it oversees.
For many the Gorge all but defines the Ramble with its true wilderness atmosphere including a high Overpass and the cascading Gill which passes beneath it with a rush of sound that makes any visitor to the Park look down and around at the surrounding trees and hanging foliage in awe.
Belvedere Castle
Shakespeare Garden Bridge
The Shakespeare Garden is north of Belvedere Castle
The 20-acre Lake is the largest of Central Park’s naturalistic water bodies.
Bethesda Fountain
The massive, Bethesda Fountain is South of the Eastern side of the Lake
From this spot, you can see the Loeb Boathouse
The Bethesda Fountain [26 feet tall] is the tallest in New York City.
The Lake
Gapstow Bridge in Central Park
Curving gracefully over the neck of the Pond at 59th Street, Gapstow is one of the iconic bridges of Central Park. It is the second bridge in its place. The first, a much more elaborate wood and iron bridge, designed by Jacob Wrey Mould, deteriorated and was replaced in 1896.
The Pond
Entrance to the Central Park Zoo.
Central Park Zoo is just beyond The Pond
“These 38-acres of wilderness called the Ramble are one of the true inspirations of Olmsted and Vaux, the creators of Central Park.
The GillAzalea Pond
“Fed by the Gill, Azalea Pond in the Central Park Ramble is a small pond centerpiece of a well-preserved natural habitat frequented by bird watchers and nature lovers alike. Its blooming azaleas in the spring are a spectacle to view and the many species that frequent this area can always be found with enough perseverance.” This is on the northern part of The Ramble.
Azalea Pond BridgeAzalea Pond Bridge
“Azalea Pond Bridge is a small rustic bridge beneath which waters from the Gill feed the habitat of Azalea Pond.”
4. Balanced Boulder – Perhaps remnants from the Wisconsin Ice Sheet that passed here thousands of years ago.
5. The Point
6. Willow Cove
7. Exposed Boulder
8. Bow Bridge
Bow Bridge
The Bow Bridge Connect the Ramble to Cherry Hill
9. The Island
10. Gill Bridge
Gill Bridge 21
Gill Bridge 22
Gill Rock
“Though not touted as a climbing rock anyone who hikes through the Ramble in Central Park will tell you a trek across the Gill is not complete without scaling the steep face of Gill Rock. ”
The Gorge
“With its rocky incline and rushing cascade the Gorge provides the Gill’s final descent to theLake. Aside from the opportunity for the best climb in Central Park the summit of the Gorge also provides an incredible view of all it oversees.
For many the Gorge all but defines the Ramble with its true wilderness atmosphere including a high Overpass and the cascading Gill which passes beneath it with a rush of sound that makes any visitor to the Park look down and around at the surrounding trees and hanging foliage in awe.”
12. Belvedere Castle
Rustic Shelter
“The second path to the right on the opposite side of Bow Bridge in Central Park leads upward into the intricate maze of paths that seem to randomly penetrate the dense forest of the Ramble.
If you just continue walking along either of the two next intersecting paths you will eventually see, peeking from the foliage which engulfs it this wood shelter.
It is rewarding to take a moment to rest on the rustic bench within and enjoy the sounds of the forest wildlife that surround it. One might imagine a wilderness if the setting were not, in fact, at the heart of the most frenetic city in the world.”
Rustic Stone Arch
“Located within the forested wilderness of the Ramble and just a few feet away from Bank Rock Bridge, stands the Rustic Stone Arch in the heart of Central Park.
One of the most unique and romantic arches in the Park it is wedged into a narrow path surrounded by large boulders. Its high narrow archway seems contained by the limited space and as such fits perfectly into its rustic surrounding.”
Bank Rock Bay
“The narrow inlet of water at the northern tip of the Lake, Bank Rock Bay is a popular bird-watching area that lies just beyond Oak Bridge. Central Park Conservancy recently restored the site as part of a larger effort to secure the Lake’s eroding shoreline. Conservancy staff removed sediment, reconstructed the eroding shoreline, and put in thousands of new plantings. The result is a stabilized water body and a healthy habitat for varied wildlife that calls Central Park home. In 2009, the Conservancy restored the bridge.The complex project involved almost entirely new construction, based on the Calvert Vaux-designed bridge built in the same spot in 1860.”
The Oak Bridge or Bank Rock Bridge
“
“This footbridge crossing Bank Rock Bay was originally built of white oak, hence its early name, Oak Bridge. In 2009, the Conservancy recreated the bridge using historic photographs and original drawings.
“Designed by Calvert Vaux, Oak Bridge is one of the larger and more elegant of the Park’s wooden bridges, it featured panels of decorative cast iron set in the railings. Created as one of the major entrance to the Ramble, it’s become one of the most popular Park destinations for bird watchers and offers one of the best views of the Park and the famous New York City skyline.
“The bridge suffered repeated rounds of deterioration and restoration through the years. It was replaced in 1935 and restored over the ensuing years from an entirely utilitarian perspective. The Conservancy completed its re-creation and restoration using historic photographs, archival records, and Vaux’s original drawings. Almost entirely built anew, the bridge project marked the Conservancy’s most complex reconstruction of an original Park structure. The new bridge is built of steel clad with ornamental castings, and its decking and railings made of wood. The stone abutments and piers that act as supports for the bridge are the only remaining elements of the historic bridge.”
Turtle Pond
Like all of the other water bodies in Central Park, Turtle Pond is man-made, filled with New York City drinking water. It is the home to five species of turtles who live in the Pond year round. It is said that many of these turtles started out as pets in city apartments, but eventually outgrew their urban accommodations, and were brought to the Park by their former owners. The most common species in Turtle Pond is the Red-Eared Slider, which you can identify by the small red spots around their ears. They love basking in the sun on flat logs or rocks, which makes the base of Vista Rock the perfect spot for their sun bathing activities. When the sliders are provoked, they quickly slide back into the cool waters of the Pond. Turtle Pond has the distinction of being the most recent water body added to the Park’s design.
In 1937, the receiving reservoir of the old Croton Water System was filled in to become the Great Lawn, and only a small hard-edged pond was left as a reminder of the once-vast reservoir. Restored by the Central Park Conservancy in 1998, the Pond was reconfigured to a more naturalistic shape and a nature blind was added to the Pond’s northern shore, so Park visitors could quietly observe the Pond’s wildlife without interfering with their natural habitats. The beautiful aquatic plants on the shoreline provide a habitat for birds, dragon and damselflies, and, of course, all those turtles!
The Balcony Bridge
“Supporting the West Drive, this stately stone structure spans a small inlet connecting the Lake and what was originally the Ladies Pond, now Naturalists’ Walk, which was filled in during the 1930s.
The bridge is named for the two bench-lined balconies on its east side – a spot that affords the most scenic view over the Lake toward the city skylines of Central Park South and Fifth Avenues. For a spectacular vantage point of the bridge itself, view it from the Ramble or from a rowboat on the Lake.”
Central Park New York City 