From OSWIKI

History

Central Park is an enormous, urban park that occupies over a square mile in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. Approximately thirty million visitors each year come to visit Central Park. Opened in 1859, the park was completed in 1873 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963. Despite its natural look, the park was almost entirely landscaped.

Physical Features

The park contains several lakes and ponds, extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks, one of which is a swimming pool in July and August, the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre billion gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, an outdoor amphitheater called the Delacorte, a very large playground, an area dedicated to checkers and chess with stone tables and benches, and several bridges that carry pedestrian traffic only.

Attractions

Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel. In addition there are numerous major and minor grassy areas, some of which are used for informal or team sports, some are set aside as quiet areas, and there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for children. The park has its own wildlife and also serves as an oasis for migrating birds, especially in the fall and the spring, making it a significant attraction for bird watchers. The 6 miles of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists, skateboarders (mostly longboards), and inline skaters, especially on weekends.

Crime

The nature of Central Park after dark used to be very dangerous. Today however the number of reported crimes in an average year falls between 100 and 150 complaints despite the millions of visitors annually. Visitors are encouraged to use common sense and stay within lighted areas at night. Two forces of law enforcement patrol Central Park: The Central Park Precinct (part of the NYPD's regular force and the Parks Enforcement Control. While the latter are peace officers they can arrest, handcuff and pepper spray anyone with cause. Medical attention can be accessed through the Central Park Medical Unit.

Central Park Channel

The following are areas that can be used in this channel. Please be polite and specify where you are when others enter the channel. Remember this is an enormous park, seeing across it, yelling across it, etc are is simply not possible. If you need to know how far the pool is from the carousel, use the map linked below. If using this channel becomes problematic, we will chop it up into smaller pieces. Click on a link below to view a picture of the location.

• Playground
• Central Park Mall
• Ice Skating rink
• Carousel
• Pool

All others can be taken to #praxis or #suspire

See Also

• Central Park Zoo
• Map of Central Park
• Delacorte Theater
• Conservatory Garden