Central Park is the fifth largest park in the city, covering 843 acres and the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually. This massive green space at the center of Manhattan spans 51 city blocks from north to south and three avenues from east to west.
Established, July 21, 1853
New York State Legislature passed the act establishing the Park.
Constructed, 1857
The design by Olmsted and Vaux included internal roads for open-air driving and a grassy stretch - aptly called Sheep Meadow - where sheep grazed until 1934.
The biologically diverse ecosystem has several hundred species of flora and fauna
The urban park lies between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan
It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 42 million visitors annually as of 2016, and is the most filmed location in the world
Recreational activities include carriage-horse and bicycle tours, bicycling, sports facilities, and concerts and events such as Shakespeare in the Park
In 1857, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for the park with their "Greensward Plan".
Its size and cultural position make it a model for the world's urban parks.