Arsenal

The Arsenal is a symmetrical brick building with restrained Gothic Revival details, located in Central Park near the Central Park Zoo at 64th Street and Fifth Avenue. Built between 1847 and 1851 as an armory for the New York State Militia, it predates the park itself and is the second-oldest surviving structure in Central Park. The building features brick laid in English bond, a fortified central block, and flanking half-octagonal towers. Its carved doorway displays martial symbols, including a bald eagle, cannonballs, sabers, and pikes. 

Once threatened with demolition, the Arsenal was repurposed and renovated in the 20th century. Today it houses offices for NYC Parks and related organizations, the Arsenal Gallery, and the Central Park Zoo. Over time, it has also served as a zoo, police precinct, weather bureau, and temporary home for the American Museum of Natural History. The original Greensward Plan for Central Park is preserved on its third floor.

Jacob Wrey Mould, the Architect responsible for much of the ornamental detail at Bethesda Terrace and elsewhere in the park, remodeled the Arsenal interior in 1870.

From 1914 to 1924 the Manhattan Parks Department operated out of the newly built Municipal Building in Lower Manhattan and the Arsenal deteriorated to such an extent that in 1922 a headline in the New York Times read: “Parks Arsenal a Near Ruin.”

At that time the City appropriated $75,000 for an overhaul of the Arsenal. Most of the space was set aside for Parks Department offices. During reconstruction an underground spring and a secret passage were discovered (the latter possibly from the building’s days as an arsenal, for the undercover transfer of arms). The restoration was completed in 1924.

The Arsenal underwent another complete renovation in 1934 as the first and only headquarters of a citywide unified Parks Department. Inside, the lobby is adorned with floor-to-ceiling murals by Allen Saalburg depicting Civil War–era New York scenes. Saalburg depicted a series of scenes depicting recreational activities, notable park structures, and flagship parks. 

Located in the historic Arsenal Building in Central Park, the Arsenal Gallery is dedicated to examining themes of nature, urban space, New York City parks, and park history through a diverse schedule of art and history exhibitions. Committed to providing unaffiliated artists, independent curators, and non-profit organizations with an accessible exhibition venue, the Arsenal Gallery welcomes proposals for solo or group exhibitions. The building features a massive mural in its lobby funded by the Works Progress Administration.