Creating Central Park

This publication celebrates the sesquicentennial of the design of Central Park, one of the most famous American urban landscapes. In October 1857, the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park advertised a public design competition for their new park. The winning submission, announced in April 1858, was that of the English-trained architect Calvert Vaux and the American farmer and writer Frederick Law Olmsted. Their plan was an imaginative yet practical treatment of a most unpromising site. Written by Morrison Heckscher, the Lawrence A. Fleischman Chairman of the American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this volume recounts the story of [New York City's] beloved park, tracing the buildup of the necessary public sentiment, the selection of the site, the design competition, and the actual construction of the park. This is an epic urban story, replete with politics, personal animosity, and repressed desire, as well as idealism, self-sacrifice, and artistic genius. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Director's note / Philippe de Montebello -- A note from the New York City Parks Commissioner / Adrian Benepe -- A note from the President of the Central Park Conservancy / Douglas Blonsky -- The Commissioners' plan and New York City's early parks and squares -- The decision to build an new park and the selection of its site -- Egbert L. Viele and the first park plan -- The design competition -- Vaux, Olmsted, and the Greensward Plan -- Building the park -- Calvert Vaux, Jacob Wrey Mould, and the park buildings -- Richard Morris Hunt and Central Park -- Sculpture in the park -- Central Park completed.