Central Park offers New Yorkers and visitors alike a bucolic respite that has shaped the city’s history in terms of planning and parks recreation. The origins of the park emerged as early as the 1840s, when wealthy New Yorkers traveled to Europe and visited the beautiful parks in Paris and London. When they returned home, they recognized New York City lacked these amenities1.
1. Rosenzweig, Roy and Elizabeth Blackmar. The Park and The People: A History of Central Park. Cornell University Press, Ithaca: 1992, p. 15.