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| Keywords: 1868 Vaux ^ Olmstead Map of Central Park, New York City - Geographicus - CentralPark-CentralPark-1869.jpg An altogether extraordinary hand colored map of New York City ™s Central Park prepared and printed for inclusion in the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park This is an extremely rare variant on the map of Central Park that originally appeared in the 1862 Comissioner ™s Report This variant lacks the title which is printed at the top of the 1862 map but depicts more of the surrounding area especially the Upper West Side and features a decorative border Depicts the park as a whole and includes pathways lakes buildings individual trees rocks and elevation measurements The streets and avenues surrounding the park as well as the tramways that existed at the time are also noted This extraordinary map reveals Central Park as conceived by the Landscape Architects and indeed artists Vaux and Olmstead Vaux and Olmstead were awarded the task of designing Central Park in 1853 by the City Common Council Olmstead ™s vision drove the overall design while Vaux concentrated his attentions on bridges buildings and other structures within the park The creation of Central Park which was to consist of some 800 acres of public forest pathways promenades lakes bridges and meadows was a seminal moment in civic urban design The park itself was designed as a whole with every tree pond and bench meticulously planned Olmstead wrote Every foot of the parks surface every tree and bush as well as every arch roadway and walk and been placed where it is for a purpose Historian Gloria Deak writes There was a staggering amount of work to be done to transform the area into a blend of pastoral and woodland scenery This involved the design and construction of roadways tunnels bridges arches stairways fountains benches lamp posts gates fences and innumerable other artifacts It also involved the supervision of an army of about five thousand laborers ¦Olmsted to whom most of the credit goes insisted on seeing the multidimensional project as a single work of art which he was mandated to create For this purpose he ventured to assume to himself the title of ˜artist ™ Today because of Vaux and Olmstead ™s efforts New York Yorkers ourselves included have the privilege of enjoying what is perhaps the finest example of a planned urban public recreation area in the world 1868 Size in 30 5 8 5 object history credit line accession number CentralPark-CentralPark-1869 Geographicus-source PD-art Maps of Central Park Old maps of Manhattan New York City 1868 maps New York City | ||||
