Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1869-08-27
The Central Park of N. Y. City.
ANOTHER LETTER FROM REV. WIN. GUILD.

sometimes called the lungs" of the great
metropolis, is situated in nearly the geo.
graphical center of Manhattan island.
Commencing at seth st. it extended
half mile in width; its eastern boundary
being 5th Avenue; its western, Sth Ave
nue., thence running north between these
Avenues to 120th st. distance of three
miles from its southern boundary to its
extreme limits north, being in shape
parallelogram.
The first commissioners appointed
were Mayor FERNANDO WooD and street
commissioner TAYLOR under city ordi
nance approved May 2lst, 1856. The
following year the board was increased
to nine persons, with WASHINGTON lR-
WING as President,
Among their earliest actions was to
offer four premiums of two thousand,
one thousand, seven hundred and fifty,
and five hundred dollars respectively,
for the first, second, third and fourth best
plans for laying out tho Park. That pre-
sented by FREDERICK LAW OLMsTEAD,
and CALVERT VAUx was accepted nearly
as offered, May 18th, 1853. Mr.. OLM-
STEAD then received the appointment of
architect in chief with Mr.. VAUx as con-
sulting architect.
They at once organized working
force, and about June LIST the work of
laying out the Park was commenced.
Mr.. OLMsTEAD continued his labor in
this position until 1868, when he resig
ed to accept the position of general su.
perintendaut Of the "Mariposa Mining
Co." of California with salary of ten
thousand dollars per annum.
Since the commencement of Mr.. Ohm
sTEAD's labors the work has been one
continued and entire success to the pres
ent day, and central Park to-day is nat
urally aud artificially unsurpassed in the
world. In size it is the eighth of all the
great public pleasure grounds. The sew
en- larger ones are the " Prater" at Wen
ma, Phoenix Park at Dublin, Hampton
Court, and Bushy Parks, (togethcr) near
London, the Bots de Boulogne at Paris.
Richmond Park, near London, the Gar
dens at Versailles, and Winsor Great
Park, whose dimensions are uccessiyely,
from the one thousand five hundred acres
of the Prater, up to the three thousand
five hundred of the Great Park at Win
sor.
Central park contains rather more
than one thousand acres. During Mr..
OLMsTEAD's superintendent and use to
Jan. LIST. 1868, the Park was the result
of about one million days work. These
days works not reckoning variety OF
smaller items, had excavated and carted
two and half millions Of cubic yards
of earth and stone; excayated three hun.
dred and four thousand cubic yards Of
rock, by blowing it out with one hundred
and sixty six tons of power; built about
eighty seven thousand cubic yards Of
masonry; laid nearly four hundred thou.
sand feet of sewers and drains, and near
ly eighty thousand feet of water pipes;
laid more than six million brick, and set
out more than one hundred ard sixty
thousand trees and shrubs. This i'm
mense amount Of labor and its results
was attained Mt cost of over seven mill
lions of dollars, and although the ex-
penditure Of this immense sum would
seem to make Central Park q costly lux
ury, yet the increase of taxation neces-
sary to meet this amount is greatly coun-
terbaianced By the increased value of the
property in its vicinity, the taxation on
which reduced the rates of the whole to
an amount to the individual, of only seq.
en- cents annually.
Of the one thousand acres it occupies,
about one hundred at the extreme north
efn boundary is comprised in what was
known as Harlem Flats, which is being
rapidly reclaimed. The new Reservoir
occupies one hundred and six acres and
the old one thirty five. The Lake" at
the Mall, twenty acres, and three other
smaller bodies of water, about nine acres
more. Three systems of ways for tray
el, besides the transverse roads conduct
visitors around the Park. A carriage
drive, bride road, and foot paths.
Archways carry the bride road over
or under the drive, and the foot path
over or under both the others when they
are to be crossed. There are about ten
miles of drive, six of bride road, and
over twenty miles of foot path. The
Mall and Terrace are little to the right
of the middle Of the lower portion of the
Park as you look northward. Behind
it, down at the southeast corner is the
Skating pond and off at the right of the
| north end of the latter is The Arsenal