CENTRAL PARK, THE GRID, AND POTPOURRI

Our walk today was through Central Park.  Our initial goal was to see the leaves coming out on the trees.  As usual, surprises appeared, providing entertainment and information.

Let's start with the information... We visited with a park volunteer who was most interesting and helpful.  Carolyn and I have talked with some of you about the grid laid down in planning New York  City and one of our dear friends in NYC gave us a book, published by the city's historical museum, telling about the development of the grid.

We saw the only known, remaining marker used by the surveyors as they originally laid out the grid in 1811.  There was no Central Park then since the park opened 46 years later in 1857.  The sole remaining marker is where 6th Avenue would cross with 65th Street if it were not within the park.

The construction of Central Park in this area of solid rock was accomplished without the benefit of dynamite since Alfred Noble first patented dynamite in 1867.  The removal of the solid rock in the 1850s was made possible with the use of gun powder.

In addition, the volunteer gave us really helpful information for when we walk the streets of New York City and wonder how far we've walked.

In general terms, 20 of the north/south blocks equals 1.0 mile.  In practice, walking from our apartment on 32nd Street to 52nd Street is 1.0 mile.

Regarding the distance between the Avenues, 3 Avenues equals 0.5 mile.  In practice, walking from 5th Avenue to 8th Avenue is 0.5 mile.

At this time Central Park's annual budget is around $45 million/year.  The city provides 15% of the park's revenue for maintenance and operation while the remaining 85% is provided by voluntary public and private interests. It is a beautifully maintained space because of the generosity of people.

People not only come to the park to enjoy the park, people come to the park to perform in every imaginable way.  This is what we saw and enjoyed today.

The colors in the park are everywhere.

Then there's always walking by Greeley Plaza as we enter our apartment building.