Park avenues

The Pond

THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Sara Cedar Miller, historian-photographer, Central Park Conservancy (centralparknyc.org)

1 “The Pond is an entirely man-made body of water that can be turned on and off like a giant bathtub. A few years ago we turned it off to do restorations on the whole basin.”

2 “The Dairy, which now houses the park’s visitor center, doesn’t house any cows. Nor did it ever. It was first intended as a place where park visitors could buy fresh milk, but by the time it opened in 1869, milk production in the city had improved to the point where fresh milk could be shipped in daily.”

3 “Sunken transverses like this one at 65th Street are one of the reasons Olmsted and Vaux won the design competition for Central Park in 1857. It separated the park from the traffic. To walk over the transverse, pedestrians use one of the first modern highway bypasses ever built.”

4 “The fully restored Minton tile ceiling was reinstalled under the Bethesda Terrace only recently after being in storage for decades. It’s the only time these tiles were ever used for a ceiling. Many people who know the park very well still haven’t seen these tiles.”

Birdle Path

THE FOODIE
“Wildman” Steve Brill, naturalist (wildmanstevebrill.com)

1 “Along the Bridle Path, you’ll find the common spicebush, and those leaves make a great tea. The Native Americans used it to treat fever.”

2 “Japanese knotweed grows along this part of the Lake. It tastes like rhubarb; you can put it on salads, and it contains resveratrol, the same thing found in red wine that protects against aging.”

3 “In the Ramble are Kentucky coffee trees. All around them on the ground are seeds you can roast into caffeine-free coffee. They are quite delicious.”

4 “Cattails grow along the water. If you pull up the stem and peel the shoot, it tastes just like cucumber or zucchini. But you have to do it before the flower that looks like cattail blooms. Then the shoot becomes hard as wood.”

Click to enlarge

Pale Male and Lola

THE BIRD-WATCHER
Sarah Elliott, publisher of The Elliott Newsletter: Nature Notes from Central Park

1 “Red-tailed hawks Pale Male and Lola are best viewed from across the street in the park.”

2 “The King of Poland statue attracts lots of birds. Warblers, orioles, kingfishers and robins are all over the place. Of course, it’s the trees around the statue that attract them.”

3 “There are plenty of birds on the reservoir: You can see more than 100 birds at a time on the water. There are at least four kinds of gulls alone: great black-backed, herring, ring-billed and laughing.”

The Blockhouse

THE BOSS
Adrian Benepe, Parks and Recreation commissioner

1 “There is a waterfall at the Pool that comes out of a cave, which I call the ‘Cave of Mystery.’ Most people don’t realize that it is just regular New York City water coming out and flowing through the park. The same water comes out of your faucet.”

2 “The Blockhouse is a little-known relic built during the War of 1812 to defend the city from a British attack from the north. It was constructed on the highest point in the park.”

3 “Huddlestone Arch is unlike any other bridge in the park. It is held together completely without mortar. It looks like someone just dumped a big pile of rocks in the road and it formed a natural arch.”

Click to enlarge

Huddlestone Arch

THE HISTORIAN
Barry Lewis, architectural scholar and walking tour guide

1 "When entering on 72nd Street, instead of going straight ahead into Strawberry Fields like most people, head to the left or the right towards the pergolas and suddenly you are down a whole level from the street. Within two minutes of entering the park, you have literally dropped out of the city."

2 "The West Side Drive is curved to simulate a country road and get visitors out of the city mindset. It was originally planted on both sides with evergreens, and carriage rides would be green even the dead of winter."

3 "The Gothic Bridge is one of the most unique sights in the whole park. It was built to show off the artistic potential of cast iron."

4 "The North Meadow is much larger and less crowded than Sheep's Meadow on the south end of the park, where people tend to be piled blanket to blanket. The North Meadow was Olmsted and Vaux’s prelude to the great Long Meadow in Prospect Park."

For an interactive Central Park map, go to centralpark.com.

Our featured walks:

• The Zen walk: Get back to nature—without spas or drum circles.
• The stoner's walk: Blaze up and turn off Aqua Teen for a real-life trip. Wait, what’d you just say?
• The romantic walk: Yeah, it includes a sunset. (You won’t be making fun when you get lucky.)
• The night walk: It’s quiet, but not too quiet—some New York sights are best seen in the dark.
• The Queens Boulevard walk: Conquer the Avenue of Death and claim your reward: beer and a fantastic view.
• The dog walk: Take your furry confrere on a deluxe gambol that’s good for both of you.
• The other Fifth Avenue walk: There’s no Saks, and that’s what we like about this multiethnic stretch in Brooklyn.
• The Met walk: Don't let this giant art palace daunt you – hit the highlights, then let tourists descend.

Plus:

• Park avenues: Central Park offers more than half-naked Frisbee players in Sheep Meadow—witness rare birds, waterfalls and (bonus) free coffee on these five expert walking tours.
• Walk of shame: Our hot fuzz tickets slow movers, phone talkers and guy-who-stops-at-top-of-stairs.
• Submit your own walk: Cartography is fun. Show us your favorite ambles using Google Maps.