Creating Central Park

by Morrison H. Heckscher

This book celebrates the sesquicentennial of the design of Central Park, one of the most famous American urban landscapes. In October 1857, the Board of Commissioners of the Central Park advertised a public design competition for their new park. The winning submission, announced in April 1858, was that of the English-trained architect Calvert Vaux and the American landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted. Their plan was an imaginative yet practical treatment of a most unpromising site.

Written by Morrison Heckscher, the Lawrence A. Fleischman Chairman of the American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this volume recounts the story of New York City’s beloved park, tracing the buildup of the necessary public sentiment, the selection of the site, the design competition, and the actual construction of the park. This is an epic urban story, replete with politics, personal animosity, and repressed desire, as well as idealism, self-sacrifice, and artistic genius.

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