Secrets of Central Park

Part II: Middle of the Park
​(72nd Street to the Great Lawn)

By Laurie Lewis
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The previous issue of this newsletter explored secrets in the southern section of Central Park. This issue reveals hidden treasures in the middle of the Park, the area between 72nd Street (except for Bethesda Terrace, which was covered previously) and the Great Lawn.

As in the southern part of the Park, many of the highlights in the center section are not what they seem. The two largest examples are the Lake and the wooded area just north of it, the Ramble. Both of these landscapes look like they have been here forever, but they actually were created in the mid-nineteenth century. The designers of the Park, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, drained the swampy area located in the 70s, installed pipes, and filled the large hole with water from the city’s municipal supply. Most people are surprised to learn that the water in the Lake, like in all the water bodies in Central Park, is essentially city tap.

Lake and Ramble

​The Lake was the first area of the Park that the public was able to enjoy. It opened for ice skating in December 1858 and was an immediate hit. The next summer, the Ramble became the second section of the Park to welcome visitors. Just as they had taken advantage of the swampy terrain in the area that became the Lake, Olmsted and Vaux planted trees in the adjacent boulder-heavy area to create the woodland that became the Ramble. The newly planted forest was so sparse at first that a red object hoisted atop the high rock at the northern end of the Ramble to signal that the Lake was fit for ice skating was visible throughout the Park.

The Lake and Ramble are about halfway between the east and west sides of Central Park. Let’s go east and re-enter the Park at 72nd Street. Make a right and then another quick right. Do you notice the recessed area? Many people don’t; they keep heading down the path and miss a curiosity hidden in plain sight. The stone bench with words in Latin is the Waldo Hutchins Bench; Hutchins was an early Park commissioner. The bench was designed to tell time in two ways. At the center top is a sundial. On the ground in front of the bench are curved lines with more lettering.  On the spring and fall equinoxes, the shadow of the bench should fall on these lines at 10 AM, noon, and 2 PM. However, since the change in daylight savings time in 2005, the cement clock has been off by an hour in the spring. Plus, trees in the area usually are so full in early autumn that it is too shady for the bench to cast a shadow.

Markings on the ground in front of the Waldo Hutchins Bench. It was designed to cast a shadow on these lines at specific times on the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

The path in front of the bench leads down to the model boat pond, officially called Conservatory Water. At the north end of this pond is the Alice in Wonderland sculpture, which includes not just Alice but many of the characters in the story. Children usually are climbing on the whimsical sculpture, which would please the artist Jose de Creeft and the benefactor George Delacorte. Alice’s secret: Delacorte didn’t just donate money for the statue; he is, literally, the face of the Mad Hatter.

Part of the Alice in Wonderland sculpture. The model for the Mad Hatter is the man who paid for the sculpture, George Delacorte.

​One day when I was enjoying the shady area just east of Alice, I discovered a special tree. I call it the Bear Tree. The “bears” are actually burls, rounded growths on the tree trunk. How many bears can you find climbing on this tree?

A tree I call the Bear Tree, although in this photo the "bears" (burls, actually) look more like monkeys. See it in real life, and let me know whether you think they're bears or monkeys.

Let’s head to East Drive, one of several roads in the Park that cyclists can enjoy. Most people don’t look high enough to notice what's lurking above 76th Street. Don’t be shocked! That panther poised to attack is not real. It’s a sculpture by Edward Kemeys called Still Hunt.

A panther high atop East Drive at 76th Street. Photo by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

We’ll go into the Ramble now and discover several secrets in this man-made woodland. Hidden in the Ramble is a cave formed by large boulders. Foliage usually obscures the cave, and no walking path leads directly to it. But at one time boaters on the Lake could row right into the mouth of the cave. It has been closed for decades because of safety concerns.

A hidden cave in the Ramble

Staying in the Ramble, we’ll head east and continue to climb higher. For a few weeks around Christmas, an ordinary evergreen becomes a pet memorial where New Yorkers hang pictures of their deceased dogs, cats, and other furry friends. Like some other secrets of Central Park, the exact location, by general agreement, is not common knowledge, although I’ve given enough clues that the intrepid explorer can discover it. I found this emotional memorial the way most people do, wandering through the Park on a winter day.

For a few weeks every winter, this evergreen in the Ramble is decorated like a Christmas tree, with pictures of deceased pets hung like ornaments. Photo by Alice Momm.

At the top of the Ramble, before Belvedere Castle, is a fenced-in area that looks out of place in this naturalistic setting. It houses several weather instruments. When you hear “the temperature in Central Park is …,” you now know that this is where it was recorded. Why would meteorologic instruments be here? Because in the mid-twentieth century, Belvedere Castle served as a weather station.

It's not a way to communicate with aliens! It's the automated weather station in Central Park. 

The Castle was never the home of royalty. That’s obvious considering how small it is. Belvedere is Italian for “beautiful view.” The Castle was built to entice visitors to one of the highest points in Central Park to enjoy the scenery.

We’ll leave the beautiful view, descending by the stairs at the west side of the Castle landscape. Past the lawn at the bottom of the stairs, you can go to the right down the steps built into the rock on which the Castle sits or to the left down a path that winds into Shakespeare Garden. If you take either of these routes, you’ll miss another secret of Central Park, the curved Charles B. Stover Bench, which is just below the juncture of these paths. The structure is also known as the Whispering Bench. When someone speaks softly into a corner of the bench, another person can clearly hear what’s said by leaning into the opposite corner. Stover, incidentally, was a social reformer and advocate for outdoor play in densely populated, early twentieth century New York.

The Charles B. Stover Bench in Shakespeare Garden, also called the Whispering Bench

The final secret in the central section of Central Park backtracks a bit, to 77th Street across West Drive. A double arch resembling a bird flexing its wings is aptly named Eaglevale Arch, although it also has the prosaic name West 77th Street Stone Arch. The Park has many arches, but this is the only double one. The purpose of the arches was to separate traffic, with wheeled vehicles---originally carriages, now mostly bicycles---going above and pedestrians walking underneath. The soft composition of the western path under Eaglevale Arch reveals its purpose: it was a bridle path. Under the other arch is the pedestrian walkway. But it wasn’t always that. Originally, female ice-skaters enjoying Ladies Pond, a women-only skating area, glided under this arch. Unlike most early features of the Park, Ladies Pond is long gone, replaced by a grassy meadow.

Eaglevale Arch, or West 77th Street Stone Arch, the only double arch in Central Park.

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This concludes our exploration of secrets in the middle of Central Park. The next issue of this newsletter will cover secrets in the northern section. In the meantime, explore the Park on your own to discover its hidden treasures, or take a tour with me. To book a tour, email [email protected].

Photos are by the author unless otherwise specified.

New York City Firsts: Big Apple Innovations That Changed the Nation and the World  by Laurie Lewis tells about more than 300 New York originals. Read about the birth of the safety pin, the Oreo, the rock musical, Central Park, and hundreds of other New York creations. 

Find out more about the book, including links to buy it, at www.nycfirsts.com.
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Tours

We are no longer scheduling public tours that are open to anyone, but we are available for private tours. If you would like ideas for private tours, please see the Tours section of this website.

Central Park is a favorite year-round. Email [email protected] to discuss a custom tour of some of its best-kept secrets.