22 Public Parks. 



restricted to such arbitrary rules. There are plenty of other ways 

 by which its national character can be shown, and every portion of 

 our country represented, in full consonance with the beautiful in art 

 and nature. 



NEW YORK. 



The Central Park of New York is one of the largest and most 

 important works of the kind, not alone in this country but the world. 

 The genius of Downing laid the foundation for it, but it was not until 

 after his death that the ground was appropriated for this purpose by 

 an act of the Legislature of New York, and it was not until the 

 close of 1857 ^^^ the actual purchase of the land was completed. 

 Premiums for designs amounting to $4,000 were at this time offered 

 by the Commissioners intrusted with the conduct of the enterprise, 

 and early in June, 185S, the plan svibmitted by Fred. Law Olmsted 

 and Calvert Vaux was adopted by the board, after extraordinary 

 competition, thirty-five studies having been presented, and some of 

 them from Europe. 



The park is two and one-half miles long and half a mile wide, 

 and is being formed in two parts, connected by a narrow strip of 

 ground containing the old and new reservoirs for supplying the city 

 with water ; the former a quadrangular basin of mason work, the 

 latter of an irregular curved ovitline, with an earth embankment to 

 retain the water — in all covering about 150 acres. The original park 

 inclosure contains 776 acres, to which have been added 68 acres at 

 one time, and more recently Manhattan square ; so that it now con- 

 tains 862 acres. It is laid out in the first place, to obtain a large 

 unbroken surface of smooth meadow-like ground, even where the 

 natural obstacles to this mode are to be overcome by heavy expen- 

 ditures. The immediate borders of these spaces are planted in a 

 manner to hide or disguise any incongruous quality in the grounds 

 beyond. The rocky and broken surface which originally charac- 

 terized the whole site, however, admits of the application of this 

 evident preference of the designers to but a small poilion of the 

 grounds, while elsewhere its capacities for picturesque effect have 

 been revealed. The diflerent classes of communication are so 

 arranged that by a peculiar system of arched passages, it never 

 becomes necessary for a person on foot to cross the surface of the 

 carriage track, or the horseman to cross the carriage roads, though 

 he may ride on them if he prefer.* 



♦Olmsted. 



