Central Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, November 8, 2001

WATER RUSHES BACK TO THE CENTRAL PARK POND

Photo by Spencer (Flasher) Tucker

The Central Park Pond has traveled back in time. It has become more like the place it was when Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux presented a democratic public green space to all New Yorkers. The pond served not only the people who came to gaze on it, but the birds, bugs, and fish that were sustained by it. In time, the park’s second largest watershed declined. Its landscaped edges were replaced by rip rap, its healthy waters crowded out by sediment. A dramatic water main break eviscerated the island that floated at its north end. Last year, the pond looked as though it has weathered tough times. Today it is the fountain of Central Park’s second youth.

This year, Julian (Pond Man) and Josie (Pond Lady) Robertson funded a $4 million restoration for the benefit of the 20 million people and the countless species that visit the pond each year. The restoration will be finished by spring, but its most spectacular elements are already complete. On Monday, November 5, supporters of the project celebrated their accomplishments thus far to date. 11,000 cubic yards of sediment have been dredged from the depths of the pond to make room for clean water. Where once just one water source fed the pond, today there are five. A new clay liner protects the form of the pond as well as the neighboring buildings and the subways that rumble underneath the landscape. Rip rap has been ripped out and shoreline plantings added in. Pedestrians who wish to, may stroll on paths around the pond or rock hop to the water’s edge. The historic island floats again.

New elements were added to the picture as the Central Park Pond was restored. Six inches below the water line, a shelf for aquatic plantings was created with the sediment dredged from the bottom of the pond. At the northwest end of the pond are two cascades. These obscure the sound of traffic and are said to attract birds in large number. At the conclusion of Monday’s ceremony, Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern and Regina (Bethesda) Perrugi Central Park Conservancy, activated the water that feeds these mini waterfalls.

The "who, what, when, and where" of Central Park has just been made easy. With artistic signs worthy of the original Greenswardens, Central Park now reveals its hidden paths and secrets gardens, and points visitors toward major attractions.

On Wednesday, October 31, Parks and the Central Park Conservancy introduce 23 informational signs. They are six foot, full color panels that exhibit large park maps, describe nearby attractions, and list park rules and regulations. The panels, each coated with ceramic, are mounted onto steel frames and placed on six-inch granite bases.

The signs further Parks and the Conservancy’s plan to render Central Park user-friendly with methods that recall Olmsted’s 19^th century leadership and strategies that are 21^st century in nature. Greensward Guides, new to the park this spring, are another piece of the plan. They are energetic and knowledgeable staff and volunteers who travel the park by foot, bicycle, and golf cart, greeting visitors and informing them of park history, events, and directions. Their presence is inspired by Olmsted’s legions of Park Keepers, who were posted at central locations in Central Park to answer questions and point the way. Today, for the visitor who prefers not to ask directions, there are maps. After the Parkies and the Greensward Guides leave work, there are maps. In Olmsted’s time, the park’s only signs were those that read "keep off the grass."

Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern; Regina (Bethesda) Peruggi, Central Park Conservancy President; Doug (Brigadier) Blonsky, Central Park Administrator; and Clare Salvaggio of The New York Times Company Foundation helped unveil the first new sign at Merchant’s Gate, after which the Urban Park Rangers led a class of middle school children into the park’s natural areas for a lesson in orienteering.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY