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Central Park Facts & Worksheets

Central Park in Manhattan is considered the city's largest green space. It has many playgrounds, lakes and ponds, arched bridges, and kilometers of walking paths.

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Central Park in Manhattan is considered the city’s largest green space. There are approximately 20 playgrounds, lakes and ponds, arched bridges, and kilometers of walking paths.

See the fact file below for more information on Central Park, or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Central Park worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Historical Background

  • Central Park is New York City’s largest and most important public park. It was founded between 1857 and 1876. It extends between 59th and 110th streets and comprises 840 acres (340 hectares).
  • Almost every location in the park offers unique vistas and activities. 
  • There is a zoo, an ice rink, three small lakes, an open-air theater, a band shell, many athletic playing fields and playgrounds, several fountains, and hundreds of small monuments and plaques scattered across the territory.
  • Because of its unstable environment of wetlands and bluffs highlighted by rocky outcrops, the area between 5th and 8th Avenues and 59th and 106th Streets was unsuitable for private development. 
  • Central Park officially opened in 1876 and is now regarded as one of the most significant achievements in artificial landscaping.
  • However, the park required the relocation of some 1,600 underprivileged residents, including Irish pig farmers and German gardeners who lived in shanties on the site.

Development

  • The park was constructed beginning in 1858. Over 5 million cubic yards of stone, dirt, and topsoil were hoisted by workers, who also built 36 bridges and arches and 11 overpasses over transverse roadways. 
  • They also planted 500,000 trees, bushes, and vines. The landscapes were constructed entirely by hand.
  • Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1825 – May 3, 1914) was a politician, soldier, and diplomat most remembered for procuring land for New York City’s Central Park.

Scenery of Central Park

  • Some countries are smaller than Central Park. The immensity of Central Park is the first thing you’ll notice. The plot spans 843 acres. It’s two and a half miles long and half a mile wide, and it’s in the heart of Manhattan, near the stylish Upper East Side. It’s even bigger than Monaco, the tiny European country with only 500 acres.
  • Central Park has a few large bodies of water, although the Harlem Meer, located near the park’s northern extremity, is frequently less crowded than the Jackie Kennedy reservoir or the lake. However, it was not always part of the landscape; it is one of numerous parts of the park developed by Olmsted and Vaux as part of a larger design. It’s also one of the few spots where you can fish catch-and-release.
  • Even though it is currently empty, Blockhouse No. 1 has stood for over two centuries.
  • The Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, named after the writer and former editor of the now-defunct New York Tribune, is now a tourist attraction that also runs the Park’s catch-and-release fishing program.

Geography

  • The park receives an estimated 42 million visitors annually, making it one of the world’s most popular tourist sites.
  • Central Park is the nation’s first public park. Its design was approved in 1853, making it the country’s first substantial urban park.
  • It was influenced by the layout of cities like Paris and London, which had plenty of green spaces for wealthy inhabitants to go for a walk and brag to their neighbors.
  • Seneca Village, on 8th Avenue and 82nd Street, had been one of the city’s most stable African-American communities, with three churches and a school. In 1863, the park’s boundaries were expanded to include 110th Street, giving it its current 843-acre size.
  • Central Park stretches 4.0 kilometers north to south and 0.80 kilometers west to east. The Upper West Side is to the west, the Upper East Side is to the east, Midtown Manhattan is to the south, and Harlem is to the north.
  • Central Park West borders it at 8th Avenue on the west, Central Park North at 110th Street on the north, Central Park South at 59th Street on the south, and 5th Avenue on the east.

Outdoor Activities

  • Belvedere Castle was constructed like a shell, with doors and windows exposed to the elements. The central tower was originally designed in a more medieval style, with a weather antenna on top. During the castle’s 1983 reconstruction, it was restored in a German style, with a flag, a weather vane, and an anemometer on top. 
  • The two beautiful half-timbered wooden pavilions deteriorated due to a lack of painting and maintenance and were removed before 1900 but were restored in the 1980s.
  • Row boat rentals are available; the Loeb Boathouse has a fleet of row boats that each seat four people. Visitors can see waterfowl such as the park’s famous egrets, herons, and loons that are difficult to see from the shore. Rowing can also be enjoyable for children.
  • One of the best outdoor music venues is Central Park. It is also one of the largest musical venues in terms of expected attendance. While this may seem quite an accomplishment, the park’s immense size accommodated about 980,000 people at Garth Brooks’ concert in 1997.
  • The carousel has been in operation since 1871: the first was horse-powered, and fires reputedly destroyed the next two, and the current one was discovered in 1950 at a trolley stop in Coney Island. Long lines, popcorn, hot dogs, and a few cranky kids are to be expected.
  • Sit on one of the Friedsam Memorial Carousel 52 saddles and bask in the nostalgia of bobbing to organ music.
  • Enjoy a romantic paddle around the Lake at Loeb Boathouse (one hour $15, each additional 15 minutes $4, plus a $20 deposit), or let others make an effort with a half-hour Venetian gondola ride (half-hour $45, up to six people) (available April through November).
  • People can also enjoy the allure of a European garden without flying to Europe.
  • This six-acre park has flowers, fountains, meticulously manicured hedges, and three distinct paths (French, Italian, and English). 

Central Park Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Manhattan’s Central Park across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching kids about Central Park, which is considered the city’s largest green space. It has many playgrounds, lakes and ponds, arched bridges, and kilometers of walking paths.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  • Central Park Facts 
  • Make It Make Sense
  • Fact Check
  • Breathe In, Look Out
  • Arrange Me
  • Guess the Park
  • Spot the Difference
  • I Knew It
  • On My Own
  • Share Your Thoughts
  • Draw Me, Tour Me

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Central Park is so famous?

Central Park is a masterpiece of landscape architecture. It is a National Historic Landscape, and it is also a Scenic Landscape of the City of New York. Central Park has also influenced the development of many other urban parks across the United States.

How long does it take to walk through all of Central Park?

Central Park is a huge park that is 2.5 miles long and half a mile wide. The walk from the top to the bottom of the hill takes about an hour if you walk quickly without stopping. If you want to stop and look at things, it will take much longer.

Can you get lost in Central Park?

Yes, when you’re walking through Central Park, it’s easy to get lost. But don’t worry, there’s a way to find your way. Look for the number codes on the base of each lamp post in the park.

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Link will appear as Central Park Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 17, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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