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| Keywords: 1860 Pocket Map of Central Park, New York City - Geographicus - CentralPark-olmstead-1860.jpg A very attractive 1860 pocket map of New York City �s Central Park This is an extremely rare pocket map variant on the map of Central Park that later appeared in the 1860 Commissioner's Annual Report on the Progress of Central Park This map is not listed in Haskell and to our knowledge was not issued to the public in pocket format � only in the Commissioner's Annual Report Most likely it was available only to those city officials actually involved in the planning and construction of Central Park In this case said official was the important New York Lawyer A H Green This extraordinary map reveals Central Park as conceived by the Landscape Architects and indeed artists Vaux and Olmstead Vaux and Olmstead were awarded the task of designing Central Park in 1853 by the City Common Council Olmstead �s vision drove the overall design while Vaux concentrated his attentions on bridges buildings and other structures within the park The creation of Central Park which was to consist of some 800 acres of public forest pathways promenades lakes bridges and meadows was a seminal moment in civic urban design The park itself was designed as a whole with every tree pond and bench meticulously planned Olmstead wrote Every foot of the parks surface every tree and bush as well as every arch roadway and walk and been placed where it is for a purpose Historian Gloria Deak writes There was a staggering amount of work to be done to transform the area into a blend of pastoral and woodland scenery This involved the design and construction of roadways tunnels bridges arches stairways fountains benches lamp posts gates fences and innumerable other artifacts It also involved the supervision of an army of about five thousand laborers �Olmsted to whom most of the credit goes insisted on seeing the multidimensional project as a single work of art which he was mandated to create For this purpose he ventured to assume to himself the title of �artist � Today because of Vaux and Olmstead �s efforts New York Yorkers ourselves included have the privilege of enjoying what is perhaps the finest example of a planned urban public recreation area in the world This map also features a manuscript annotation showing the progress of Baron Renfrew through Central Park on October 12 1860 Baron Renfrew is one of the titles associated with the Prince of Wales and was commonly used when the Price wanted to make an unofficial trip � as with his 1860 visit to New York In this case Baron Renfew is Prince Albert Edward who was 19 at the time The Prince Albert Edward acceded in 1901 as Edward VII Though most maps are without substantial provenance this map is known to have been originally owned by the prominent 19th century New Yorker Andrew Haswell Green 1820 - November 13 1903 A H Green was a New York lawyer city planner civic leader and agitator for reform Called by some historians a hundred years later the 19th century Robert Moses he held several offices and played important roles in many New York projects including the development of Riverside Drive Morningside Park Fort Washington Park and Central Park His last great project was the consolidation of the Imperial City or City of Greater New York from the earlier cities of New York Brooklyn and Long Island City and still largely rural parts of Westchester Richmond and Queens Counties In 1903 Green was murdered in a case of mistaken identity He is buried in Worcester In 1905 his family estate in Worchester was turned into a public park Green's personal effects and other belongings were stored for over 100 years until recently being rediscovered and offed for sale 1860 dated Size in 39 8 75 object history credit line accession number CentralPark-olmstead-1860 Geographicus-source PD-art Maps of Central Park 1860 maps | ||||
