Frederick Law Olmstead, and Calvert Vaux | A Map of the Central Park in 1865

Frederick Law Olmstead, and Calvert Vaux

Map of the Central Park showing the progress of the work up to January 1st 1865. [New York: Sarony, Major & Knapp Liths., 1865]

Lithographed folding map (sheet: 228 x 892 mm) with hand-color; very faint toning around the edges, two small pale stains near the lower right corner, some soft creasing along the rightmost edge. Float-mounted and framed; not examined out of frame.

A map showing Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux's Central Park while it was still being constructed on January 1st, 1865. This is one of a series of maps that were included in Olmstead and Vaux's annual report to the Board of Commissioners of Central Park.

The city broke ground on Central Park in 1857. This map shows that work up to 72nd street had mostly been completed by the beginning of 1865. Only a few small areas remained untouched, such as along the park's edges, which still required the surrounding walls, and certain areas at the northernmost part of the park, mainly around the Harlem Meer and the Ravine. Most of the work post 1865 would be given over to landscaping and building construction, and the park would not be fully completed until 1876. In the years since, occasional changes have been made in Central Park, such as the addition of the Conservancy Garden, and the renaming of Croton Reservoir.