central park

Central Park is affectionately known as New York City’s “backyard.” Spanning 843 acres from 59th Street to 110th Street, the park offers a welcome refuge of natural beauty and recreation amid the towering concrete landscape that surrounds it.

We began and ended our New York visit at Central Park. Sunday we arrived before hotel check-in, so after storing our bags, we wandered through the park in search of shade from the 90°F (32.2°C) heat. On our final day, we once again stored our luggage after checkout before heading to the airport. With time to spare before our flight, we decided to walk the park’s perimeter, from 59th Street to 110th Street, across to 5th Avenue, and back down to 59th Street, covering a total distance of 6.1 miles (9.8 km).

On our Sunday stroll, we learned something new about Central Park. It  contains more than 1,600 decorative cast-iron lamp posts dating back to the 19th century. At the base of each post is an embossed four-digit number that serves as a discreet navigation system. The first two digits indicate the nearest cross street, while the final digit reveals which side of the park you are on: odd numbers mark the West Side, and even numbers the East Side. What a simple way to pinpoint your location without relying on technology!

5917: (59) - 59th Street, (1) - close to the edge of the park, (7) - West side

7352: (73) - 73rd Street, (5) - center of the park, (2) - East side

Reflections from the Upper East Side

Sculpture of a hybrid human-scarab figure by Mona Al Qadiri. She suggests a future where humans and other animals live in greater balance, where the most humble insects are revered for the essential role they play in sustaining all life on Earth - including our own.

Along our Sunday walk around the park's perimeter we discovered Central Park’s entrances are marked by historically named entryways. (There are 19 of them).  These gates feature stone engravings to honor the diverse population and workers of New York City. The most recent gate, The Gate of the Exonerated, is the first and only addition to Central Park’s official entrance names since the 19th century. It is the product of more than two years of extensive, in-depth dialogue among the Harlem community and a response to their desire for healing and belonging in the aftermath of the case and its impact on Black and Latino New Yorkers. It honors all of these wrongly convicted of crimes.