New York City is fascinating to me. In recent blogs here on HHH, I shared a tiny portion of the early history of NYC and also the beginnings of NYC’s Central Park, both overall views of New York City’s past. Today I’d like to share some detailed history of Central Park. A look at individuals or specific places that might not be as well-known as others.
First, I view history like an onion. Layer after layer of stories make up the whole of history. There’re factual layers. Like the dates and places of exploration, events and discoveries. There are personal layers, like the struggles of immigrants living in the tenements in the Fourth Ward, or freed or escaped slaves trying to find a safe place to raise a family. There are structural layers, like the building of the Empire State Building, Central Park and One World Trade. Many layers in one city equal an intriguing history.
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1886 Map of Central Park |
Unusual Facts about Central Park:
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Ramble Cave |
1. Most of Central Park is man-made. Man-made water falls, lakes, hills, rock structures—the list goes on. An exception to this, is Ramble Cave or Indian Cave. This natural cave pre-dates the park and city. It’s located in the Ramble area of Central Park and has seen its fair share of nefarious deeds within its walls. Murder, assaults, suicides . . . So many that in the year 1934, the cave was sealed. One interesting report from 1897 was of fifteen-year-old, Susie Grunelt. According to the Times, the girl disappeared from her home without a trace. Her parents frantically searched for her and found no clue of the teens whereabouts. Almost a month after Susie disappeared, a police officer found her reclining on a rock at Ramble Cave, staring at the lake below. She was promptly returned to her family none the worse for the wear.
2. There are at least five waterfalls in Central Park. All are man-made. The
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Central Park waterfall. Rosbert N. Dennis Collection |
3. By the mid-nineteenth century, when plans for a park in the bustling New York City/Manhattan Island area were being developed, much of Manhattan Island was already taken up by residential and commercial uses. There wasn’t enough open land to create the eight-hundred and forty acres park. Developers settled on a track of land that was sparsely populated, and the city proceeded to seize the property under the law of eminent domain.
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Seneca Village |
Do you have any interesting little known historical stories from your area? If you do, please, share them with us in the comments below.
Thank you for stopping by Heroes, Heroines and History today. Be blessed.
Thank you for stopping by Heroes, Heroines and History today. Be blessed.
Photos curtesy of Wickipedia.org
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Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here, through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.
It's sad to me that people have to be displaced to create beautiful spaces. I wonder if those people could see it now, would it be worth the pain of losing their homes? In my home state of Vermont, the building of a reservoir caused some to lose their homes. And when the interstate was built, some people lost their homes or parts of their land, but I know one family who actually moved their house to a different location in town in order to save it!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought about the same thing, Connie. I wondered how New York would be different if those people had been able to stay where they were. It is sad. I live in Central Florida where there's always new construction and roads being built. I often drive by homes that sit along side busy expressways and think they probably never planned their homes to be this way. Thank you for the comment. Have a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteOne of the largest homes west of the Missouri River used to stand in my home town on the present site of a Wendy's burger place. Each of the many bedrooms was paneled with a different exotic wood. I think of it almost every time I see that Wendy's!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I grew up in NJ and we went into NYC all the time. Central Park is a wonderful place, but it's unfortunate folks were displaced to create it.
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