Alpha-Branches and Number-Limbs: Fun in Central Park!

We couldn't have asked for nicer weather on Sunday, November 13th for LW's family program, The ABCs of Central Park, led by author and artist Gerald Lynas (visit http://www.lynaspress.com to see his work). The air was crisp and the leaves were crunching as families searched for and photographed the alphabet -- in the trees! Keep scrolling to see photos from the walk!

 

We even found our own initials in the trees!

A Feast for the Eyes :: More photos from Sunday's event

Sincere thanks to photographer Henrik Olund for capturing the truly magical spirit of Landmark Feast.  More photos to come!

Scenes from the Feast :: Celebrating life's essentials on the Upper West Side

Yesterday marked the inaugural Landmark Feast, an Upper West Side dining event like none other.  Gathering with hundreds of our friends, new and old, LW! toasted and tasted on the Arthur Ross Terrace at the American Museum of Natural History as the sun set over the landmark Beresford Apartments nearby.  Then, against the illuminated backdrop of the Museum's planetarium, we, along with co-sponsors Friends of Roosevelt Park and our evening's hosts Outstanding in the Field, dined on the epicurean creations of some of the West Side's most talented chefs.  This was Landmark Feast!

From the event's launch at 4PM until the last guest departed the Terrace, LW's Cristiana Peña and a host of event attendees documented the festivities via Twitter.  Sharing pictures and musings alike, their tweeting opened Landmark Feast to all who followed the #LandmarkFeast hashtag.  Below are photos of the evening shared by participating chefs (Damian Sansonetti of Bar Boulud and Johnny Iuzzini of Jean-Georges), fellow West Side neighborhood organizations (Columbus Avenue BID), event supporters (67 Wine & Spirits), and more.  Enjoy!  And if you have more photos to share, send them in to cristianapena@landmarkwest.org.  We'll add them to the album!

"Getting ready for tonight's event with Landmark West and Outstanding in the Field"
via @DSansonetti

Outside the Museum's Powerhouse, site of our pre-dinner cocktails and tastings
via @UntappedAlley and @untappedcities

The planetarium beside the Arthur Ross Terrace as backdrop for Landmark Feast
via @UntappedAlley and @untappedcities

"Looks amazing; this picture doesn't do it justice"
via @eecookiesny

Inside the Museum's Powerhouse, where guests enjoy the cocktails and seasonal samplings
via @UntappedAlley and @untappedcities

via @wkoellhoffer

“Recipe serving up jersey corn soup with crab and New York cheddar muffins"
via @melissa_ful of @67Wine

"It's heirlooms galore! Tuscan Panzanella Salad from Cesca Enoteca"
via @NewTasteUWS

“The all-star local spirits for cocktails at Landmark Feast!” 
via @melissa_ful of @67Wine

Heirloom tomato frozen custard with sweet corn syrup from Shake Shack
via @westsiderag

Nice Matin serves lamb sausage
via @westsiderag

“Incredible how this works for cocktail hour:
Tortellini in Brodo by Caffe Storico - New-York Historical Society"
via @melissa_ful of @67Wine

"If Mondrian made pancetta; @Gastroarte is rockin'!"
via @NewTasteUWS

Gastroarte's Chef Jesus Nuñez
via @westsiderag

"What 62 lbs of avocado look like; about to be Guacamole en Molcajete"
via @NewTasteUWS

"You thought it couldn't get any better? Pumpkin whoopie pie dipped in dark Godiva"
via @eecookiesny

300 guests + 1 long table = Landmark Feast magic
via @UntappedAlley and @untappedcities

"Getting ready for tonites event with Landmark West and Outstanding in the Field"
via @DSansonetti

"Pre-dinner excitement. Love how we can 'walk-through' the outdoor kitchen"
via @melissa_ful of @67Wine

"Dinner placement. Lovely sage"
via @melissa_ful of @67Wine

"Landmark Feast with 67 Wine and Fox Run Vineyards"
via @1Grl2WneGlasses

Behind the scenes in the outdoor kitchen: "Plate up, Dovetail"
via @DSansonetti

"Unbelievable night! Can't wait until next year"
via @billtelepan

Bar Boulud lamb dinner
via @DSansonetti

"Dry Riesling 2010 pairing perfectly with salad Nicoise"
via @1Grl2WneGlasses

Jean-Georges pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini's creations await delivery to the dinner table
via @Johnny_Iuzzini

This Little Light of Mine

By Intern Kate G. 


Whenever you hear about Central Park, a 843 acre urban oasis, the names that immediately come to mind are Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. And rightly so, since they are the designers/brains behind the Greensward Plan, Central Park's original master plan. 

Greensward Plan

But since Vaux & Olmsted's masterwork was completed in 1873, the park has continued to evolve. Central Park as we know it today is made up of layers of change as the park deteriorated and then was progressively restored in the late 1970s and 1980s.One person who played a key role in the 1980s park restoration was architect Gerald Allen. During the late 1970s, Allen was brought on by Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, the founder of the Central Park Conservancy, as part of the restoration team.

He literally shed light on the park! Allen, a New York architect that received a Masters at Yale, and Kent Bloomer, a Yale architecture professor, designed the light fixtures found throughout Central Park. As highlighted in a New York Times article published in August 1983, the key design question was whether the new fixtures, called luminaires, should be contemporary or historical. 

Photo Credit: Kent Bloomer Studio

Over a period of nine months, Allen and Bloomer worked with the Department of Parks and Recreation's General Services and the Landmarks Preservation Commission to refine the design. Upon approval, Elizabeth Barlow Rogers noted, the LPC review strengthened the design and "the light ...with its leaves and little seeds, is energetic and graceful. It satisfies all the practical optical requirements. I think it's very successful." These beautiful light fixtures are found throughout the park.

Photo Credit: Kent Bloomer Studio

Gerald Allen's work can also be experienced at the Cherry Hill Concourse (overlooking the Lake near West 72nd Street and Central Park West), which has lately been the subject of significant debate and is scheduled to be demolished and reconstructed this Fall 2011. As sited in Landmark West!'s testimony at the Design Commission, "Just as Central Park is a compelling example of New York City's historical palimpsest--that is, the tradition of the past accommodating the present-Cherry Hill is an archetypal example of the Park's evolution over the decades." Cherry Hill is representative of a key layer in the rich history of Central Park.  



With two such significant contributions to the design of Central Park, shedding some light on Gerald Allen's role in the long, ever-evolving history of Central Park is our pleasure!

*Gerald Allen is the co-author of The Place of Houses

Diggin' Up the Dirt on Central Park's Past

REPORT from the FIELD
By Debi and intern Kate G.

This morning we visited the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History’s Open House in Central Park.  The students' presentations were fascinating and ranged from the description of different nails found during the excavation, to the public's general knowledge of Seneca Village.  The entire Open House was a great reminder that no matter where you are in New York City, there are layers of history right beneath your feet!

Seneca Village Open House visitors learn about site findings, such as
19th Century "Tupperware" from students.

In the 1850s, Seneca Village, a thriving community with a population of nearly 300 people, existed on land between 81st and 89th Streets. This predominantly African American community was evicted and their land was taken through the right of eminent domain to make way for the construction of Central Park.

Victor A. Luna, a senior at City College, researched gender economics at Seneca Village.

This summer, the Institute (led by co-directors Cynthia Copeland, Nan Rothschild and Diana Wall) along with a crew of summer interns, conducted an archaeological excavation at the former site of Seneca Village. The Open House showcased the students' research and hosted walking tours of the site. Click here to see the New York Times' recent profile of the Institute's work.

The Seneca Village team excavated portions of a house built on the site.
Here, a visitor examines photos of what lies beneath.  The orange tape outlines
the foundations of the home.

Playtime in Central Park :: Playtime goes to the dogs, Part II

As West Side Rag wrote, "A project like this ... reminds people that landmarking is a way to hold on to things you care about."

We're thrilled at the positive reception our "Playtime in Central Park" photo series has had, and for the terrific participation from our friends and followers!  Already, you've seen Susy N.'s great photos of pups in the park.  Lucky for us--and for you!--we have more from her to share.  A great way to end the week, with a puppy serenade from Belvedere Castle (get it? 'cause they look like they're harmonizing in the chorus!).

Adorable yellow lab and American Eskimo puppies playing.
Belvedere Castle, 2001.

Having worked up a thirst, the "Adorable yellow lab and
American Eskimo puppies" enjoy some H20.
Belvedere Castle, 2001.

Susy & Michael's dog "Mika, a Rhodesian Ridgeback,
loved to go to the handball court and play ball".
The handball court in Central Park, 1997.

The blog series will continue for about another week, so start rummaging through your photo albums and boxes, see what memories you can turn up, and share them for publishing here!

Playtime in Central Park :: Twilight reservoir run

Power to the tweeters!

Since announcing the launch of our "Playtime in Central Park" photo series (three weeks ago yesterday!) we've been delighted to see our friends and followers on Twitter (and their friends and followers in turn!) share photos and encourage others to contribute. 

You can imagine our delight when we saw a photo recommendation of the Central Park West skyline, so near and dear to our hearts, from former LW! intern and Pratt Institute HP grad Will Vogel (via Twitter).

Thanks, MacLovinNYC, for this beautiful shot of the skyline, reflected in the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.  Two skylines are better than one!

The blog series continues.  Check out our submissions to date and send in your own photo(s).  New or old, all are welcome!

Landscape Architecture is "Designing Awesome"

Today via Twitter, LANDMARK WEST! learned about the American Society of Landscape Architects' (ASLA) pop-up signage project "Designed by a Landscape Architect".

Columbus Circle, NY. August 17, 2011.

The open, green spaces we enjoy--public plazas, college campuses, roof gardens, and more!--don't design themselves!  The pop-up signs, complete with QR codes to drive curious passersby to more info online, remind us of that.  LW's Cristiana and intern Kate G. scooted over to Columbus Circle this afternoon to check it out for themselves!

LW! has recently been at the front lines of advocating for the preservation and protection of a public concourse in Central Park, itself the product of thoughtful and successful landscape design: Cherry Hill.  As LW! and our preservation colleagues have testified before not one but two city agencies, Central Park--New York's first Scenic Landmark!--is all about layers! 

And the 1980s renovation and redesign of Cherry Hill by Gerald Allen (the paved concourse and fountain restoration) and Philip Winslow (the surrounding landscape) is a significant layer worthy of protection.  The 1980s is a momentous time in the life of Central Park as it was then that New York's urban oasis was rescued from its deleterious state and progressively restored to the urban green we know it to be today!

Kate G. uses her iPhone and the ASLA QR code to learn more.

LW! inspired someone else to check out the ASLA pop-up sign, too!

The northern edge of Columbus Circle.

Playtime in Central Park :: Playtime goes to the dogs, Part I

Brace yourselves:  These photos.  Are.  Adorable.

At the end of last week, our good friends at West Side Rag gave a boost to our ongoing photo series, Playtime in Central Park, with this article.  If you're not already, follow them on Twitter for the latest in interesting (and, sometimes, absurd!) Upper West Side news.  Susy N. does, saw their recommendation to take part in our photo series, and submitted the following photos. 
 

Clementine the bulldog, enjoying some Fountain time.
Bethesda Fountain, 2005.

Dogs frolicking in the fountain.
Bethesda Fountain, 1999.

Three Jack Russell terriers getting silly.
Bethesda Fountain, 2003.

These park-lovin' pups are just the beginning!  We're splitting Susy's photos across a few posts, for our own personal enjoyment if nothing else!  For more canine-friendly photos from Susy and her husband, Michael, check out CanisPhoto.  Thanks, Susy!!

It's not too late to get in on the photo fun yourself!  Here's how!

Playtime in Central Park :: Row, row, row your boat

If it weren't for the outline of the distinguished Beresford Apartments on the horizon, you'd swear this photo was snapped in the wilds of upstate New York! 

LW's Cristiana Peña and intern Kate Gilmore snapped this photo, of boaters gliding across The Lake, on return from a site visit to the Cherry Hill Concourse (read more here ... and oh, is there more ...).

A relaxing visual note to take us into the weekend.  Add to that today's post by West Side Rag, encouraging readers to jump on our photo series bandwagon, and we're of the opinion that this day just can't get any better.  Loving summer in the city ... and especially on the Upper West Side!

Send in your photos -- past, present, you name it! -- and show us your moments at play in Central Park!