Who designed Central Park?

Architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the Central Park Commission’s 1858 design contest with their Greensward Plan for New York’s Central Park. The area initially opened in its undeveloped state in 1857 on 778 acres of Manhattan land.

The Greensward Plan called for the construction of 36 bridges, all of which Vaux designed, with no two bridges alike. The Bethesda Fountain and Terrace became focal points, along with an elm-lined mall. Master gardeners, engineers, architects and politicians worked together to execute the plan, which was completed in 1873. Since then, Central Park has undergone multiple renovations and improvements and is one of the most popular sightseeing locations in New York.