What is known now as Central Park was the result of an 1853 law enacted by the New York State Legislature to set aside 750 acres of land which would become the world’s first landscaped public park. In 1858, a design competition was held with Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux being the winners to design the expansive parkland. It was expanded in 1863 bringing it to its current size of 843 acres.

Thought the years since its opening, the park has gone through numerous declines and restorations. Originally the area was not the most ideal location for a lush expanse of parkland. Most of the soil was infertile and not sufficient to sustain various trees, plants, etc. This required thousands of square footage of topsoil to be transported in from New Jersey which would replace millions of cartloads of material from the original landscape. However, nature must be cared for, but Central Park soon faced years of neglect. The park fell into a decrepit state due to a lack of management to maintain it. After the Great Depression and most recently during the 80s and 90s, Central Park has seen a significant resurgence in efforts to restore and maintain its beauty. The park today does not resemble one bit, the garbage filled, dry and sandy wasteland it was in the early 1900s. It remains the beautiful and luscious park the world has come to know and love.