A Green Place to Be: The Creation of Central Park by Ashley Benham Yazdani (review)

Recognizing the urgency of preserving green space in a city growing by leaps and bounds in the nineteenth century, architect Calvert Vaux expanded New York’s modest plans for a new park into a design contest for a bigger affair, “a contest that he intended to win.” Enlisting the help of pioneer landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Vaux and his new design partner envisioned what they called the Greensward, delivering their plan at the eleventh hour and winning the bid. Before the construction came massive destruction, as land was blasted, cleared, and reshaped into the elegant contours that would support the recreational and horticultural offerings New Yorkers began to enjoy as early as 1858. Yazdani’s watercolors and text revel in both technical and aesthetic aspects of the creation of Central Park (the name “Greensward” was thankfully abandoned), with attention directed to details such as pavilions and footbridges as well as seasonal activities, and back matter adds biographical information on the designers, factoids concerning references within the illustrations, and a bibliography. New York’s young natives and visitors will enjoy spotting their favorite haunts, and all viewers will be prompted to consider the infrastructure, embellishments, and amenities of their own local parks and playlots.