Chicago Midway International Airport

Chicago Midway International Airport
Aerial view of Chicago Midway International Airport, a.k.a. the "world's busiest square mile".
220px
IATA: MDW – ICAO: KMDW – FAA LID: MDW MDW MDW (Chicago) Location of airport in Chicago
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		City of Chicago
Operator		Chicago Airport System
Serves		Chicago, Illinois, USA
Elevation AMSL		620 ft / 189 m
Coordinates		41°47′10″N 087°45′09″W
Website		www.flychicago.com/midway/...
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
4L/22R	5,507	1,679	Asphalt
4R/22L	6,446	1,965	Asphalt/Concrete
13C/31C	6,522	1,988	Concrete
13L/31R	5,141	1,567	Asphalt
13R/31L	3,859	1,176	Concrete
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations			253,901
Passenger volume			17,340,497
Cargo tonnage			14,254
Source: FAA and airport website

Midway Airport diagram

Chicago Midway International Airport (IATA: MDW, ICAO: KMDW, FAA LID: MDW), also known simply as Midway Airport or Midway, is an airport in Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's southwest side, eight miles (13 km) from Chicago's Loop. The airport's current IATA code MDW has been in use since it was implemented in 1949 when Chicago Municipal Airport was renamed Chicago Midway Airport,  although the airline schedule books continued to call it CHI until airline flights began at O'Hare. It is bordered by 55th Street, Cicero Avenue (terminal entrance), 63rd Street, and Central Avenue. The airport's northern half is within the Garfield Ridge community area, and the southern half is within the Clearing community area. The airport is managed by the Chicago Airport System, which also oversees operations at O'Hare International Airport and Gary/Chicago International Airport.

Midway is dominated by low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines. AirTran Airways and Delta Air Lines are the airport's other major operators. Both the Stevenson Expressway and Chicago Transit Authority's Orange Line provide passengers access to downtown Chicago. Midway Airport is the second largest passenger airport in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as the state of Illinois, after Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Today, Midway Airport serves as a focus city for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines For over 16 years, Chicago Midway International Airport had been the main hub for Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines (ATA), but that service was reduced to four destinations in November 2007, and was scheduled to end by June 7, 2008 before the airline filed for bankruptcy in April 2008, immediately discontinuing all flights.

History

Early history (1923–1962)

Originally named Chicago Air Park, Midway Airport was built on a 320-acre (1.3 km2) plot in 1923 and consisted of a single cinder runway that primarily served airmail services. The site was selected following the destruction of the Wingfoot Air Express when it crashed into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building, killing thirteen people, and the city decided to close the Grant Park air strip. In 1926, the Chicago City Council leased the land for commercial purposes from the Chicago Board of Education at a rate of $1560 per year. On December 12, 1927, Midway was dedicated as Chicago Municipal Airport by Chicago Mayor William H. Thompson, and became known as "Munie" to many early pilots. The unique one-square-mile footprint of Midway Airport is due to its connection to the Chicago Board of Education. Under the Land Ordinance of 1785, land was divided into townships. Each township included a one-square-mile (640 acre) section devoted to education. In most instances, one-room school houses were located on this land, the balance of which was farmed to provide funds for the operation of the school. As township school districts consolidated, much of this excess land was typically sold for other purposes. The Chicago Board of Education continued to own the Midway Airport section and rent it to the City of Chicago for airport operations until 1982, when an education funding crisis forced the Board of Education to sell the land to the City of Chicago for $16 million.

Chicago Midway Airport (formerly Chicago Municipal Airport) as it looked in 1927

During its first full year of operation in 1928, the airfield was home to twelve hangars and four runways, lit for night operations. Air traffic control was handled by flagmen,who would be positioned at the end of the runways; they were responsible for controlling 14,498 flight operations carrying 41,660 passengers that year. The official observation site for Chicago's weather records was also moved to Midway during that year from the downtown area and would remain there until it was moved again, this time to O'Hare, in 1980.

The greater Chicago area, featuring Chicago Midway and O'Hare International Airports

The former Main Terminal entrance of
Chicago Midway Airport before the
airport's recent expansion project

A new passenger terminal and administration building, funded by a bond issue, was dedicated in 1931 by Chicago mayor Anton Cermak, and in the following year Midway Airport earned the title of "World's Busiest" with over 100,846 passengers riding on 60,947 flights. During some years thereafter New York's airport (Newark, then LaGuardia) was the busiest airline airport in the United States, but Midway passed LaGuardia in the early 1950s and retained the title until O'Hare claimed it in 1961.

In 1941, Midway Airport joined World War II efforts because of its long runways and mid-continent position. The war years proved to be a boon for Midway, which saw new construction funded in part by $1 million in federal monies from the Works Progress Administration, and work on additional runways moved forward in 1941 when a court ordered the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad to reroute tracks in the vicinity of the airfield. Midway handled a full 25% of the nation's 417,000 passengers during that year.

The airport was officially renamed on July 8, 1949 by a unanimous vote in the City Council to "Chicago Midway Airport" in honor of the World War II Battle of Midway – not after Midway Airlines, as many have believed, nor because the airport is located at the west end of 59th Street (the eastern end of which is part of Chicago's historic Midway Plaisance). Midway saw 3.2 million passengers carried on 223,000 flights during 1949. The number of passengers rose to 3.5 million the next year and reached a height of 10 million in 1959. This video of Chicago Midway Airport in 1954 shows the increase in traffic that Midway Airport experienced throughout the 1950s.

The April 1957 OAG shows 414 weekday fixed-wing departures from Midway: 83 American, 83 United, 56 TWA, 40 Capital, 35 North Central, 28 Delta, 27 Eastern, 22 Northwest, 19 Ozark, 11 Braniff, 5 Trans-Canada and 5 Lake Central. Air France, Lufthansa and REAL (of Brazil) had a few flights a week.

But Midway was running out of room, and in any case could not handle the 707 and DC-8 jetliners that began appearing in 1959; every Chicago jet flight had to use O'Hare, which had opened to the airlines in 1955. Electras and Viscounts could have continued to fly out of Midway, but O'Hare's capacious new terminal opened in 1962, allowing airlines to consolidate their flights. Midway had no major airline service from 1962 until the 727 appeared in 1964. In August 1966 a total of four fixed-wing arrivals were scheduled, all United: three 727s from Baltimore and one from La Guardia.

Post-O'Hare reconstruction (1963–1993)

By 1967, reconstruction had begun at the airport, adding three new concourses with 28 gates and three ticket counters, and in 1968 the city invested $10 million in renovation funds. The funds partly supported construction of the Stevenson Expressway, which proved to be a major route for passengers to the airport, and Midway saw the return of major airlines during that year, serving 1,663,074 passengers on more than 274,062 flights, aided in part by the introduction of jets, such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, Boeing 727, and Boeing 737, that were capable of using Midway's shorter runways, which the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 could not.

In 1979, Midway Airlines began operations, the first to do so after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, and went on to become the flagship carrier at Midway before ending its operations in 1991. Midway Airlines helped revitalize the airport and led the way for other discount carriers, who benefited from Midway's lower costs and close proximity to Chicago's Loop, to prosper. Southwest Airlines, which began operations at Midway in 1985, was one such beneficiary. Three years earlier, in 1982, the City of Chicago purchased Midway Airport from the Chicago Board of Education for $16 million.

The Chicago Transit Authority displaced the original location of the Carlton Midway Inn to open a new CTA terminal at the airport on October 31, 1993 for the newly established Chicago 'L' Orange Line, which connected Midway to Chicago's Loop. The CTA's Orange Line connects Midway to downtown Chicago via elevated train transportation. Midway Airport is the terminus of the line, which traverses the southwest portion of the city before ending up in the Loop and cycling back to Midway again. The Orange Line does not run 24 hours a day (unlike the Blue Line, which provides 24-hour service to O'Hare & the Red Line), but does operate extensive hours from about 4:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M., running at an average of 8-minute intervals. The train journey from Midway Airport to the Loop takes 25 minutes.

Recent history (1994–)

In 1996, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced the Midway Airport Terminal Development Program, which was launched the next year. At the time, it was the largest public works project in the state. The Midway Airport parking garage opened in 1999, bringing covered parking to the airport for the first time. The garage, offering 3,000 hourly and daily parking spaces, is connected to the Midway terminal building for convenient access to ticket counters and baggage claim areas.

Continuing with the expansion project, a pedestrian bridge over Cicero Avenue was constructed in 2000. The bridge connects the new terminal to the new concourses. In 2001, the new 900,000-square-foot (84,000 m2) Midway Airport terminal building opened, offering expanded ticket counters, spacious baggage claim areas, traveler information and a short walking distance to airline gates. A 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) food court opened with Chicago-style food and retail options, and in 2002, Midway welcomed the return of direct international service after a 40-year absence with the opening of the new Federal Inspection Service facility in Concourse A.

In June 2004, Mayor Daley and airline officials celebrated the completion of the Terminal Development Program.The expansion project resulted in the addition of 14 gates (from 29 to 43), with the airport now providing 43 gates on 3 concourses. A new 6,300-space economy parking garage, including a new bridge and roadway used exclusively for buses shuttling passengers to and from the terminal, opened in December 2005.

Simultaneous to Midway's expansion, ATA Airlines began rapid expansion at Chicago Midway in the early 2000s, and prior to 2004, ATA offered significant scheduled service to destinations from Midway Airport and was the airport's dominant carrier, occupying and operating 14 of the 17 gates in Concourse A. However, after the airline declared bankruptcy in October 2004, scheduled service from Midway significantly decreased.

ATA Airlines opened their Chicago-Midway hub in 1992, and was the largest carrier at Midway as recently as 2004. ATA ceased all operations in April 2008. In the picture is an ATA Boeing 737-800

Due to repeated cancellations to its schedule, ATA then offered non-stop flights to 4 destinations, and mainly operated out of only 2 gates in Concourse B. On May 11, 2007, the airline added new service from Chicago to Oakland and Ontario, California.These new additions marked the first time ATA increased service at Chicago Midway in almost three years. However, just five months later, ATA announced they would end service to Ontario on January 7, 2008. On April 3, 2008, ATA Airlines discontinued all operations. The airline had operated at Chicago-Midway since 1992.

As of November, 2008, Porter Airlines flies between Midway and Toronto, Canada, as the only international route served from Chicago-Midway, since ATA Airlines ceased operations in April that year; it had flights to Mexico before the airline closed operations, until Volaris started operations from Guadalajara on December 13, 2010.

In early 2009, construction began on an expansion of Concourse A. Construction is complete and a new walkway, food court, and viewing have been built to connect gates A4A and A4B to the main A concourse. Construction was completed in the spring of 2010.

Privatization

On April 20, 2009, a $2.5 billion deal to privatize the airport via a 99-year lease fell through when the consortium could not put together financing. The City is to keep $125 million in the downpayment. The consortium operating under the name of Midway Investment and Development Company LLC consisted of Vancouver Airport Services, Citi Infrastructure Investors and Boston's John Hancock Life Insurance. It was awarded the contract in October 2008 by the City Council which voted 49-0 to approve it. The consortium would have operated the airport and collected airport parking, concession and passenger facility charges. However, Chicago would have continued to provide fire and police services. Chicago privatized the Chicago Skyway in 2007.

The two original Southwest Airlines maintenance hangars at Midway Airport.

Chicago Midway Airport is the second largest passenger airport in the Chicago metropolitan area, and is the second busiest in the state of Illinois after Chicago O'Hare International Airport. In 2009 17,089,365 passengers traveled through Chicago Midway, second behind O'Hare International Airport, and ahead of Gary/Chicago International Airport and Chicago Rockford International Airport. In 2005, Chicago Midway International Airport was the 30th busiest airport in the United States in terms of passenger traffic. In its 80-year history of passenger traffic, Midway Airport has had 21 incidents and accidents, and only one accident since 1976.

Southwest is the dominant carrier at Midway, controlling 29 of the airport's 43 gates. Currently, the airline offers 216 daily departures to 52 destinations.

Chicago Midway International Airport ranked third amongst large airports in the nation for "Best On-Time Arrival Rates" in June 2007, with 75.4% of all flights (8,087) arriving on time, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. It ranked highest in customer satisfaction among medium-sized airports (10 million to 30 million passengers per year) in J. D. Power and Associates' 2008 study.

Airfield

The original fully developed 1940s layout included eight runways that crisscrossed the 8-by-8-block (one square mile) property. All terminals and hangars were on the square periphery. By the late 1970s the shorter north–south and east–west runway pairs had been closed, though some were converted to taxiways. The other four original runways remain in use, all significantly strengthened and enhanced, but essentially the same lengths as always. A short runway (13R/31L) for light aircraft was added in 1989.

Chicago Midway International Airport covers one square mile (640 acre, 2.59 km2) and currently has five runways:

Runway 13C-31C: 6,522 × 150 ft (1,988 × 46 m), air carrier runway, ILS equipped.

Runway 4R-22L: 6,446 × 150 ft (1,965 × 46 m), air carrier runway, ILS equipped.

Runway 4L-22R: 5,507 × 150 ft (1,679 × 46 m), general aviation and air taxi.

Runway 13L-31R: 5,141 × 150 ft (1,567 × 46 m), general aviation and air taxi.

Runway 13R-31L: 3,859 × 60 ft (1,176 × 18 m), light aircraft only.

Because Midway is surrounded by buildings and other development, the landing thresholds of the runways are displaced to provide a proper obstacle clearance. Both the FAA and the airlines ensure safety by adhering to calculated load limits and various weather minimums. Because of the displaced landing thresholds, the runways have shorter distances available for landings than for takeoffs. 13C-31C, the longest runway, only has an available landing distance of 6,059 feet (1,847 m) in the southeast direction, and 5,826 feet (1,776 m) operating to the northwest. All the other runways have a landing distance below 5,930 feet (1,810 m). The largest aircraft normally seen at Midway is the Boeing 757. Due to the short runways, widebody aircraft are impractical, and even Boeing 737s must occasionally take off less than fully loaded on hot summer days when aircraft performance is substantially reduced. Normally, the commercial planes only takeoff and land on runways 4R, 22L, 31C, and 13C. The other runways are used by smaller aircraft. Out of the four large runways, all are used about evenly, with the exception of 13C. 13C is rarely used, because it interferes with O'Hare traffic.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Destinations served nonstop from Chicago-Midway

Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Midway, operating more than 225 daily flights out of 29 of Midway's 43 gates to over 45 destinations across the United States.

An AirTran Airways Boeing 717-200 with a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 in the background.

The carriers transporting the most passengers from Chicago Midway Airport are Southwest and AirTran. In 2008, a total of 17,340,497 passengers were carried through MDW, a 10.52% decrease from the previous year. Also in 2008, 253,901 aircraft passed through Midway Airport, a 16.66% decrease from 2007. Since the merger of Northwest Airlines into Delta, Delta is now the second largest carrier at Midway, surpassing AirTran in number of daily flights and year round destinations.

For complete information on flights to and from Chicago Midway International Airport, please see the airport's website.

Midway has 43 aircraft gates on three concourses (A, B, and C)

Note: All international arrivals are handled in Concourse A.

Airlines Destinations Terminal

AirTran Airways Atlanta, Fort Myers, Orlando, Sarasota/Bradenton A

Branson Air Express operated by Vision Airlines Branson A

Delta Air Lines Atlanta A

Delta Connection operated by Atlantic Southeast Airlines Seasonal: Atlanta C

Delta Connection operated by Comair Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul A & C

Delta Connection operated by Compass Airlines Minneapolis/St. Paul A

Delta Connection operated by Pinnacle Airlines Detroit C

Delta Connection operated by Shuttle America Atlanta C

Frontier Airlines Denver A

Porter Airlines Toronto-Billy Bishop A

Southwest Airlines Albany, Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Birmingham (AL), Boston, Buffalo, Charleston (SC) [begins March 13], Cleveland, Columbus (OH), Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Greenville/Spartanburg [begins March 13], Hartford/Springfield, Houston-Hobby, Indianapolis, Jackson, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Long Island/Islip, Los Angeles, Louisville, Manchester (NH), Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York-LaGuardia, Newark [begins March 27], Norfolk, Oakland, Omaha, Ontario, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), Providence, Raleigh/Durham, Reno/Tahoe, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), Santa Ana/Orange County, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Tucson, Washington-Dulles A & B

Volaris Guadalajara A

Other services

Airlines Destinations

Pet Airways Denver-Rocky Mountain

Previous airline service

Before the rise of O'Hare in the late 1950s, Midway was the world's busiest airport and one of the key hubs in the U.S. airline system. United Airlines was headquartered at Midway in the pre-O'Hare days, and American Airlines was originally based at Midway until it moved its headquarters to New York City in the mid-1930s. There was also a very large presence from TWA and Eastern Air Lines, as well as several others. The airport was extensively renovated in 1958 and, again, in 1967, after which several of the legacy carriers resumed service after a period of some years. Midway was also a hub for the startup Midway Airlines in the 1980s, and a focus city for former Vanguard Airlines from 1997–2000.

Both American Airlines and United Airlines ended all scheduled service to Midway in September 2006, in favor of concentrating Chicago-area operations at the larger nearby O'Hare International Airport. Despite its small size compared to O'Hare, though, Midway is still a vital transportation terminal. Its key advantage is that it is closer to the Loop than O'Hare. The average train ride on the Orange Line from the Loop to Chicago Midway International Airport is about 20–25 minutes, compared to about 45 minutes from O'Hare.

Big Sky Airlines, which commenced nonstop service on December 3, 2006 between Springfield, Illinois and Midway, later expanded the service to include daily nonstop flight to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, beginning on March 17. However, citing poor demand, both the Springfield and Eau Claire flights were discontinued on June 9, 2007.

Mesa Airlines, which began nonstop service from MDW in early 2007, discontinued all flights to Decatur and Quincy, Illinois, effective November 9, 2007. The flights, which were operated by Air Midwest, were terminated citing poor passenger demand.

Chicago Midway International Airport was once the largest hub of ATA Airlines and its wholly-owned regional airline partner Chicago Express Airlines, which operated as ATA Connection . ATA had operated a hub at Midway since 1992. As recently as 2004, ATA operated over 100 daily flights to over 30 destinations. The airline cut back service from Chicago after declaring bankruptcy in late 2004. In April 2008, the airline again declared bankruptcy and ended all scheduled operations. On April 3, 2008, ATA Airlines ended all operations, including service to the four cities the airline still served at Chicago-Midway.

Continental Airlines provided daily service from Chicago-Midway to Cleveland and Newark until May 2008. The airline discontinued Chicago-Midway service on May 31, 2008, citing high fuel prices. However, Continental has stated it will maintain all operations at nearby Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

Among the other airlines that used to frequent Midway were Access Air, Kiwi International Airlines, US Airways, MetroJet, Ozark Air Lines (2000-2001), and Pan American Airways (1998–2004).

Incidents and accidents

Significant incidents

Southwest Airlines Flight 1248, a Boeing 737-700, after it
 skidded off runway 31C on December 8, 2005.

On June 30, 1956, United Airlines Flight 718, a Douglas DC-7, was headed for Midway Airport. Over the Grand Canyon it collided with a TWA Super Constellation, killing all 128 people on both planes. This became the impetus for the modern air traffic control system.

December 8 incidents

On December 8, 1972, United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737-200, crashed into a residential area outside Midway during landing. The crash of the 737-200 killed 43 of the 61 on board, and two on the ground.

Exactly 33 years later, on December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines Flight 1248, a Boeing 737-700 inbound from Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Baltimore, Maryland, slid off the runway while attempting to land at the airport in a heavy snow storm. The airplane broke through the barrier fence of the airport, and came to rest at the intersection of 55th Street and Central Avenue bordering the airport at its northwest corner. A 6-year-old boy was killed as a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by the plane after it skidded into the street.

List of All Major Incidents at Chicago Midway International Airport

Date Registration Aircraft Carrier Location Summary

31 May 1936 NC14979 DC-2 Trans World Airlines - On approach to 27L, 1 engine out, strong gusts, crashed half a mile east of field

4 December 1940 NC25678 DC-3A United Airlines 6356 S. Keating Ave. Pilot lost sight in bad weather and crashed on landing approach resulting in nine deaths.

21 May 1943 B-24 US ARMY 3625 W. 73rd St. On approach, disoriented in bad weather, hit huge gas storage tank 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southeast

26 September 1946 NC19939 DC-3 Trans World Airlines West of 96th Ave. at 97th St. Midair collision with Boeing PT-17, DC-3 limped in to Midway

2 July 1946 NC28383 DC-3 Trans World Airlines - Crashed 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of field

10 March 1948 NC37478 DC-4 Delta Air Lines 5000 W. 55th St. Plane took off 36L, at 150 feet (46 m) went vertical, at 500 feet (150 m) nosed over, crashed on 55th St.

26 March 1949 NC90736 DC-6 American Airlines - Hit power lines on approach

18 December 1949 NC86501 L-049 Trans World Airlines - Landing too far down 13R, crashed through fence, ended up at 63rd and Cicero

4 January 1951 N79982 C-46 Monarch Airlines - Overloaded taking off on 31L, could not climb, crashed on railroad tracks one half mile northeast

16 September 1951 N74689 C-46 Peninsula Transport - Belly-landed 500 yards (460 m) away at northeast 63rd and Harlem

3 March 1953 N6214C L-1049 Eastern Airlines On field Landed on 31L, gear collapsed, skidded southwest toward Hale School

17 July 1955 N3422 Convair 340 Braniff International Airways On field Hit gas station sign on approach to 13R, flipped over, crashed

5 August 1955 N74601 Boeing 377 Northwest Airlines - Landed 31L, could not stop, crashed through fence at 55th and Central

20 February 1956 N7404 Vickers Viscount Capitol On field Landing on 31L, plane flopped in 300 feet (91 m) short of threshold

15 March 1959 N94273 Convair 240 American Airlines - Lost sight of 31L on approach, crashed in railroad yard one half mile south of field

24 November 1959 N102R L-1049H Trans World Airlines Came to rest 63rd and Kilpatrick Plane departed 31L, fire on #2, circled to land 31L, crashed 0.2 miles (0.32 km) southeast of field

1 September 1961 N86511 L-049 Trans World Airlines - Plane departed Midway, lost elevator bolt, crashed near Hinsdale, Illinois

8 December 1972 N9031U 737-200 United Airlines 71st and Springfield Aircraft descended too low on approach to 31L and struck houses, crashed 1.25 miles (2.01 km) southeast of airport

25 March 1976 N1EM Lockheed Jetstar Executive On field Pilot unfamiliar with plane attempted take off 13R, never airborne, crashed into fence 63rd and Cicero

6 August 1976 N9446Z TB-25N Air Chicago 61st and Moody Avenue Poor maintenance, plane took off 4L, lost engine 2, crashed 0.4 miles (0.64 km) west of field

8 December 2005 N471WN 737-700 Southwest Airlines 55th & Central Landed 31C during snowstorm, crashed through fence, hit 2 cars, killed child in car, 55th and Central

INFORMATION SOURCED FROM: Civil Aeronautics Board archives, NTSB records, bukiri-research.

NOTE: The runway now designated 13C-31C was designated 13R-31L until 1989, when a new Runway 13R-31L was built. Runways 27L and 36L have been closed since the 1970s.

Transit

Midway Airport is served by the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" trains. Passengers can board Orange Line trains at a station in the airport terminal, which runs to downtown Chicago and the Loop (transit time about 25 minutes). This same station doubles as a stop for many CTA-run buses that serve the surrounding areas. Midway is one of the few airports in the United States that have rapid transit train to terminal service.


See also
Transportation in Chicago

(source:wikipedia)

Central Park

Central Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Coordinates:	40°47′0″N 73°58′0″W
Built:	1857
Architect:	Frederick Law Olmsted,Calvert Vaux
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL:	May 23, 1963
NRHP Reference#:	66000538 Size : 843 acres

Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on 843 acres (3.41 km2) of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan. Construction began the same year and was completed in 1873.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963, the park is currently managed by the Central Park Conservancy under contract with the city government. The Conservancy is a nonprofit organization that contributes 85% of Central Park's $25 million dollar annual budget, and employs 80% of the park's maintenance staff.

Central Park today

Central Park, which has been a National Historic Landmark since 1963, was designed by landscape designer and writer Frederick Law Olmsted and the English architect Calvert Vaux in 1858 after winning a design competition. They also designed Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

The park, which receives approximately twenty-five million visitors annually, is the most visited urban park in the United States. It was opened on 770 acres (3.1 km2) of city-owned land and was expanded to 843 acres (3.41 km2; 1.317 sq mi). It is 2.5 miles (4 km) long between 59th Street (Central Park South) and 110th Street (Central Park North), and is 0.5 miles (0.8 km) wide between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. It is similar in size to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, Chicago's Lincoln Park, Vancouver's Stanley Park, and Munich's Englischer Garten.

Central Park is bordered on the north by West 110th Street, on the south by West 59th Street, on the west by Eighth Avenue, and on the east by Fifth Avenue. Along the park's borders however, these are known as Central Park North, Central Park South, and Central Park West, respectively. Only Fifth Avenue retains its name, as it delineates the eastern border of the park.

The park is maintained by the Central Park Conservancy, a private, not-for-profit organization that manages the park under a contract with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, in which the president of the Conservancy is ex officio Administrator of Central Park.

Today, the conservancy employs four out of five maintenance and operations staff in the park. It effectively oversees the work of both the private and public employees under the authority of the Central Park administrator, (publicly appointed), who reports to the parks commissioner, conservancy's president. As of 2007, the conservancy had invested approximately $450 million in the restoration and management of the park; the organization presently contributes approximately 85% of Central Park’s annual operating budget of over $25 million.

The system was functioning so well that in 2006 the conservancy created the Historic Harlem Parks initiative, providing horticultural and maintenance support and mentoring in Morningside Park, St. Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, and Marcus Garvey Park.

While foliage in much of the park appears natural, it is in fact almost entirely landscaped. The park contains several natural-looking lakes and ponds that have been created artificially,extensive walking tracks, bridle paths, two ice-skating rinks (one of which is a swimming pool in July and August), the Central Park Zoo, the Central Park Conservatory Garden, a wildlife sanctuary, a large area of natural woods, a 106-acre (43 ha) billion-gallon reservoir with an encircling running track, and an outdoor amphitheater, called the Delacorte Theater, which hosts the "Shakespeare in the Park" summer festivals. Indoor attractions include Belvedere Castle with its nature center, the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre, and the historic Carousel. In addition there are numerous major and minor grassy areas, some of which are used for informal or team sports, some are set aside as quiet areas, and there are a number of enclosed playgrounds for children.

The 6 miles (10 km) of drives within the park are used by joggers, bicyclists, skateboarders, and inline skaters, especially on weekends and in the evenings after 7:00 p.m., when automobile traffic is banned.

The real estate value of Central Park was estimated by the property appraisal firm, Miller Samuel, to be $528,783,552,000 in December 2005.

As crime has declined in the park and in the rest of New York City, many negative perceptions have begun to wane. The park has its own New York City Police Department precinct (Central Park Precinct), which employs both regular police and auxiliary officers. In 2005, safety measures held the number of crimes in the park to fewer than one hundred per year (down from approximately 1,000 in the early 1980s). New York City Parks Enforcement Patrol also patrols Central Park.

Central Park is the most visited city park in the United States.

History

1733–1900

See also: History of New York City

Angel of the Waters, in Bethesda Fountain (sculpted 1873)

The Corporation of New York leased lower Broadway land in 1733 and laid out the bowling green to become the modern park. Central Park was not a part of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811; however, between 1821 and 1855, New York City nearly quadrupled in population. As the city expanded, people were drawn to the few existing open spaces, mainly cemeteries, to get away from the noise and chaotic life in the city.

New York City's need for a great public park was voiced by the poet and editor of the Evening Post (now the New York Post), William Cullen Bryant, and by the first American landscape architect, Andrew Jackson Downing, who began to publicize the city's need for a public park in 1844. A stylish place for open-air driving, similar to the Bois de Boulogne in Paris or London's Hyde Park, was felt to be needed by many influential New Yorkers, and in 1853 the New York legislature designated a 700-acre (280 ha) area from 59th to 106th Streets for the creation of the park, at a cost of more than US$5 million for the land alone.

The state appointed a Central Park Commission to oversee the development of the park, and in 1857 the commission held a landscape design contest. Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux developed what came to be known as the "Greensward Plan," which was selected as the winning design.

According to Olmsted, the park was "of great importance as the first real Park made in this century—a democratic development of the highest significance…," a view probably inspired by his stay and various trips in Europe during 1850. He visited several parks during these trips and was particularly impressed by Birkenhead Park and Derby Arboretum in England.

Several influences came together in the design. Landscaped cemeteries, such as Mount Auburn (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Green-Wood (Brooklyn, New York) had set examples of idyllic, naturalistic landscapes. The most influential innovations in the Central Park design were the "separate circulation" systems for pedestrians, horseback riders, and pleasure vehicles. The "crosstown" commercial traffic was entirely concealed in sunken roadways, (today called "transverses"), screened with densely-planted shrub belts so as to maintain a rustic ambience.

The Greensward plan called for some 36 bridges, all designed by Vaux, ranging from rugged spans of Manhattan schist or granite, to lacy neo-gothic cast iron, no two are alike. The ensemble of the formal line of the Mall's doubled allées of elms culminating at Bethesda Terrace, whose centerpiece is the Bethesda Fountain, with a composed view beyond of lake and woodland, was at the heart of the larger design.

Clearing the way

Before the construction of the park could start, the area had to be cleared of its inhabitants, most of whom were quite poor and either free African-Americans or immigrants of either English or Irish origin. Most of them lived in small villages, such as Seneca Village, Harsenville, the Piggery District, or the Convent of the Sisters of Charity. Around 1,600 working-class residents occupying the area at the time, were evicted under the rule of eminent domain during 1857. Seneca Village and parts of the other communities were razed to make room for the park.

A map of Central Park from 1875

During the construction of the park, Olmsted fought constant battles with the park commissioners, many of whom were appointees of the city's Democratic machine. In 1860, he was forced out for the first of many times as Central Park's superintendent, and Andrew Haswell Green, the former president of New York City's board of education took over as the chairman of the commission. Despite the fact that he had relatively little experience, he still managed to accelerate the construction, as well as to finalize the negotiations for the purchase of an additional 65 acres (260,000 m2) at the north end of the park, between 106th and 110th Streets, which would be used as the "rugged" part of the park, its swampy northeast corner dredged, and reconstructed as the Harlem Meer.

Between 1860 and 1873, most of the major hurdles to construction were overcome, and the park was substantially completed. During this period, more than 18,500 cubic yards (14,000 m³) of topsoil had been transported in from New Jersey, because the original soil was not fertile or substantial enough to sustain the various trees, shrubs, and plants called for by the Greensward Plan. When the park was officially completed in 1873, more than ten million cartloads of material had been transported out of the park, including soil and rocks. More than four million trees, shrubs and plants representing approximately 1,500 species were transplanted to the park.

More gunpowder was used to clear the area than was used at the battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War.

Sheep grazed on the Sheep Meadow from the 1860s until 1934, when they were moved upstate as it was feared they would be used for food by impoverished Depression-era New Yorkers.

1900–1960

Sheep grazing in the Sheep Meadow - early 1930s

Following completion, the park quickly slipped into decline. One of the main reasons for this was the lack of interest of the Tammany Hall political machine, which was the largest political force in New York at the time.

Around the turn of the 20th century, the park faced several new challenges. Cars were becoming commonplace, bringing with them their burden of pollution, and people's attitudes were beginning to change. No longer were parks to be used only for walks and picnics in an idyllic environment, but now also for sports, and similar recreation. Following the dissolution of the Central Park Commission in 1870 and Andrew Green's departure from the project, and the death of Vaux in 1895, the maintenance effort gradually declined, and there were few, if any, attempts to replace dead trees, bushes and plants, or worn-out lawn. For several decades, authorities did little or nothing to prevent vandalism and the littering of the park.

All of this changed in 1934, when Republican Fiorello La Guardia was elected mayor of New York City and unified the five park-related departments then in existence. Robert Moses was given the task of cleaning up the park. Moses, about to become one of the mightiest men in New York City, took over what was essentially, a relic, a leftover from a bygone era.

According to historian Robert Caro in his 1974 book The Power Broker:

Lawns, unseeded, were expanses of bare earth, decorated with scraggly patches of grass and weeds, that became dust holes in dry weather and mud holes in wet…. The once beautiful Mall looked like a scene of a wild party the morning after. Benches lay on their backs, their legs jabbing at the sky...

In a single year, Moses managed to clean up Central Park and other parks in New York City. Lawns and flowers were replanted, dead trees and bushes were replaced, walls were sandblasted, and bridges repaired. Major redesigning and construction also was carried out: for instance, the Croton Lower Reservoir was filled in so the Great Lawn could be created. The Greensward Plan's purpose of creating an idyllic landscape was combined with Moses' vision of a park to be used for recreational purposes—19 playgrounds, 12 ball fields, and handball courts were constructed. Moses also managed to secure funds from the New Deal program, as well as donations from the public.

1960–1980

Belvedere Castle, Central Park (built, 1869)

The 1960s marked the beginning of an “Events Era” in Central Park that reflected the widespread cultural and political trends of the period. The Public Theater's annual Shakespeare in the Park festival was settled in the Delacorte Theater (1961), and summer performances were instituted on the Sheep Meadow, and then on the Great Lawn by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera. Increasingly through the 1970s, the park became a venue for events of unprecedented scale, including political rallies and demonstrations, festivals, and massive concerts.

New York City was experiencing economic and social upheaval. Residents were fleeing the city and moving to the suburbs. Morale was low, and crime was high. The Parks Department, suffering from budget cuts and a lack of skilled management that rendered its workforce virtually ineffective, responded by opening the park to any and all activities that would bring people into it—regardless of their impact and without adequate management, oversight, or maintenance follow-up. Some of these events became important milestones in the social history of the park and the cultural history of the city.

By the mid-1970s, New York’s fiscal and social malaise had contributed to severe managerial neglect. "Years of poor management and inadequate maintenance had turned a masterpiece of landscape architecture into a virtual dustbowl by day and a danger zone by night," said the conservancy president. Time had hastened the deterioration of its infrastructure and architecture, and ushered in an era of vandalism, territorial use (as when a pick-up game of softball or soccer commandeered open space to the exclusion of others), and illicit activities.

Several citizen groups had emerged, intent upon reclaiming the park by fund raising and organizing volunteer initiatives. One of these groups, the Central Park Community Fund, commissioned a study of the park’s management. The study's conclusion was bi-linear;

It called for the establishment of a single position within the parks department, responsible for overseeing both the planning and management of Central Park and

for a board of guardians to provide citizen oversight.

In 1979 Parks Commissioner Gordon Davis established the Office of Central Park Administrator, appointing to the position the executive director of another citizen organization, the Central Park Task Force. The Central Park Conservancy was founded the following year, to support the office and initiatives of the administrator and to provide consistent leadership through a self-perpetuating, citizen-based board that also would include as ex-officio trustees, the parks commissioner, Central Park Administrator, and mayoral appointees.

From Central Park South

1980–2000

The look-out point on the Lake in Central Park

Under the leadership of the Central Park Conservancy, the park's reclamation began with modest, but highly significant first steps, addressing needs that could not be met within the existing structure and resources of the parks department. Interns were hired, and a small restoration staff to reconstruct and repair unique rustic features, undertaking horticultural projects, and removing graffiti under the broken windows premise. Currently, "Graffiti doesn't last 24 hours in the park," according to Conservancy president Douglas Blonsky.

By the early 1980s the Conservancy was engaged in design efforts and long-term restoration planning, using both its own staff and external consultants. It provided the impetus and leadership for several early restoration projects funded by the city, preparing a comprehensive plan for rebuilding the park. On completion of the planning stage in 1985, the conservancy launched its first "capital" campaign, assuming increasing responsibility for funding the park's restoration, and full responsibility for designing, bidding, and supervising all capital projects in the park.

The restoration was accompanied by a crucial restructuring of management, whereby the park was subdivided into zones, to each of which a supervisor was designated, responsible for maintaining restored areas. Citywide budget cuts in the early 1990s, however, resulted in attrition of the park's routine maintenance staff, and the conservancy began hiring staff to replace these workers. Management of the restored landscapes by the conservancy’s "zone gardeners" proved so successful that core maintenance and operations staff were reorganized in 1996. The zone-based system of management was implemented throughout the park, which was divided into forty-nine zones. Consequently, every zone of the park has a specific individual accountable for its day-to-day maintenance. Zone gardeners supervise volunteers assigned to them, (who commit to a consistent work schedule) and are supported by specialized crews in areas of maintenance requiring specific expertise or equipment, or more effectively conducted on a park-wide basis.

The park in 2004

Activities

Bethesda Fountain with the Loeb Boathouse in background

• Birding: A wooded section of the park called "The Ramble" is popular among birders. Many species of woodland birds, especially warblers, may be seen in The Ramble in Spring and Fall.

Boating: Rowboats and kayaks are rented on an hourly basis at the Loeb Boathouse, which also houses a restaurant overlooking the Lake.

Carriage horses: the carriage horse industry, revived in New York City in 1935, has been featured in various films, the first female carriage driver, Maggie Cogan, appeared in a newsreel in 1967.The ethics of this tradition and the effects on horse health and well being, have been questioned by various animal rights activists.

Pedicabs: Covering three to ten times the distance of a typical Central Park horse carriage ride, pedicabs have become very popular with visitors and New Yorkers alike in the last five years.

Sports: Park Drive, just over 6 miles (9.7 km) long, is a haven for runners, joggers, bicyclists, and inline skaters. Most weekends, races take place in the park, many of which are organized by the New York Road Runners. The New York City Marathon finishes in Central Park outside Tavern on the Green. Many other professional races are run in the park, including the recent, (2008), USA Men's 8k Championships.

Rock Climbing: Central Park's glaciated rock outcroppings attract climbers, especially boulderers; Manhattan's bedrock, a glaciated schist, protrudes from the ground frequently and considerably in some parts of Central Park. The two most renowned spots for boulderers are Rat Rock and Cat Rock; others include Dog Rock, Duck Rock, Rock N' Roll Rock, and Beaver Rock, near the south end of the park.

Ice Skating: Central Park has two ice skating rinks, Wollman Rink and Lasker Rink, which converts to an outdoor swimming pool in summer.

Central Park Carousel: the current carousel, installed in 1951, is one of the largest merry-go-rounds in the United States. The fifty-eight hand-carved horses and two chariots were made by Solomon Stein and Harry Goldstein in 1908. The carousel originally was installed in Coney Island in Brooklyn.

Playgrounds: Central Park has twenty-one playgrounds for children located throughout the park, the largest, at 3 acres (12,000 m2), is Heckscher Playground named for August Heckscher.

Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre: located in the Swedish Cottage. The building was originally a model schoolhouse built in Sweden. Made of native pine and cedar, it was disassembled and rebuilt in the U.S. as Sweden's exhibit for the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Frederick Law Olmsted moved the cottage to its present site in 1877.

Central Park Zoo: The Central Park Zoo is one of four zoos, and one aquarium, managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The zoo is home to an indoor rainforest, a leafcutter ant colony, a chilled penguin house, and a Polar Bear pool.

Entertainment

Summerstage features free musical concerts throughout the summer

Each summer, the Public Theater presents free open-air theatre productions, often starring well-known stage and screen actors. The Delacorte Theater is the summer performing venue of the New York Shakespeare Festival. Most, although not all, of the plays presented are by William Shakespeare, and the performances are generally regarded as being of high quality since its founding by Joseph Papp in 1962.

The New York Philharmonic gives an open-air concert every summer on the Great Lawn, and the Metropolitan Opera presents two operas. Many concerts have been given in the park including The Supremes, 1970; Carole King, 1973; Bob Marley & The Wailers, 1975; Elton John, 1980; the Simon and Garfunkel reunion, 1981; Diana Ross, 1983; Garth Brooks, 1997; the Dave Matthews Band, 2003, and Bon Jovi 2008. Since 1992, local singer-songwriter David Ippolito has performed almost every summer weekend to large crowds of passers-by and regulars and has become a New York icon, often simply referred to as "That guitar man from Central Park." In the summer of 1985, Bruce Springsteen planned to hold a free outdoor concert on the Great Lawn, however the idea was scrapped when it was purported that any free show held by Springsteen would bring an estimated 1.3 million people, crippling the park and the nearby neighborhoods.

Tavern on the Green, one of the most popular high-end restaurants in New York City, was located in Central Park.

Each summer, City Parks Foundation offers Central Park Summerstage, a series of free performances including music, dance, spoken word, and film presentations. SummerStage will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2010. Throughout its history Summerstage has welcomed emerging artists and world renowned artists, including Celia Cruz, David Byrne, Curtis Mayfield, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars, and Nobel Laureate and Pulitzer winner Toni Morrison, Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz, Vampire Weekend, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company, and many more.

With the revival of the city and the park in the new century, Central Park has given birth to arts groups dedicated to performing in the park, notably Central Park Brass, which performs an annual concert series and the New York Classical Theatre, which produces an annual series of plays.

Central Park was home to the famed New York City restaurant Tavern on the Green which was located on the park's grounds at Central Park West and West 67th Street. Tavern on the Green had its last seating on December 31, 2009 before closing its doors.

Central Park was home to the largest concert ever on record. Country Superstar Garth Brooks performed a free concert in August 1997. About 980,000 attended the event, according to the FDNY.

Panorama of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir at Central Park, looking North

Art

Victory Leading Sherman

• Victory Leading Sherman

Sculpture: A total of twenty-nine sculptures by sculptors such as Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Quincy Adams Ward, and Emma Stebbins, have been erected over the years, most have been donated by individuals or organizations. Much of the first statuary placed, was of authors and poets, in an area now known as Literary Walk. Some of the sculptures are:

"Angel of the Waters" at Bethesda Terrace by Emma Stebbins (1873), was the first large public sculpture commission for an American woman

Balto: a 1925 statue of the sled dog who became famous during the 1925 serum run to Nome

King Jagiello bronze monument on the east end of Turtle Pond

Alice in Wonderland

Duke Ellington: created by sculptor Robert Graham was dedicated in 1997 near Fifth Avenue and 110th Street, in the Duke Ellington Circle

Cleopatra's Needle; is a red granite obelisk. The "Cleopatra's Needle" in Central Park is one of three; there also is one in Paris and one in London, which is one of a pair with the New York obelisk. Each obelisk is approximately 68–69 feet tall and weigh about 180 tons. They originally were erected at the Temple of Ra, in Heliopolis, in Ancient Egypt around 1450 B.C. by pharaoh Thutmose III. The hieroglyphs were inscribed about two hundred years later by pharaoh Rameses II to glorify his military victories. The obelisks were all moved during the reign of Roman emperor Augustus Caesar when Ancient Egypt was under the control of Rome. They were brought to Alexandria and erected as tribute to Julius Caesar, in front of the Caesarium, a temple originally built by Cleopatra VII of Egypt in honor of Mark Antony, thus the name "Cleopatra's Needle. There are two versions of how the Central Park Cleopatra's Needle made it's way to Central Park; Either it was a gift from the Khedive of Egypt, Isma'il Pasha, or it was stolen through the machinations of William H. Vanderbilt who paid the tab to have the obelisk shipped to New York and erected. The obelisk arrived in New York in July 1880, it took thirty-two horses hitched in sixteen pairs to pull the obelisk to the park. It was erected in an official ceremony on January 22, 1881.

The Gates: For sixteen days in 2005 (February 12–27), Central Park was the setting for Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation The Gates. Although the project was the subject of very mixed reactions (and it took many years for Christo and Jeanne-Claude to get the necessary approvals), it was nevertheless a major, if temporary, draw for the park.

Geology

Rat Rock is an example of Hartland Schist

There are four different types of bedrock in Manhattan, two are exposed in various outcroppings in Central Park, Manhattan schist and Hartland schist (both are metamorphosed sedimentary rock); Fordham gneiss an older deeper layer which does not surface in the park and Inwood marble (metamorphosed limestone) which overlays the gneiss are the others.

Fordham gneiss, which consists of metamorphosed igneous rocks, was formed a billion years ago, during what is known as the Grenville orogeny that occurred during the creation of an ancient super-continent. It is the oldest rock in the Canadian Shield, the most ancient part of the North American tectonic plate.

Manhattan schist and Hartland schist were formed in the Iapetus Ocean during the Taconic orogeny in the Paleozoic era, about 450 million years ago. During this period the tectonic plates began to move toward each other, which resulted in the creation of the supercontinent, Pangaea.

Cameron's Line is a fault zone that traverses Central Park on an east-west axis.

Various glaciers have covered the area of Central Park in the past, with the most recent being the Wisconsin glacier which receded about 12,000 years ago. Evidence of past glaciers are visible throughout the park in the form of glacial erratics (large boulders dropped by the receding glacier) and north-south glacial striations visible on stone outcroppings.

Flora

Bracts of Flowering Dogwood, an understory tree native to Central Park

Central Park, home to over 25,000 trees, has a stand of 1,700 American Elms, one of the largest remaining stands of in the northeastern U.S., protected by their isolation from Dutch Elm Disease which devastated the tree throughout its native range.

Acer campestre Hedge maple

Acer ginnala Amur maple

Acer palmatum Japanese maple

Acer platanoides Norway maple

Acer pseudoplatanus Sycamore maple

Acer saccharinum Silver maple

Acer saccharum Sugar maple

Aesculus glabra American buckeye

Aesculus hippocastanum Common horsechestnut

Aesculus pavia Red buckeye

Aesculus x carnea Red horschestnut

Ailanthus altissima Tree of heaven

Aralia spinosa Devil's walkingstick

Betula alleghaniensis Yellow birch

Betula lenta Black birch

Betula nigra River birch

Betula papyrifera Paper birch

Celtis occidentalis Hackberry

Cedrus atlantica glauca Blue Atlas Cedar

Cornus florida Flowering Dogwood

Ginko biloba Ginko

Gleditsia triacanthos Honey Locust

Carpinus betulus European Hornbeam

Liquidambar styraciflua Sweetgum

Liriodendron tulipifera Tulip Tree

Magnolia grandiflora Southern Magnolia

Pinus strobus Eastern White Pine

Platanus occidentalis American Sycamore

Quercus alba White Oak

Quercus palustris Pin oak

Quercus rubra Red Oak

Robinia pseudoacacia Black Locust

Taxodium distichum Bald Cypress

Tilia americana Basswood or American Linden

Tilia cordata Little-leaf Linden

Tsuga canadensis Canadian hemlock

Ulmus americana American Elm

Fauna

Red-tailed hawk, one of the bird species endemic to Central Park

The first official list of birds observed in Central Park was drawn up by Augustus G. Paine, Jr. at the age of 19 or 20. Paine was an avid hobby ornithologist and, together with his friend Lewis B. Woodruff, drew up a list of birds counting over 100 species. This was regarded as the first official list and was published in Forest and Stream on June 10, 1886. An article in The New Yorker on 26 August 1974 calls attention to this early list.Over the decades the list has been updated and changed.

The park is frequented by various migratory species of birds during their Spring and Fall migration on the Atlantic Flyway. Over a quarter of all the bird species found in the United States have been seen in Central Park. One of these species is the Red-tailed hawk, which re-established a presence in the park when a male hawk known as Pale Male for his light coloration, nested on a building on Fifth Avenue, across the street from the park. He became a local media celebrity and a prolific breeder.

Central Park was the site of the misguided unleashing of European starlings in North America, a native of Euroasia which has become an invasive species. In April, 1890, eighty birds were released by Eugene Schieffelin, and the following March another eighty; these one hundred and sixty birds are the progenitors of the flocks which now span the United States and parts of Canada.

In 2002 a new genus and species of centipede (Nannarrup hoffmani) was discovered in Central Park. At about four-tenths of an inch (10 mm) long, it is one of the smallest centipedes in the world.

Miscellaneous

Cleopatra's Needle, Central Park, carved c. 1450 B.C. for Thutmose III, hieroglyphs inscribed c.1250 B.C. for Rameses II

Permission to hold issue-centered rallies in Central Park has been met with increasingly stiff resistance from the city. In 2004, the organization United for Peace and Justice wanted to hold a rally on the Great Lawn during the Republican National Convention. The city denied application for a permit, stating that such a mass gathering would be harmful to the grass and that such damage would make it harder to collect private donations to maintain the park. Courts upheld the refusal.

Since the 1960s, there has been a grassroots campaign to restore the park's loop drives to their original car-free state. Over the years, the number of car-free hours has increased, although a full closure currently is resisted by the New York City Department of Transportation.

The Central Park Medical Unit is an all-volunteer ambulance service that provides free emergency medical service to patrons of Central Park and the surrounding streets. It operates a rapid-response bicycle patrol, particularly during major events such as the New York City Marathon, the 1998 Goodwill Games, and concerts in the park.

Central Park constitutes its own United States census tract, number 143. According to Census 2000, the park's population is eighteen people, twelve male and six female, with a median age of 38.5 years, and a household size of 2.33, over 3 households.

(source:wikipedia)