Located in the heart of Manhattan, Central Park is the most visited urban park in the United States, welcoming millions of visitors every year. In fact, some 42 million people visited the part in 2015. Inevitably, people get turned around inside the 843-acre urban oasis, but there’s an easy way to figure out where you are. Just look for a nearby cast-iron streetlamp -- there are 1,600 scattered around the park -- and you’ll find a four-digit code near the base.
The first two or three numbers refer to the nearest cross street, and the last one or two numbers indicate whether the post is on the east or west side of the park. Even numbers mean east and odd numbers indicate west. For example, the code 7420 would mean that you’re near 74th Street and on the east side of the park.
A respite in a sea of concrete:
- In 1858, architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a contest with a design called the Greensward Plan, and construction began that year.
- In December 2005, the value of Central Park was estimated to be about $528.8 billion USD, according to the property appraisal firm Miller Samuel.
- Central Park was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. It is managed by the Central Park Conservancy, a non-profit that contributes 75 percent of the park’s $65 million USD annual budget.